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    Community Development Funding

    Community development includes community-driven efforts to create vibrant, healthy, and livable neighborhoods, while developing economic and employment opportunities for low-income residents. Historically, it has focused on affordable housing and jobs, but increasingly includes investments in parks, trails and public spaces as central to healthy, livable neighborhoods.

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    Funding Sources

    • Environmental Justice Small Grants Program

      This program empowers communities working on solutions to local environmental and public health issues. The program helps communities understand and address exposure to multiple environmental harms and risks. All projects are associated with at least one qualified environmental statute.

      Match from other sources
      Not Applicable
      Park Funding Use
      Programming
      Eligibility for Accessing Funds
      Nonprofit organizations, tribal governments, tribal organizations
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    • New Markets Tax Credits

      New Markets Tax Credits finance projects that have social and economic benefit for low-income communities, including public housing authorities, schools, and community-based nonprofits. They attract private capital into low-income communities with tax credits in exchange for investments in Community Development Entities (CDEs). They are complex, can be difficult to set up, often have high legal fees, and they need to generate a revenue stream to be viable, but for large projects in low-income communities, tax credits can be a significant source of funding. The park projects funded so far have included parks and recreation centers in Cincinnati, Ohio, Washington, D.C., and Pensacola, Florida. As with all significant investments in low-income communities, existing residents should be involved in the planning and decision-making to ensure they benefit from the investments. Opportunity Zones,1 are a new federal tax incentive to encourage investment in recreation facilities and other park-like properties. However, because they are meant to support businesses (ideally ones that appreciate in value), it may be challenging to use them to directly improve public access to parks and green space. Given the current newness of the program, it’s too early to review their use in practice.

      Park Funding Use
      Capital/Land Acquisition, Operations/Maintenance, Programming
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    • Community Development Block Grants

      The US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grants (CDBGs) invests in urban communities to increase quality, affordable housing, improve community living environments, and expand economic opportunities. CDBG investments must benefit people of low and moderate incomes. As such, they can be a good source of funding for equitable park investments. Under CDBG, public and nonprofit park leaders need to partner with local community development organizations and the city agency that manages the CDBG funds. Cities must develop a Consolidated Plan that sets local investment priorities and the projects need to meet the priorities outlined in the Consolidated Plan. Because of their flexibility, CDBG funds have been tapped by many park systems. From 2010 through 2018, CDBGs funded nearly $900 million in parks and recreation projects. CDBGs can also provide for maintenance and operations, youth employment, and other park-related investments. The 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act included $5 billion in funds for CDBG, an increase of $1.7 billion over the previous year’s funding.

      Match from other sources
      Varies by State
      Park Funding Use
      Capital/Land Acquisition, Operations/Maintenance, Programming
      Eligibility for Accessing Funds
      Local governments
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    Additional Resources

    CPA ParkXChange Resource Library

    Community Development Resources for Urban Park Professionals

    Searchable library including cross-sector MOUs, equity action plans, agreements for park maintenance and operations, green infrastructure development and maintenance, community benefits, arts and cultural programming, guides and technical tools.

    CPA Reports

    LWCF Reports: A Smart Investment in America's Health and Economy

    Two reports highlight how cities are using Land and Water Conservation Fund grants to create measurable environmental, economic, and public health returns on urban park investments.

    CPA 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.

    Article

    Looking for More Federal Civic Infrastructure Funding? We’ve Got Ideas.

    Percent for Place

    Website

    Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC)

    LISC

    Article

    The New Markets Tax Credit: Helping Park and Recreation Agencies in Low-Income Areas Close the Financing Gap

    Questia

    Article

    New Market Tax Credits Key to City’s Revival

    Urban Cincy

    Report

    The Field Guide for Parks and Creative Placemaking

    City Parks Alliance & The Trust for Public Land

    Report

    Parks as Community Development

    The Trust for Public Land

    Report

    Active Parks Healthy Cities: Recommendations from the National Study of Neighborhood Parks

    City Parks Alliance

    Case Studies

    Lawrence, MA

    Nina Scarito Park

    This $2.9 million park project was made possible through a combination of federal, state, city and private funds. Over 500 hours were volunteered by local residents through their participation in park planning, design and advocacy.

    New York, NY

    Yonkers Greenway

    This timeline recounts the progress of the Yonkers Greenway project from 2008 through 2020, detailing the many funding sources utilized.

    Las Cruces, NM

    Harvesting Desert Rain

    Planning for extreme weather catalyzes a $400,000 investment in a historically underserved neighborhood in the Southwest.

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    Community development includes community-driven efforts to create vibrant, healthy, and livable neighborhoods, while developing economic and employment opportunities for low-income residents. Historically, it has focused on affordable housing and jobs, but increasingly includes investments in parks, trails and public spaces as central to healthy, livable neighborhoods.

    With funding from local sources matched by banks, philanthropic institutions, and the federal government, community-based organizations, park and recreation departments are driving park improvements, and, in some cases, are taking on control of park operations and programming to ensure they reflect the needs of local residents.

    Federal Community Development Block Grants have been an increasingly common source of funding in neighborhood parks in economically distressed neighborhoods. New Market Tax Credits, which are a newer source of federal funding for community development, are not often used for parks and recreation; however, increasingly, communities are using New Market Tax Credits to fund successful park and recreation projects.

    A variety of local funding strategies are used to fund parks as part of a community development effort, many of which are detailed in the City Parks Alliance report, Closing the Gap: Public and Private Funding Strategies for Neighborhood Parks.