The Virginia Outdoors Foundation is seeking proposals for projects that provide new or expanded public access to open space, such as parks, preserves, trails, greenways, outdoor classrooms, beaches, and boat launches, as well as projects that protect exceptional natural and cultural resources for the benefit of the Commonwealth.
Donor Name: Virginia Outdoors Foundation
State: Virginia
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 08/07/2023
Size of the Grant: $1.7 million
Details:
Open-Space Lands Preservation Trust Fund (PTF) provides grants for acquisitions, easements, rights of way, and other methods of protecting open space for farming, forestry, recreation, wildlife, water quality, and more. In most cases, a right, privilege, or interest in real estate must be conveyed to either VOF or a locality, pursuant to Virginia’s Open-Space Land Act, to be eligible for PTF funding.
Land Protection Partnership
Permanent land protection is a required component of the Preservation Trust Fund, with the legislative language specifying that in most cases, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation or a locality must take a real estate interest in a properties. Usually, the preferred applicant or land protection partner is the locality.
A Preservation Trust Fund grant award may be given to an applicant without a confirmed land protection partner. Grant recipients without the required partner may accept the grant award and use the two-year grant lifespan to develop the necessary partnership. No funds may be disbursed until the real estate interest is conveyed.
Project Prioritization
- While VOF is offering grant awards for both public access and exceptional natural and cultural resource protection projects, VOF is prioritizing those projects where the interest in real estate includes a provision to provide access to the property by the public. Successful proposals will protect and preserve open green space.
- Funding for resource protection easements will be prioritized for those projects that show exceptional characteristics in the following categories: historic and cultural, water quality, scenic and open space, habitat, agriculture and forestry, and policy alignment. Deed restrictions will protect the highest conservation values of a property.
Funding Information
There is $1.7 million available for the first fiscal year 2024 grant round.
Eligible Costs
PTF grants may pay for any costs that are associated with the conveyance of an interest, right, or privilege in open space to VOF or a locality, including fee-simple acquisition, development rights, public access rights of way, leases, legal costs, and survey costs. Components critical for public use of the land may also be included in the grant request such as infrastructure and the associated necessary engineering, design, and planning. While infrastructure is an eligible cost, impervious surface will be capped, and project sites that are currently predominantly hardscape or are intended to be predominately hardscape are not good candidates for PTF funding.
Eligibility Criteria
PTF grants may be awarded to any person, organization, or locality with a real estate interest to convey on either public or private land. Land already under locality ownership may be eligible for PTF funding as long as the parcel is not already protected through certain existing deed restrictions.
For more information, visit VOF.
