FCT Funding Resources for Park Development

Funding Resources for Park Development

this whole section of funding resources needs to be reviewed and checked. There may be similar content already on the DEP or L&R Grants website somewhere else. I just wanted you to see it to know that we should either have this information on FCT’s site or link to wherever else it is.

The following is a list of potential funding sources available to local governments, and eligible nonprofit organizations, to assist in the development of park facilities, natural resource protection, restoration and enhancement projects, and environmental education programs. Additional information and application deadlines can be found on the website listed or by contacting the program directly.

Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program is a competitive program that provides grants for acquisition or development of land to facilitate public outdoor recreation use or to construct or renovate recreational trails.

Land and Water Conservation Fund Program is a competitive program that provides grants for acquisition or development of land for public outdoor recreation use.

Office of Greenways and Trails is a component of Florida Forever. The program provides funding for the acquisition of projects that help establish Florida's statewide network of greenways and trails.

Recreational Trails Program is a competitive program that awards grants for projects that provide, renovate or maintain recreational trails, trailhead and trailside facilities. Project proposals may address the following recreational trail interests: motorized trails; nonmotorized trails; and mixed-use projects.

Coastal Partnerships Initiative Grants provides financial support to local governments and non-profit organizations for projects that benefit, revitalize and provide access to coastal resources. Selected projects plan or implement activities in four program areas: public access, remarkable coastal places, working waterfronts, and community stewardship. The annual solicitation for Coastal Partnership Initiative proposals is published in the Florida Administrative Weekly each September or October.

Section 319(h) Nonpoint Source Stormwater Management Grant - The Nonpoint Source Management Section provides grant funds that can be used to implement projects or programs that will help to reduce nonpoint sources of pollution. Projects or programs must be conducted within the state's Nonpoint Source priority watersheds, which are the state's Surface Water Improvement and Management watersheds and National Estuary Program waters.

Total Maximum Daily Load Water Quality Restoration Grants - The program receives funding for the implementation of projects to reduce urban nonpoint source pollution discharged to impaired waters. These funds are restricted to projects that reduce pollutant loadings to water bodies. These funds primarily are used for stormwater retrofitting projects undertaken by local governments.

Florida's Clean Marina Program aims to protect and enhance water quality. Common elements of the program are: voluntary participation, "pier" pressure, a desire to engage in environmentally conscious activities and reinforcement of current regulatory processes. The program provides opportunities for public and private interaction and provides incentives and remove institutional roadblocks to enhance water quality at marinas.

Clean Vessel Act Program - The Federal Clean Vessel Act of 1992 provides funds for the construction of pumpout, dump station facilities and pumpout vessels, and supports educational, outreach and public awareness programs. Funds are available to applicants whose facilities are located on navigable fresh or salt-water bodies within the State of Florida who service recreational vessels. Eligible participants can include public and private operators of facilities such as boat ramps, marinas, and dock slips that provide public access.

Florida Beach Erosion Control Program works in concert with local, state, and federal governmental entities to protect, preserve, and restore the coastal sandy beach resources of the state. Under the program, financial assistance in an amount up to 50 percent of project costs is available to Florida's county and municipal governments, community development districts, or special taxing districts for shore protection and preservation activities on the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean, or Straits of Florida.

Florida Department of Economic Opportunity

Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Program provides funding for community development and is administered by the Department of Economic Opportunity. Examples of activities that are eligible for funding include: parks and recreation; drainage improvements; downtown revitalization; Brownfields Economic Development Incentive; rehabilitation and preservation of housing; water and sewer improvements; street improvements; and economic development activities.

Waterfronts Florida Program helps participating communities revitalize, renew and promote interest in their waterfront district. Waterfront revitalization targets environmental resource protection, public access, retention of viable traditional waterfront economies, and hazard mitigation. To be considered for designation, communities should have a coastal waterfront with a tradition of a water-oriented economy, and a targeted waterfront area that is not a major deep-water port.

Water Management Districts

Florida's five Water Management Districts conduct land acquisition programs under the Florida Forever Act to help acquire lands to restore, preserve and manage water resources. Water Management District acquisition efforts are generally focused on medium- to large-size parcels that protect wetlands and adjacent water bodies.

South Florida Water Management District

Southwest Florida Water Management District

St. Johns River Water Management District

Suwannee River Water Management District

Northwest Florida Water Management District

Florida Forest Service

Urban and Community Forestry Grant Program provides funds to organizations to develop or enhance their urban and community forestry programs. Awards are made as matching grants to local governments, educational institutions, Native American tribal governments, and legally organized nonprofit organizations in five grant categories: local government program development; demonstration or site specific projects; nonprofit administration; information and education, and urban forestry training.

Forest Legacy Program focuses on protecting environmentally important forest areas that are threatened by conversion to non-forest uses and, through the use of voluntary conservation easements and fee simple purchases, to promoting forest land protection and other conservation opportunities.

Florida Statewide Endangered and Threatened Plant Conservation Program works toward the recovery of federally-listed endangered and threatened plant species in Florida. The goal of the program is to restore and maintain existing populations of listed plants on public land and on those private lands managed for conservation purposes.

Rural Development Program provides rural communities with technical assistance to design and develop forest-based projects and acts as a liaison between communities and the various organizations that provide financial and in-kind support for rural development projects.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Invasive Upland Control Funding provides approximately $9 million annually for upland invasive plant removal projects on public conservation lands recognized by the Florida Natural Areas Inventory.

Florida's State Wildlife Grants Program is a matching grant program that provides financial support for projects that address conservation needs identified in the Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy. Grants are awarded to eligible recipients on a competitive basis. A new grant cycle opens in the fall of each year.

Florida Boating Improvement Program provides funding through competitive grants for boating access projects and other boating-related activities on coastal and/or inland waters of Florida. Eligible program participants include county governments, municipalities, and other governmental entities of the State of Florida.

Florida Department of State

Historic Preservation Small Matching Grant Program assists in the identification, excavation, protection, and rehabilitation of historic and archaeological sites in Florida. The grant funds are available to support both acquisition and development activities and protection and education activities. Funding is contingent on Legislative appropriation. The annual grant cycle typically begins on October 1 and ends December 15.

Historic Preservation Special Category Grants - The purpose of the Special Category Grants program is to provide assistance for major archaeological excavations, large restoration or rehabilitation projects, major museum exhibits, and presentations of information on the history of Florida. The solicitation period for applications is typically July 1 to August 31. Funding is contingent on Legislative appropriation.

General Program Support - Discipline-Based Grants - The General Program Support grant is designed to fund the general program activities of an organization that is realizing its stated mission and furthering the state's cultural objectives. The Discipline-Based Program provides grants for conducting, creating, producing, staging, or presenting cultural exhibits, performances, educational programs, or events.

Specific Cultural Project Grants Program - Discipline-Based Grants - The Specific Cultural Project grant is designed to fund a cultural project, program, exhibition, or series taking place within the grant period (July 1 through June 30). The grant activities must support the mission of the organization and further the state's cultural objectives.

Florida Department of Transportation

Transportation Enhancement Program - The following activities are eligible for funding under the Transportation Enhancement Program: facilities for pedestrians and bicycles; safety and educational activities for pedestrians and bicyclists; acquisition of scenic easements and scenic or historic sites; scenic or historic highway programs; landscaping and other scenic beautification; historic preservation, rehabilitation and operation of historic transportation buildings, structures, or facilities; preservation of abandoned railway corridors; control and removal of outdoor advertising; archaeological planning and research; environmental mitigation, and; transportation museums. The program is not a grant program, rather projects are undertaken by project sponsors, and eligible costs are reimbursed.

Florida Inland Navigation District (East Coast)

Cooperative Assistance Program - The Florida Inland Navigation District provides grants to local governments for eligible waterway related projects that include the following: shoreline stabilization; waterway related recreation; environmental education; boating safety; inlet management; dredged material management, and public navigation. Waterway related projects must be located on natural, navigable waterways within the District. There is no limitation on the amount funding that may be requested.

West Coast Inland Navigation District (Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte and Lee counties only)

Waterway Development Program - The West Coast Inland Navigational District provides grants to local governments for projects that include: shoreline stabilization; waterway related recreation; environmental education; boating safety; inlet management; dredged material management, and public navigation. Waterway related projects must be located on natural, navigable waterways within Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte and Lee counties only.

United States Fish and Wildlife Service

National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program - Under the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant program, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provides matching grants to acquire, restore, manage or enhance coastal wetlands.

North American Wetlands Conservation Act - The Standard Grants Program is a competitive, matching grants program that supports public-private partnerships funded projects must involve long-term protection, restoration, and/or enhancement of wetlands and associated uplands habitats.

Small Grants Program - The Small Grants Program is a competitive, matching grants program that supports public-private partnerships carrying out projects in the United States that further the goals of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act. These projects must involve long-term protection, restoration, and/or enhancement of wetlands and associated uplands habitats for the benefit of all wetlands-associated migratory birds. Funding priority is given to grantees or partners new to the Act's Grants Program.

United States Fish and Wildlife Service - The United States Fish and Wildlife Service administers a variety of natural resource assistance grants to governmental, public and private organizations, groups and individuals.

United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service

Watershed Protection, Watershed Surveys, and Flood Prevention - The purpose of the Watershed Program, including River Basin operations, is to assist federal, state, and local agencies, local government sponsors, tribal governments, and program participants to protect and restore watersheds from damage caused by erosion, floodwater, and sediment, to conserve and develop water and land resources, and to solve natural resource and related economic problems on a watershed basis. The program provides technical and financial assistance to local people or project sponsors, builds partnerships, and requires local and state funding contribution.

Florida Defense Alliance

Florida Defense Infrastructure Grant - The Defense Infrastructure Grant Program was designed to provide support for local infrastructure projects (e.g. construction, land purchases, easements) that have a positive impact on an installation's military value. Infrastructure grants may also be used to conduct studies, develop presentations, analyses, plans, and modeling in direct support of these infrastructure projects. These funds are not eligible for on-base construction projects.

United States Department of Defense

Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative - The Department of Defense Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative funds innovative partnerships between Military Service departments and state and local governments or private conservation organizations to leverage public and private funds to preserve critical buffers and landscapes around key test and training areas. The program provides funding for the military to work with state and local governments, non-governmental organizations, and willing land owners to help prevent encroachment of test and training areas.

The Conservation Fund

Kodak American Greenways Awards Program - The Kodak American Greenways Awards Program, a partnership project of the Eastman Kodak Company, The Conservation Fund, and the National Geographic Society, provides small grants to stimulate the planning and design of greenways in communities throughout America. Grants may be used for activities such as: mapping, ecological assessments, surveying, conferences, and design activities; developing brochures, interpretative displays, audio-visual productions or public opinion surveys; hiring consultants, incorporating land trusts, building a foot bridge, planning a bike path, or other creative projects.

Additional Florida Grant Resources

Catalog of State Financial Assistance - The Catalog of State Financial Assistance is a statewide compendium of state projects that provide financial assistance to non-state entities. As the basic reference source for state projects, the Catalog helps users obtain general information on state projects and identify state projects that meet specific objectives. State projects are cataloged by agency and are assigned a Catalog of State Financial Assistance number for easy referencing.

The Florida Resource Directory - The Florida Resource Directory contains information about the latest state and many federal programs and resources available to local communities. The Directory provides information and contacts for many types of projects, such as building a community park, infrastructure, housing, health services, training, and small business and tourism development assistance.

Florida League of Cities - Financial and Technical Assistance for Florida Municipalities is a 346-page resource book that provides information on grants, loans, technical assistance and other resources available to Florida municipalities. The current edition is available in print and online.