The Department of Conservation and Recreation is seeking applications for its Virginia Land Conservation Foundation (VLCF) Grant Program.
Donor Name: Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
State: Virginia
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 09/06/2022
Grant Size: $3,390,000
Details:
The Foundation administers the Fund for the purpose of providing grants to state agencies, other public bodies, and qualifying nonprofits to reimburse them for the costs associated with permanently conserving land throughout the Commonwealth, including the purchase of development rights.
The Virginia Land Conservation Foundation to fund protection of:
- Farmlands and forests
- Lands of historic or cultural significance
- Natural areas
- Open spaces and parklands
The Virginia Land Conservation Fund receives funding from the state’s annual budget. The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation provides staff and administrative support. An interagency taskforce reviews and recommends grant applications to the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation. Grant awards are based on applications for 50% or less of total project costs (state agencies may receive 100%) pursuant to specific criteria defined in each category.
Funding Information
Almost $15 million is available for land conservation in the following categories:
- Farmland Preservation $2,400,000
- Forest Preservation $2,800,000
- Historic Area Preservation $3,000,000
- Natural Area Protection $3,337,440
- Open Spaces and Parks $3,390,000
Eligibility Criteria
They welcome Virginia’s state and federally-recognized tribes to apply for VLCF grants. As tribal participation in the VLCF program presents a new paradigm in achieving perpetual land conservation in Virginia, they ask that state-recognized and federally recognized Virginia Indian Tribe applicants please contact staff to discuss your proposed project and planned means to conserve the land in perpetuity.
- Applications may be submitted by state agencies, localities, public bodies, state-recognized and federally recognized Virginia Indian Tribes and registered (tax-exempt) nonprofit organizations that qualify as a holder under Va. Code § 10.1-1009. Projects must protect land in perpetuity through acquisitions of property in fee simple, or recordation of a conservation easement and an open-space easement, or dedicated under the Open-Space Land Act.
- Applicants must demonstrate that the landowners have been notified and are receptive to the proposed project.
- Applicants must submit, as part of their application, a signed letter from all of the landowners indicating their willingness to conserve the property.
- The proposed project must be for specific property that meets the criteria for one or more of the five grant categories listed below. Applications that are not site-specific will not be considered.
- If the applicant uses the landowner’s surname in the name of the project, then they must first obtain the landowner’s permission. VLCF will use the project name provided in the application in public reports to the Governor and the General Assembly and press releases.
- A nonprofit organization seeking to hold an easement must provide documentation in their application that they meet the holder requirements in the Virginia Conservation Easement Act, Va. Code §§ 10.1-1009 to 10.1-1017.
For more information, visit Virginia Land Conservation Foundation.
