Equitable Park Funding Hub

The Equitable Park Funding Hub provides easy access to information on a variety of funding sources relevant for parks and recreation in low-income communities and communities of color, and highlights the partnerships required for successful funding.

Parks, trails, and nature support public health, workforce development, local economies, the environment, and community cohesion. And yet historic disinvestment has left many communities with the greatest need with the least access to quality parks and recreation opportunities.

The Equitable Park Funding Hub highlights six sectors and summarizes grant and technical assistance opportunities under each, including eligibility, park funding use, match requirement, and other important information to help determine if the program is the right fit for a project. It is not intended to be a comprehensive source of funding opportunities but a starting point with examples and links to the various agencies that oversee the programs.

As many federal funding sources in the Hub are competitive, require match dollars, and often cannot cover maintenance or programming, stable local public funding is essential for a successful and equitable park system. Local funding enables communities to ensure investments promote equitable impacts and address local disparities.

The COVID-19 pandemic shined a spotlight on the need for safe, quality parks and on park inequities throughout communities. Now more than ever, high-quality parks and public spaces in disadvantaged communities require creative and wide-ranging partnerships to unlock public and private funding sources.  We hope you will find this resource helpful in assisting with your local park funding needs. 

The Equitable Park Funding Hub is the result of a two-year collaborative research effort between the City Parks Alliance, Groundwork U.S.A., and the Urban Institute. Support for this work was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Speedwell Foundation.

Explore Equitable Funding Strategies for Parks and Green Infrastructure

The Equitable Park Funding Hub is a living resource intended to be a starting point for researching funding strategies with examples, case studies, and links for further information.

  • Explore each funding area in depth with links below, or use the sorting feature to help you identify the funding sources that may best match your needs.
  • We invite you to help us make this Hub stronger by sharing your experiences applying for, and implementing programs with these funding sources. Share your experience below.

Funding Areas

icon box image

Conservation

Conservation funding can be used to create equitable access to park and recreation amenities, which is critical to improving the health and quality of life of residents in low-income communities.

icon box image

Brownfields

Brownfields contribute to blight and prevent reinvestment in economically distressed communities. Transforming them into parks can drive reinvestment and improve community health.

icon box image

Climate Resilience & Stormwater Management

Parks, trees and nature play an important role in cooling neighborhoods and building resilience to natural disasters. Communities of color often lack the greenspace needed to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

icon box image

Community Development

Increasingly, community reinvestment efforts are leveraging the benefits of parks to create vibrant, healthy, and livable neighborhoods with access to jobs and affordable housing.

icon box image

Local Funding

Stable, local public funding is essential for a successful and equitable park system. It is the primary source for critical maintenance, operations and programming.

icon box image

Transportation

Federal transportation funding can create trail connections for parks and neighborhoods, which provide new outdoor recreation and commuting options, air-quality and congestion benefits, and local economic development opportunities.

EXPLORE PARK FUNDING

Use this tool to filter, sort, and learn about funding opportunities and potential partnerships.

  • Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) Grant

    This competitive grant program provides funding for projects that reduce or eliminate the risk of repetitive flood damage to buildings insured by the National Flood Insurance Program. Flood Mitigation Assistance funds may be used for projects such as Project Scoping; Technical Assistance; Community Flood Mitigation Projects; Individual Structure/Property-Level Flood Mitigation Projects; and Management Costs.
    Match from other sources
    25%
    Park Funding Use
    Capital/Land Acquisition
    Eligibility for Accessing Funds
    State Governments, Local Governments
    Learn More
  • Coastal Resilience Grants

    The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Office for Coastal Management provide grants to improve the resilience of local communities and wildlife habitat in the face of increasingly severe and frequent natural disasters.  These are post-disaster grants for communities impacted by extreme weather events and natural disasters.  The grants support natural and nature-based infrastructure that help with recovery of people and wildlife.  Grants are offered through this program sporadically. See the latest awards announcement.
    Match from other sources
    100%
    Eligibility for Accessing Funds
    State, local and tribal governments, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions
    Learn More
  • Clean Water State Revolving Fund

    Clean Water State Revolving Funds provide low-interest loans for water infrastructure and management projects. Beginning with The American Recovery Act (ARRA) of 2009, Congress requires all CWSRF programs to use a portion of their federal grant for green infrastructure projects, water and energy efficiency, or other environmentally innovative activities, called the Green Project Reserve. The EPA issued a policy encouraging states to prioritize green infrastructure in their CWSRF programs in 2016.  Although it is a loan program, CWSRF has the flexibility for debt purchasing or refinancing, loan guarantees and insurance to increase access to private credit markets or to lower borrowing costs.  States can also reward high-priority projects with incentives, including subsidies. Some states have built-in priority points for green infrastructure, including Kentucky, Kansas, Indiana, New Hampshire, Maryland, and New Mexico. Several states have opted to provide principal forgiveness, negative interest loans, and grants. The EPA reported that from 2009 to 2015, states provided more than $70 million in additional subsidization for green infrastructure projects.
    Match from other sources
    Varies
    Park Funding Use
    Capital/Land Acquisition, Operations/Maintenance
    Eligibility for Accessing Funds
    Public water and wastewater service provider
    Learn More
  • Wastewater and Stormwater Utility Revenue

    In many communities, water, wastewater, and stormwater utilities are partnering with park agencies to build green infrastructure in parks to meet their regulatory requirements. Cities, their wastewater and stormwater utilities, and their flood control districts are required to limit stormwater volume and pollutants under the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). Water utilities can meet their regulatory requirements, and avoid significant financial penalties, by investing in green infrastructure, gray infrastructure, or some combination of both. Water utilities may prefer investing in green over gray infrastructure. It is often less expensive and offers additional quality of life, environmental, and health benefits, which make it easier for utilities to “sell” necessary ratepayer increases. In order to partner with a water utility on green infrastructure, it is essential to find projects that meet their regulatory requirements and the community’s park and greenspace needs. Other partners that can be critical to building a successful program include school districts, park agencies, departments of the environment, nonprofit land trusts, and park conservancies. Many cities and wastewater utilities operate under an EPA consent decree that establishes clean water milestones to be reached over 20 years in order to avoid financial penalties. Some utilities have negotiated green infrastructure investments in their milestones. Examples of water utilities partnering on park and green infrastructure investments is critical to convincing water utilities it is not only a viable, but an advantageous approach.

    Match from other sources
    Varies
    Park Funding Use
    Capital/Land Acquisition, Operations/Maintenance
    Eligibility for Accessing Funds
    Defined by local government
Load More

Additional Equitable Funding Research