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.

View Funding Areas

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

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.

Brownfields

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program (ATIIP)
The ATIIP provides grants to states and localities to strategically invest in projects that connect active transportation networks and spines, such as safe bike paths and walking trails, while reducing carbon emissions and creating new jobs. The program will help connect people to destinations within or between communities, including schools, workplaces and other community areas. Active transportation spines can connect communities, metropolitan regions and states.
Match from other sources
20% state or local match
Park Funding Use
Planning/Capital
Eligibility for Accessing Funds
Local or regional governmental organization (including metropolitan planning organizations or regional planning organizations and councils), multicounty special district, state, multistate group of governments, and Tribal governments
Learn More
Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A)
Established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the new Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) will provide $5 billion between 2022-2026 to support local initiatives aimed at preventing serious injuries and fatalities that occur on our nation’s roadways. Project could include the implementation of improvements that expand multimodal networks with separated bicycle lanes and improved pedestrian crossing safety features, installing safety enhancements like sidewalks, and creating safe routes to school and public transit services through multiple activities that lead to people safely walking, biking, and rolling in underserved communities. The fiscal year (FY) 2024 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is now closed. The FY25 NOFO is expected to be released in early 2025.
Match from other sources
20% state or local match
Park Funding Use
Planning/Capital
Eligibility for Accessing Funds
Metropolitan planning organizations; Counties, cities, towns, and transit agencies or other special districts that are subdivisions of a State; Federally recognized Tribal governments, Multi-jurisdictional groups comprised of the above entities.
Learn More
Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE)
RAISE grants (formerly known as BUILD and TIGER) are for investments in surface transportation infrastructure and are awarded on a competitive basis to projects that will have a significant local or regional impact. RAISE funding can support greenways, bike trails, and pedestrian paths, along with roads, bridges, transit, rail, and ports.

Applications are now open for the FY 2025 RAISE cycle.

One key difference in this funding cycle is the reservation of funds for FY 2024 Projects of Merit. The USDOT will reserve a portion of the $1.5 billion available for FY 2025 for projects that scored exceptionally well in FY 2024 but did not receive funding. There are two rounds for this cycle—the first for FY 2024 Projects of Merit and the second for new applications.

Round 1 FY24 Projects of Merit applicants must notify [email protected] by December 2, 2024, to be considered for FY25 funds. The deadline for Round 2 applicants, who are submitting new applications, is January 30, 2025, through Grants.gov. Click here to learn more about this cycle and read the NOFO. More information about the difference between Round 1 and Round 2 applicants can be found on pages 5 and 6 of the NOFO.
Great Rivers Greenway is a public agency in St. Louis with a mission to make the St. Louis region a more vibrant place to live, work and play by developing a regional network of greenways. Great Rivers Greenway, with its partners, oversees 130 miles of greenways that connect communities, offer transportation options for its residences, and provides economic development throughout the city. In November 2021, the Great Rivers Greenway received $15 Million in RAISE grants and $7 Million in Transportation Alternative grants ($12 Other Federal Transportation grants). Great Rivers Greenway worked closely with its Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and Local Municipalities and Counties to secure these funds.

Match from other sources
20% state or local match but includes exceptions. Applicants should see the NOFO link below for details
Park Funding Use
Planning/Capital
Eligibility for Accessing Funds
LOCAL/STATE/TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS, TERRITORY OF THE U.S., PUBLIC AGENCY
Learn More
Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ)
The Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program provides funds to States for transportation projects designed to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality, particularly in areas of the country that do not attain national air quality standards. The program has been a key mechanism for supporting investments that encourage alternatives to driving alone, improve traffic flow, and help urban areas meet air quality goals. Eligible projects include bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
The Loop Dallas is building a 50-mile circuit trail by the same name that will encircle the core of the city. By connecting 39 miles of existing trails in Dallas with 11 miles of newly built trails, The Loop Dallas will increase access to public transportation and green space, ensuring residents can access these resources across the city to commute, for recreation, and wellness.

A catalyst for mobility and economic opportunity, The Loop Dallas will make the city more vibrant and pedestrian-friendly, creating a sense of community and making abundant green space part of its identity. By bringing connections to more neighborhoods and creating a stronger, more united Dallas, The Loop Dallas’ urban trail system can be considered the single most important investment Dallas can make for its residents for generations to come.

In 2019, The Loop Dallas, a 501 (c) 3 formally partnered with the City of Dallas to lead efforts to complete four missing links needed for the 50-mile circuit. One of the projects, the Hi Line Connector, received $8 million in Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) funds to overcome the physical barrier created by I-35E. In securing these funds, The Loop Dallas worked closely with its Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) who administered the funds. The Loop Dallas used private philanthropic dollars to drive project management, design and other soft costs and navigate right of way challenges. In 2021, the CMAQ funding was supplemented with additional infrastructure funding from a tax increment financing district bringing the project hardcost total to $11.5 million. This signature project will unite the iconic placemaking of the Katy Trail with the burgeoning Design District in one of the most advanced active transportation projects in Texas.

Match from other sources
20% state and local match, typically
Park Funding Use
Planning/Capital
Eligibility for Accessing Funds
STATE DEPARTMENTS OF TRANSPORTATION, METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATIONS (ELIGIBLE PROJECT SPONSORS CAN PARTNER WITH PUBLIC, PRIVATE, AND NONPROFITS)
Learn More

Additional Equitable Funding Research

Report

Investing in Equitable Urban Park Systems: Case Studies and Recommendations

Learn from seven municipalities using equitable, data-driven park investment strategies for distributing park resources.

Report

Closing the Gap: Public and Private Funding Strategies for Neighborhood Parks

Learn about local public funding approaches in this report from City Parks Alliance and Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.

Equitable Park Funding Hub

Explore Equitable Funding Strategies for Parks and Green Infrastructure

Funding Areas

Conservation

Brownfields

Climate Resilience & Stormwater Management

Community Development

Local Funding

Transportation

EXPLORE PARK FUNDING

Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program (ATIIP)

Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A)

Example

Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE)

Example

Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ)

Example

Additional Equitable Funding Research

Investing in Equitable Urban Park Systems: Case Studies and Recommendations

Closing the Gap: Public and Private Funding Strategies for Neighborhood Parks