Colorado Parks & Recreation Association

What Colorado Parks & Recreation Association does

Colorado Parks & Recreation Association (CPRA) is a 501c3 charitable nonprofit trade association founded in 1951 and headquartered in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. It serves approximately 1,700 parks and recreation professionals working across Colorado municipalities, special districts, and state agencies. The organization is the Colorado affiliate of the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) and functions as the state's primary trade body for the profession, operating with a lean staff of 1-10 employees.

CPRA's product portfolio is built around membership services and professional development. Core offerings include the membership program itself, three certification tracks (CPSI for playground safety, CPM for park professionals, and the FSCP financial sustainability certificate launched in 2026), the annual conference scheduled for Breckenridge in October 2026, a job/career center, and the CARA youth athletics program offering flag football, volleyball, swimming, track, cross country, and basketball skills competition across Colorado. The association publishes the quarterly Colorado Byline magazine and operates the Technical Tuesdays and Lead Your Team email newsletters reaching roughly 1,700 members. The technology backbone is the GrowthZone membership management platform, supplemented by Zoom and Microsoft Teams for virtual section meetings and TeamSideline for sports registration.

Revenue derives from a portfolio of small-dollar streams: recurring membership dues, per-attendee certification and workshop fees (e.g., FSCP at $445), CARA youth athletics registration fees (e.g., $120 flag football team fee, $60 Rockies Skills Challenge team fee), sponsorship and advertising packages tied to the annual conference and Colorado Byline magazine, and scholarship donations supporting member professional development. Ten specialty sections — including Active Adult Programming and Services, Aquatics, CARA, Facility Management, Fitness, Parks, PLAaY, Therapeutic Recreation, and Directors roundtables — provide sectional programming, networking, and awards recognition that deepen member engagement across an industry-of-one ecosystem.

Name

Colorado Parks & Recreation Association

Legal name

Colorado Parks & Recreation Association

Website

https://cpra-web.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1951

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Colorado Parks & Recreation Association is a 501c3 nonprofit trade association founded in 1951 that serves approximately 1,700 parks and recreation professionals across Colorado through membership services, professional certification (CPSI, CPM, FSCP), youth athletics via CARA, an annual conference, and advocacy in partnership with NRPA.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Services

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Professionals (Teacher/Administrator CE, CPD) (EDAAALAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Project, Quality & Operations (PMP PDUs, Six Sigma, Quality CE) (EDAAALAM)

Keywords

• Parks recreation association
• Professional development certifications
• Youth athletics leagues
• Membership association services
• Recreation industry advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Wheat Ridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees for parks and recreation professionals and organizations in Colorado
2. Professional Development Programs: Revenue from certification programs including FSCP ($445 per attendee), CEU courses, and workshop registrations
3. Youth Athletics Programs: Registration fees for CARA youth sports leagues including flag football ($120 team fee), track, swimming, volleyball, basketball, and cross country
4. Sponsorships and Advertising: Sponsorship packages for annual conference and events; advertising in Colorado Byline magazine and Technical Tuesday emails
5. Scholarship Donations: Donations to support professional development scholarships including Section Scholarships and Gallup-Darrow-Chester Scholarship

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

CPRA is a membership-based professional association that delivers continuing education, certification programs (CPSI, CPM, FSCP), networking, advocacy, and industry resources to parks and recreation professionals in Colorado. It also operates the CARA youth athletics program, publishes the Colorado Byline magazine and email newsletters, hosts an annual conference, and maintains a Career Center job board.

Product overview

Colorado Parks & Recreation Association (CPRA) is a 501c3 nonprofit trade association established in 1951 that serves parks and recreation professionals in Colorado. The organization offers a membership-based service portfolio centered on professional development, networking, and industry recognition. Core offerings include membership management, professional certification programs (CPSI, CPM, FSCP), an annual conference, and the Career Center job board. The organization publishes the quarterly Colorado Byline Magazine and distributes Technical Tuesdays and Lead Your Team email newsletters. CPRA operates multiple sections (AAPS, Aquatics, CARA, Directors, EPiC, Facility Management, Fitness, Parks, PLAaY, TRSC) that each provide specialized programming, networking, and resources for their respective areas of parks and recreation. The CARA youth athletics program coordinates recreational sports leagues for youth across Colorado.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CPRA: Abbreviation for Colorado Parks & Recreation Association used as the primary trade name

Products and services

• Membership Program
• Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) Certification

Quantifiable outcome

• 1.5 CEUs available through FSCP program
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCPRA is an NRPA affiliate, representing Colorado parks and recreation professionals at the national level. CPRA President serves on NRPA Council of State Affiliate Presidents.
• Colorado Alliance for Environmental EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization supporting environmental education initiatives within Colorado parks and recreation
• Colorado Municipal LeaguecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStatewide organization representing Colorado municipalities; partners on legislative tracking and municipal recreation issues
• Colorado Open Space AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition focused on open space preservation and management partnerships
• Colorado Outdoor Partnership (CO-OP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting outdoor recreation initiatives across Colorado
• Colorado Public Health Parks and Recreation CollaborativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative focused on the intersection of public health and parks and recreation programming
• Colorado Parks & WildlifecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState agency partner for wildlife management and outdoor recreation coordination
• Special District Association of ColoradocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners on legislative tracking and special district recreation issues
• Volunteers for Outdoor ColoradocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVolunteer organization supporting outdoor stewardship and conservation projects
• Illinois Park & Recreation Association (IPRA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership providing CPRA members access to IPRA Skills Development Webinar Series (11 webinars, 1.1 CEUs) at member rates
• 110 PercentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting Host Sponsor for Financial Sustainability Certificate Program
• Landscape StructuresminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting Host Sponsor for Financial Sustainability Certificate Program

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• National Recreation and Park Association: National U.S. trade association for parks and recreation professionals. CPRA is a formal NRPA affiliate, and the two compete and collaborate for member dues, certifications, and continuing education across the same professional audience.
• American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance: National 501c3 organization serving health, physical education, recreation, and dance professionals. Overlaps CPRA in the recreation professional development space but operates at a broader national scale across multiple disciplines.

Direct peers

• Illinois Park and Recreation Association: State-level parks and recreation professional association in Illinois. CPRA already partners with IPRA to deliver webinar CEU content, demonstrating directly overlapping member services (certifications, CEUs, advocacy, networking).
• Texas Recreation and Park Society: State-level professional association for Texas parks and recreation professionals offering certifications, annual conference, advocacy, and section-based programming similar to CPRA's structure.
• California Parks and Recreation Society: California state association for parks, recreation, and human services professionals. Operates an annual conference, certifications, sections, and advocacy comparable to CPRA's member services portfolio.
• Florida Recreation and Park Association: Florida state association serving parks and recreation professionals with certifications, an annual institute, advocacy, and networking events closely paralleling CPRA's offerings.
• Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Society: Pennsylvania state association providing professional development, CEUs, conferences, and advocacy to municipal parks and recreation professionals in a comparable role to CPRA.
• New York State Recreation and Park Society: State-level New York association for park and recreation professionals delivering conferences, certifications, awards, and networking similar to CPRA's structure.

Others

• National Park Trust: National nonprofit focused on parks advocacy and youth engagement with parks. Adjacent to CPRA's advocacy and youth athletics work but national in scope and not a direct membership-association competitor.

Regional players

• American Camp Association: National membership association serving camp professionals with accreditation, training, and standards. Adjacent to CPRA's preschool/youth and therapeutic recreation work but focused on camp rather than parks and recreation delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CPRA_tweets
• Facebookfacebook.com/coloradoparksandrecreation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/colorado-parks-&-recreation-association
• Instagraminstagram.com/colorado.parks.and.recreation/?hl=en

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Colorado Parks & Recreation Association