The National Park Service (NPS) has announced that the application process has opened for the 2018 Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program (ORLP). The ORLP is a nationally competitive grant program funded through the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). The ORLP offers nationally competitive grants specifically to help create and improve state and locally-owned park and other outdoor recreation areas in ways that will help the public to access or re-connect with the outdoors, particularly in city neighborhoods that lack parks and recreational opportunities. A total of $13.3 million of funding is available.
City Parks Alliance, with its partners National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), The Trust for Public Land (TLP), and the National Association of State Outdoor Recreation Liaison Officers (NASORLO), will host a webinar on the ORLP program on May 3, 2018, at 1 p.m. Eastern. National Park Service representatives Joel Lynch and Elisabeth Fondriest will provide an overview of the program and the grant application process. Register here.
What is the ORLP?
The ORLP program complements the existing NPS LWCF State and Local Assistance Program. The ORLP seeks to create new opportunities for outdoor recreation as well as to develop or enhance partnerships that can support such efforts in cities. Selected projects will help demonstrate how partners at all levels can work collaboratively to leverage investment and support close-to-home recreation opportunities that will help people access publicly-owned lands. The 2018 ORLP program targets low-income neighborhoods with a new emphasis on the potential economic benefits of a project, particularly in terms of short and long-term job creation.
Sponsors may request grants for their projects ranging from a minimum of $250,000 up to a maximum of $750,000. By law, project sponsors and/or their partners must cost-share in the projects at an at least 1:1 ratio. Funding for eligible projects can be used to acquire and/or develop land to create new or reinvigorate existing, public parks and other outdoor recreation spaces in neighborhoods that are economically disadvantaged and are underserved or lacking in such opportunities.
Who may apply?
State and local government agencies (e.g., cities, counties, legal subdivisions such as park districts, etc.) and federally-recognized Indian tribes within or serving areas delineated by the Census Bureau from the 2010 census as having populations of 50,000 or more people and consisting of densely settled territory. This year NPS will allow states to submit up to three proposals.
How do I apply?
Proposals should be developed in cooperation with the lead agency for LWCF in each state. The full funding opportunity announcement and pre-application materials are available online at grants.gov. Please look for Funding Opportunity Number P18AS00153; Title: Land and Water Conservation Fund Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program.
When is the deadline for applications?
Applications are due on Friday, September 14, 2018.
If you have any questions contact National Park Service representatives Joel Lynch at 202-354-6905 or
[email protected] or Elisabeth Fondriest at 202-354-6916 or
[email protected]
City Parks Alliance and the Mayors for Parks Coalition advocate for increased federal investment in our nation’s urban parks. Since 2014, $50 million in new federal urban park grants have been secured leveraging an additional $50 million in matching grants for a total of at least $100 million to distressed communities across the country.
To view the original National Park Service Announcement