Two new park grant funding programs were recently announced – the Regional Park Program (RPP) and the Rural Recreation & Tourism Program (RRTP), both funded by Proposition 68. HELIX can assist you in pursuing this revenue stream for your park and recreation projects. Each program has $23,125,000 in grant funds available.

About the Regional Park Program (RPP)
The RPP is intended to create, expand, and renovate regional parks. You may request up to $3 million per project with no match required. Applications are due November 5, 2021, so now is a great time to pick a project. Awards will be announced Spring 2022.

Am I eligible for the RPP?

This varies quite a bit from the other Prop 68 funded programs. The applicant must be a county, regional park, or open space district, open-space authority, joint powers authority (JPA) including a county or eligible district/authority, or a 501 c3 organization. The applicant cannot be a city.

Am I competitive for the RPP?
This is expected to be a very competitive grant process so it is important for your application to be well aligned to the objectives. There is a handy RPP table to help determine grant competitiveness available to you online.

Projects that will be more competitive for the RPP include:

• Projects creating a new multi-use trail or trail segment
• Project where at least 50% of the funds go toward recreation features (including trails)
• Projects adding a unique or high-demand recreational opportunity
• Projects with adequate design input, including at least two public engagement methods/meetings

About the Rural Recreation & Tourism Program (RRTP)
The second program, the RRTP, is intended to create new recreation features in support of economic, tourism, and health-related goals in rural areas. You may request up to $3 million per project with no match required for projects where the median household income is $56,982 for less within ½ mile of the site. Applications are due November 5, 2021 so it’s good to identify your projects now. Awards will be announced Spring 2022.

Am I eligible for the RRTP?
The applicant for the RRTP must be a city, county, or district. The project site must also be rural, meaning it is in a county with a population below 500,000 people and in a city/town/census designated place that has a population below 50,000 people. There are exceptions if the county has adopted state planning priorities to limit sprawl. The project must create a new recreation feature. This feature must be new to the city/town/census designated place, not just the site.