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Financing

Financing

Click on the titles below to view the specific objective on the "Financing" page.

Cost Estimates

Lynchburg

Cost estimates courtesy of Park Services Manager, Lynchburg Parks & Recreation Department:

  • Total cost, 10 ft wide multi-use trail:
    • Aggregate surface - $65,000/mile
    • Asphalt surface - $175,000/mile
    • Concrete surface - $250,000/mile
    • Maintenance (not including snow removal) - $12,685/mile

  • Cost breakdown estimate:
    • Planning - 2%
    • Preliminary design - 2%
    • Construction documents - 5%
    • Construction management/inspection - 5%
    • Project administration - 5%
    • Construction - 81%

  • Amenities:
    • Bridge – New: $125 – $165/sq ft
    • Bridge – Re-decking: $75 – $90/sq ft

James City County

From the James City County Greenway Master Plan (June 25, 2002), Section 9.9 - Cost Estimates:

Cost Estimates for Trail Construction

Width

Unit cost*

Soft surface/natural, typical

6'

$5.00 LF

Greensprings Trail - gravel/natural surfaces

5-6'

$5.31 LF

Gravel trail surface w/easy access

6'

$10-12 LF

Gravel trail surface w/difficult access

6'

$18.50 LF

Greensprings Trail/all surfaces

5-6'

$17.85 LF**

Asphalt trails

6'

$17.00 LF

Asphalt multiuse trails

8-10'

$25.00 LF

Sidewalks 4" concrete

4'

$31-36 LF

Puncheons

6'

$67.00 LF

Boardwalk on piles

6'

$125.00 LF

(Note: These costs vary depending upon terrain, other environmental factors, economies of scale, etc.)
*Installed costs do not include design, engineering, project management or land acquisition.
**These numbers reflect historical costs for all improvements on the Greensprings Trail.

This plan can be found online at: www.james-city.va.us/communityservices/greenways-master.html

Roanoke

From the 2007 Update to the Roanoke Valley Conceptual Greenway Plan (approved May 23, 2007), Section 4.5.10 - Funding:

"Construction costs for greenways have increased dramatically in the last five years and are expected to continue to do so. Costs vary depending on the trail surface and the terrain. Volunteers can build natural surface trails at minimal cost. Class B trails with cinder surface cost $40,000-$100,000/ mile. Paved greenways in urban areas have ranged from $150,000-$800,000/mile. Bridges increase those costs. The Roanoke River Greenway alone is projected to cost $30 million."

This plan can be found online at: www.rvarc.org/greenways/

Go to the Objective list at top

Community Partnerships

Working with property owners, developers and realtors

  • Encourage owners of homes, businesses and land adjacent to your greenway to meet or communicate regularly. They can report on greenway use and activity, collaborate on promotional events, identify useful greenway benefits and discuss any concerns.
  • Identify developers or industrial park boards that might be able to donate right-of-way along old or newly developed property.
  • Encourage local realtors to promote the greenway as an asset to homes and businesses adjacent or close to it.

Creating a Community Resource Team (CRT)

  • Utilize the expertise and services of local professionals.
  • Identify area professionals with technical expertise and request pro bono services (e.g., attorneys, engineers, landscape architects, public relations specialists, graphic artists, etc.).
  • Identify suppliers and request donated or reduced cost materials (e.g., paper, awards) and services (e.g., printing, facilities).
  • Identify construction companies and request donated or reduced cost equipment and assistance.

Awards and Recognition

  • Provide gifts such as t-shirts, pencils or bags that show an individual is a greenway supporter.
  • Remember to honor substantial donations, volunteer efforts, and lifetime "Friends of the Greenway" members, with some sort of tribute (e.g., a plaque or flagstone) located along the greenway.
  • Host an Executive Picnic to honor corporate supporters.

    • Go to the Objective list at top

Greenway Themes

Health and Fitness

Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center (WWRC) STAR Trail

  • WWRC, a state owned and operated comprehensive rehabilitation center, is in the process of building a 3,500-foot (0.66 mile) fitness and mobility trail, called the WWRC STAR (Supporting Therapeutic Access to Recreation) Trail. The trail, traversing the scenic woodlands surrounding the WWRC Lake area, is the first phase in a long-range plan for creating a universally-designed community trail system to offer recreational and active living options for all potential users within the Augusta County area.
  • The trail was planned primarily by the Center’s Physical Therapy Director and Physical Plant Director, as well as by external consultants from the Recreational Trails Program, Department of Forestry, National Park Service and the National Center on Accessibility at Indiana University. The Center’s Physical Plant staff has begun construction of the crushed stone trail. A prefabricated fiberglass bridge will cross to an island on the lake.
  • Environmental assessments by four different state departments were required to move forward with construction. The plan had to make adjustments to account for the Loggerhead shrike, an endangered species of bird found within close proximity to the trail site.
  • A Recreational Trails Program grant will provide $49,332 to complete construction. Matching funds requirements were met with in-kind donations of time from Center staff, as well as private donations and grants from various sources. The Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center Foundation provided $3,500. The Christopher Reeve Foundation (www.christopherreeve.org) granted $3,300, which was matched by $3,000 from the WWRC Student Government Association. A grant for $10,700 from the Augusta Health Center Community Health Foundation provided six outdoor exercise stations for an area to which the fitness trail will connect. Private citizens donated $8,000 in memory of a former client of the Center, and a current WWRC client provided another $1,000.

LifeNet Donor Family Greenway Memorial - Roanoke, VA

  • The Donor Family Greenway Memorial, funded by the LifeNet Foundation, is an area developed along the Wiley Drive Greenway in Roanoke (near Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital and the LifeNet office) to be a public memorial for organ and tissue donors.
  • The cost was $5,500 to the Foundation for a 10-year lease on the dedicated land.
  • The LifeNet Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization created in April 2001 to raise funds to support organ and tissue donation education and the donation process. The Foundation grew out of LifeNet's Memorial Fund. “LifeNet is an organ recovery agency serving most of the Commonwealth of Virginia and parts of North Carolina and West Virginia. LifeNet is also one of the largest non-profit full-service tissue banks in the United States, providing 20% of the nation's human tissue.”

Medical Mile - Arkansas River Trail - Little Rock, AR

  • The Arkansas River Trail is an accomplishment of the Tributary Partnership of the Arkansas River Trail Project. One section of the trail, called the “Medical Mile,” is an outdoor health museum, with signage promoting lifestyle changes and wellness opportunities. Its major goals are to promote exercise and good nutrition and to combat smoking.
  • The project grew out of a collaborative effort by the National Park Service Rivers Trails and Conservation Assistance Program, Heart Clinic Arkansas and Little Rock Parks and Recreation. The State Department of Health developed the project theme.
  • The Heart Clinic Arkansas pledged $350,000, and a group of physicians supported the cause with personal donations and fundraising efforts. The original goal was to raise $350,000 in 3 months, but they raised $2.1 million in two years.
  • For more information, see: http://www.americantrails.org/resources/health/medmile06.html.

Art

  • Invite a local professional or school theater troupe to put on a performance to raise money for greenways. The performance can be "on location" on greenway land to raise awareness and funds, or it could be part of a combined outdoor/arts education program.
  • Have a local service group or school class use recycled materials to make an archway or other sort of entrance to a section of the greenway.
  • Create an “art walk” or sculpture garden. As a form of donation, ask local arts patrons to commission artists to create sculpture or other outdoor artwork for a section of the trail. An article on the American Trails website shows work by Pam Siegler that incorporates musical instruments into a natural setting.
  • Paint a mural on the pavement of a paved trail.
  • Provide guided access to sites used by local or regional artists in their work, or focus a trail as a setting for artists to create by providing workspaces overlooking scenic locations and landscapes. The Hudson River School Art Trail in Catskill, NY, is a project of Cedar Grove, the Thomas Cole National Historic Site. The Trail maps sites that inspired great landscape paintings of the Hudson River School artists.
  • The Concord River Greenway in Lowell, MA, is a planned 1.75-mile multi-use trail (with both paved and natural sections) along the bank of the Concord River. The Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust is a private nonprofit land trust helping to build and manage this Greenway. A Public Art Plan for the Greenway, developed by artists Mags Harries and Lajos Heder, identifies general design principles and opportunities for incorporating art along the greenway. Art & Community Landscapes (a partnership of the New England Foundation for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Park Service) has commissioned an artist to work with the Greenway engineering/landscape architecture team to “incorporate thematic elements in the actual design of bridges and gateways.” The Public Art Plan (published December 2006) contains photographic examples of public art projects that might be suitable for a greenway.

Recycled/Sustainable

  • Request recycled, surplus or waste materials from local home and garden businesses, concrete producers, metal fabricators, quarries, building suppliers, junk and scrap services, etc.

  • The Swift Creek Greenway in Cary, NC, is made primarily of recycled materials donated by local businesses.
    • Cary built the 0.9-mile Swift Creek Greenway between 1991 and 1994. It was the first greenway in the U.S. to be built using primarily recycled materials.
    • This greenway made use of recycled materials for facility development, including plastic lumber made from recycled milk jugs, soda bottles, polystyrene and other post-consumer waste.
    • The greenway developed from a public-private partnership that included 5 public agencies and 20 private companies. Greenways, Inc., served as project planner, designer and coordinator on the concept.

Environmental Education

  • Create a section of greenway devoted to outdoor environmental education. Consider demonstrating environmental best management practices for such purposes as stormwater management and pollution filtration. Provide information to the public on all demonstration sites.

  • Knightdale Environmental Education Park – Knightdale, NC
    “Working closely with the town, HSMM developed a Master Plan and design documents for the 8-acre park that includes a trail system to interconnect the town municipal buildings and elementary school and offers a variety of outdoor classroom areas along the trail. In addition to the new trails, the park includes information kiosks, learning stations, benches, picnic tables, docks, wetland boardwalks, and observation platforms. Designed to educate the community in wetlands plants, wildlife, and water quality issues, the park offers a variety of interesting things to see and do as visitors explore the system of trails. Visitors can access the environmental park from several locations and observe storm water entering the park, filtering through the wetlands to the pond, and exiting into a large wetlands area.”

Go to the Objective list at top

Fundraising and Promotional Ideas

Festival

Greenway and Trails Festival

  • Invite local organizations and groups to display along one section of greenway or on a potential trail site.
  • Set up an entertainment schedule and a speaker platform at the festival site.
  • Include activities for children and families.
  • Example: Friends of Greenville Greenways (FROGGS) holds a Greenway Fun Day around Earth Day. Events have included a treasure hunt, three-legged race, tug-of-war, face painting by local sorority members, poster displays by high school students, live music, speakers, signage with information about local trees and a snake display by a park Science & Nature Center employee.

Leasing Land

Lease land along the trail to adjacent landowners and area citizens.

  • Gardening, storage, and parking are all valid leasing purposes (although the effects of each these on the greenway should be carefully considered).
  • Involve the community in gardening, landscaping and maintenance efforts along the greenway.
  • Partner with area garden clubs and nurseries to inspire volunteers to maintain a garden or landscape feature along the greenway.

Competitive Events

Competition and skills-building event

  • Invite area corporations to send teams of employees to a local open space site to participate in various challenges and strategy games. Proceeds from fees to participate can fund greenway and trail implementation.
  • Example: Fairfax County Parks Foundation in Virginia has held two Corporate Farm Olympics at Frying Pan Farm Park, a working farm managed by the County Parks Authority.
    • The first year ten companies each paid $1,000 to send teams of 8-10 employees. In 2007, twelve companies each paid $1,500 to send teams.
    • Teams were solicited to participate the first year using hand-delivered promotional items and letters. The next year the Foundation sent brief videos of the previous event on DVD.
    • Participating teams face strategy challenges, including scavenger hunts and relays, and build permanent infrastructure needed by the event location (e.g., a fence, or a bench with a corporate logo on it).
    • Costs ran to approximately $3,500 and included primarily t-shirts, water and snacks. Panera Bread donated lunch (approximately $1,500).
    • The Foundation raised approximately $12,500 in 2007 and has established relationships with area corporations (including recruiting board members and receiving status as focus charity of the year from one company).
    • A core planning group of 4 – 5 staff begins planning the event six months in advance and receives assistance from up to 50 volunteers.
    • Contact: Bob Brennan, Executive Director, Fairfax County Park Foundation, 12055 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax, VA 22035, 703-324-8581, Robert.Brennan@fairfaxcounty.gov.

Cleanups

Stream or greenway cleanup

  • Gather volunteers once or twice a year to provide trail maintenance.
  • Clear debris, paint park benches, remove invasive species, fix decking on bridges, etc.
  • Report items found on during the cleanup on the greenway website to raise awareness of pollution issues.
  • Test water quality or report results on stream health while volunteers are gathered.
  • Example: The City of Harrisonburg, VA, holds an annual stream cleanup for Blacks Run in conjunction with various community groups, including the Friends of Blacks Run Greenway (FBRG).

Athletic events

  • Hold promotional walks with a theme (e.g., birding, Halloween, experience nature).
  • Set up a bicycle ride or race for the greenway. Consider having cyclists request donations in support of their participation in the ride or race.
  • Hold an annual golf tournament to raise money for the greenway organization.
  • Hold a Fun Run, 5K, or triathlon, and donate a portion of the entry fees to the greenway.
  • Example: The General Smallwood Triathlon in Charles County, MD, gives a portion of the proceeds from the race to a volunteer organization dedicated to the grounds of the state park where the triathlon takes place. The triathlon group gave over $6,000 to the park, park volunteers and other volunteer groups in 2006.

Adopt a Trail

Adopt-a-Trail program

  • Give individuals and organizations the opportunity to sponsor or “own” a section of trail.
  • Seek sponsorship for various lengths of trail—one mile or one square foot are common. Offer as small as one square inch ($1 to $2) to give everyone, especially children and youth, the chance to participate.
  • Offer sponsorship for one-year periods, or offer lifetime ownership for a larger donation.
  • Ask “owners” to clean their section of trail at least twice a year.

Memorial Contributions

  • Allow individuals or groups to honor a loved one with the donation of a tree. Roanoke, VA, has a Commemorative Tree Program that has planted 47 trees since 2003. A brochure describes the program, which is run by the City’s Urban Forester. Trees donations cost $250.

Holiday Gala

  • Invite a prominent greenway speaker to headline the event.
  • Solicit new membership at the event as part of the ticket price.
  • Hold an auction around gift-giving season.

Animal-Related Events

  • Pets Parade – Partner with SPCA or local pet store to showcase their animals and raise funds for the greenway. SPCA already has a “Pets in the Park” meeting at Gypsy Hill park.
  • Paw Pavers – Sell pavers shaped like paws to commemorate pets along greenway trail.
  • Dog “Bark” Park – Seek funding to establish an off-leash, pet-friendly enclosure along one section of the greenway.

Raffle

  • Request donation of greenway-related outdoor equipment (e.g., a new bicycle, jogging stroller, roller blades).
  • Offer raffle tickets for the items. Consider limiting the number of tickets sold, but asking for a premium price.

    • Go to the Objective list at top

Grants
Public - State and Federal

EPA
Five-Star Restoration Program

  • www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/restore/5star/
  • Amount: $5,000 - $20,000. In FY07, the program allocated approximately $641,000 to 43 restoration projects. Grants ranged from $4,425 to $20,000. The average grant was approximately $14,800. No grants were allocated to projects in Virginia.
  • Deadline: Estimated between March and June 2008. The application for FY07 is online: http://www.nfwf.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Browse_All_Programs&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=4267 .
  • Eligibility: Partnerships, including nonprofits, corporations, schools, community organizations, and public agencies.
  • Contact: Myra Price, USEPA Wetlands Division, Room 6105 (4502 T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20410, 202-566-1225, price.myra@epa.gov.
  • Overview: The Five-Star program brings together diverse partners to provide environmental education and training through projects that restore streams and wetlands. The program provides challenge grants, technical support and information exchange to enable community-based projects.
  • Status: For 2003-2007, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) conducted the Five-Star Restoration Program with support from the National Association of Counties (NACO), the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC), and Southern Company. As of October 2007, an RFP to determine which organization will conduct the program has not yet been posted by EPA. Consequently, EPA anticipates that the open and close of the 2008 grant cycle will be delayed past March 2008.
  • Criteria: Broad and diverse partnership (five or more partners), opportunities for students and at-risk youth, strong and measurable ecological benefits, demonstrated social and economic benefit to the community, leveraging of funds from partner organizations (preferred). Other federal dollars cannot count as matching funds.
  • Uses: Restoration projects (re-establish native species, restore former hydrology, remove invasive species (controlled burns, herbicide treatments), site-based education, use of a greenhouse, seed collecting, water quality monitoring, leveling and hardening with aggregates, field studies). Funds should go directly to restoration and education expenses. This includes salary and benefits for staff (up to 50% of the amount requested), but it does not include constructed trail materials.
  • Examples: In Union County, OR, Oregon Youth Conservation Corps plan to install signage along 2.1 miles of recreational trail in 1,500 acres of newly created wetlands. Partners in Whitfield County, GA, will create a boardwalk, interpretive signs and a stewardship-mentoring program for the Varnell Springs Community Educational Outreach Trail as part of a project to restore and protect three acres of limestone springs. And the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and its partners plan to construct sidewalks, observation platforms and a nature trail along with seven acres of oyster reef habitat and 14 acres of salt marsh along the shoreline of Pensacola Bay.

FHWA

    Transportation Enhancements

    VA Department of Transportation (VDOT)
    Transportation Enhancement Program

    • www.virginiadot.org/projects/pr-enhancegrants.asp
    • VDOT administers the FHWA and FTA TE program in Virginia (www.virginiadot.org/projects/pr-enhancegrants.asp). The TE program provides reimbursement grants that require a 20% match by the project sponsor.
    • Amount: FY 2007–2008 saw $17.212 million in funds awarded in Virginia, in amounts between $40,000 and $1,000,000 (many TE grants were between $100,000 and $400,000). Applications were submitted for approximately $29.79 million.
    • Deadline: November 1, 2007, for FY 2008–2009.
    • Eligibility: Local governments, state and federal agencies. Non-profit groups may apply, but are required to “partner” with a local government to sponsor their project and guide them through the development process.
    • Contact: VDOT Local Assistance Division for technical assistance: 800-444-7832, enhancementprogram@vdot.virginia.gov. The application is online in Word format. Overview: TE projects are intended to improve non-motorized transportation and integrate transportation into communities and the environment. TE funds, once awarded, require early involvement by VDOT in the planning process and hiring of consultants. An application submitted early is likely to survive the many schedule changes seen in greenway projects.

      • Criteria:

      • Uses: Projects must relate to surface transportation in function, proximity or impact (see the Enhancement Program Procedure Manual (March 2005) online) and be one of 12 designated activities. These activities include: Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities (e.g., sidewalks, crosswalks, trails, bicycle lanes, pedestrian bridges), Landscaping and Scenic Beautification (e.g., lighting, street furniture, gateways), Environmental Mitigation of Runoff Pollution and Provision of Wildlife Connectivity (e.g., detention basins, channel stabilization, river clean-ups, wildlife impact monitoring and data collection).
      • TE funds may be used for some assessments, but are often not allowable for basic National Environmental Quality Act (NEPA) requirements. It is difficult to find funding to meet NEPA requirements as part of environmental assessments. These funds likely will need to be allocated by the City. TE will not reimburse for any construction performed before a NEPA document is complete. Visit www.virginiadot.org/business/default.asp for information regarding “Environmental Requirements for Transportation Enhancement Projects.”
      • Example: In this latest grant round, the Frontier Culture Museum was awarded $206,000 to construct the multi-use Wallace Mill Bridge Environmental Education Trail. The trail is planned as two loops connected by the historic Wallace Mill iron bridge (which will be restored during the project). Total project cost was estimated at $560,365, and the museum requested $448,292 from the TE program. Contact Eric Bryan, Deputy Director, Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia, PO Box 810, Staunton, VA 22402, 540-332-7850 x135, eric.bryan@fcmv.virginia.gov.

    Safe Routes to Schools

    • http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/saferoutes/index.htm
    • Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)
    • Virginia Safe Routes to Schools (SRTS) – Program and Project Grants
    • www.vdot.virginia.gov/programs/ted_Rt2_school_pro.asp
    • Amount: The VA SRTS program has approximately $13.5 million for FY 2005 – FY 2009.
    • Deadline: End of June and end of December 2008.
    • Eligibility: Community organizations and nonprofits as co-applicants with a school, local public works or transportation authority as co-applicant for project grants. Project grants require a resolution of support from local government.
    • Contact: Jakob Hemboldt, Interim SRTS Coordinator, Safe Routes to Schools National Partnership www.saferoutesinfo.org.
    • Overview: Created by section 1404 of SAFETEA-LU in 2005 to improve the ability of primary and middle school students to walk and bicycle safely to school.

      • Criteria:

      • Uses: Program Grants are to develop documented SRTS plans and programs at schools. Project Grants are to provide infrastructure improvements within a two-mile radius of targeted schools. No local match is required, but an approved SRTS plan must be in place and documented for a sponsor to be eligible for Project Grants.
      • Examples: Augusta County Board of Supervisors – Scholastic Way Project (applied in 2006)? Also, Harrisonburg has received $200,000 to implement a SRTS project.
      • Attend: SRTS 1st National Conference, Monday, November 5 – Wednesday, November 7, Dearborn, MI. Registration fee is $190 is received before October 10, $290 if received after that date.

    Transportation, Community and Systems Preservation

    Transportation, Community and System Preservation (TCSP) Program

    • www.fhwa.dot.gov/tcsp
    • Amount: Actual funding levels vary based on annual appropriations by Congress. Authorized funding is $61.25 million a year for 2005 – 2009. In FY 2006, funding totaling $51.9 million was awarded to 94 projects. Approximately $56 million was available for obligation to TCSP projects in FY 2007, and Congress did not earmark TCSP funds for the first time since FY 2000. In the competitive award process, the VA Division of FHWA received just over 20 applications. Harrisonburg has an application for a citywide bike plan pending and an Arboretum Bicycle Pedestrian Trail. In October, $55 million was allocated to just seven projects in six states. This was a distinct programmatic change, guided by directives of the DOT’s Urban Partnership and Corridors of the Future Congestion Initiatives.
    • Deadline: The grant round for FY07 opened in January 2007 and closed April 30, 2007.
    • Eligibility: States, MPOs, and local and tribal governments.
    • Contact: Ivan Rucker, Community Planner, Virginia Division (FHWA) and Virginia Field Coordinator for TCSP, 400 North 8th Street, Suite 750, Richmond, VA 23219, 804-775-3336, ivan.rucker@dot.gov. Also, Kenneth Petty, DOT Office of Planning, Environment and Realty, 202-366-6654, kenneth.petty@dot.gov.
    • Overview: The TCSP program “provides funding for a comprehensive initiative…to investigate and address the relationships between transportation and community and system preservation and to identify private sector-based initiatives.” It is authorized under Section 1117 of SAFETEA: LU, and it is administered by FHWA. “Individual TCSP Program projects can be administered by either FHWA Divisions, State Departments of Transportation, or in special cases other Federal DOT agencies.”
    • Criteria: Projects involving partnerships among public and private sectors are given priority. Should address safety and congestion reduction criteria
    • Uses: Planning, implementation and research grants for projects that reduce impacts of transportation on the environment, reduce the need for costly future infrastructure investments, and improve the efficiency of the transportation system. In March 2007, project applicants were required to submit a statement specifically addressing the role the project would play in reducing highway congestion and improving highway safety.
    • Examples: In FY06, Fort Eustis, VA, received $732,105 for gateway improvements. The Fort Eustis project was the only TCSP project funded in Virginia that fiscal year. The Winooski East Bicycle and Pedestrian Path in Vermont received $129,195 that same fiscal year. In FY05, the only TCSP project funded in Virginia was the Culpeper Regional Airport Project—awarded $932,976.

    Recreational Trail Program

    National Recreational Trail Program

    • www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/rectrails

    Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR)
    Virginia Recreational Trails Fund Program

    • Website: www.dcr.virginia.gov/recreational_planning/trailfnd.shtml
    • Amount: $20,000 – $100,000. The program is schedule to receive $80,000,000 for FY 2008 and $85,000,000 for FY 2009 under current legislation.
    • Deadline: There might be a small, shortened grant cycle before the end of 2007 ($50,000 - $100,00) and there should be a full grant cycle approximately mid-February, 2008.
    • Eligibility: Municipalities, state agencies, Indian tribal governments, non-profit organizations.
    • Contact: Synthia Waymack, Grant Administrator, Planning and Recreation Resources, DCR, 203 Governor Street, Suite 326, Richmond, VA 23219, 804-786-4379, synthia.waymack@dcr.virginia.gov.
    • Overview: The Recreational Trail Program provides funding for recreational trails and trail related facilities for motorized and non-motorized recreational uses. This is a reimbursable program at 80%. See the Coalition for Recreational Trails (Appendix C) for a searchable database of RTP projects online.
    • Criteria: Projects are scored according to level of adherence to various criteria, including addressing needs identified in the Virginia Outdoors Plan, number of uses supported, partnership with local heath community to develop programmatic use of trail for health and prevention purposes, evidence of local support, facilitation of access for users with disabilities, etc.
    • Uses: Construction of new trails, new trailhead facilities, redesign, reconstruction, non-routine maintenance and/or rehabilitation or relocation of existing trails. Structure design or engineering, or GPS mapping when included with trail development, accessibility improvements, acquisition of easements, and acquisition of fee-simple title to trail right-of-way.
    • Examples: FY 2007 projects awarded
      • Shenandoah Mountain Bike Club - North River [Ranger District] Trail Enhancement Project – $98,001
      • Town of Luray - Hawksbill Greenway – $40,000
      • Colonial Heights – Appomattox River Greenway Trail – $100,000
      • Town of Blacksburg – Ellect Valley Loop Trail System – $100,000
      • Harrisonburg – Hillandale Park Mountain Bike Trails – $30,000
      • Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center – STAR Trail – $49,332

NPS - Land and Water Conservation Fund

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR)
Virginia Outdoors Fund (VOF) Grant Program

  • www.dcr.virginia.gov/recreational_planning/vof.shtml
  • Amount: $50,000 – $100,000 (total project cost $100,000 – $200,000). Of just under $28 million dedicated for FY 2007, Virginia was apportioned $615,971. Approximately $300,000 is available for the grant round in November 2007.
  • Deadline: November 2, 2007
  • Eligibility: “All cities, towns, counties, eligible state agencies, and other public authorities responsible for providing public recreation services under the Code of Virginia…Private and non-profit organizations are not eligible.”
  • Contact: Synthia Waymack, Grant Administrator, Planning and Recreation Resources, DCR, 203 Governor Street, Suite 326, Richmond, VA 23219, 804-786-4379, synthia.waymack@dcr.virginia.gov.
  • Overview: Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) monies from the National Park Service are disbursed via the Virginia Outdoors Fund (VOF) Grant Program. The VOF Grant Program provides 50% matching grants to local governments for the planning, acquisition, development and redevelopment of public outdoor recreation areas and facilities. The sponsoring agency for a project should be capable of financing the project while requesting periodic reimbursement.
  • Criteria: Proposals submitted should meet the recreational needs identified in the State of Virginia Outdoors Plan (VOP). The 2007 grant round will focus on projects that add new acres of outdoor recreation space to the Virginia Recreational Inventory.
  • Uses: Development projects, including basic outdoor recreation facilities such as trails, picnic areas, playgrounds, boating facilities, swimming areas, comfort stations, parking areas, maintenance and office spaces for project facilities.
  • Examples: One recent successful project in Virginia was a community park—with trails for walking and bicycling—in the Town of Louisa in Louisa County. This project received $85,425 in funding via LWCF. Staunton has received two grants from LWCF funds. Both were Type D (Development or Redevelopment) grants. One was allocated between 1975 and 1979 ($207,075) for Montgomery Hall Park, and one was allocated between 1987 and 1989 ($220,350) for the Gypsy Hill Pool.

USFS - Urban and Community Forestry

U.S. Forest Service (USFS)
VA Department of Forestry (DOF)
Urban and Community Forestry (UCF) Assistance Grants

  • Website: www.dof.virginia.gov/urban/index.shtml
  • Amount: Not specified.
  • Deadline: The last grant round closed May 11, 2007.
  • Contact: UCF State Coordinator Paul Revell, 434-977-6555, revellp@dof.state.va.us.
  • Overview: The niche VDOF has filled is that of providing seed money for conceptual planning and design. VDOF is unsure of what its budget will be for the next fiscal year. The Forest Service is in the process of changing its funding delivery mechanism. In the past, states have received an allocation of Forest Service funds, and VDOF guided a portion of the funds to environmental projects such as greenways. Now states will begin competing for funds, a change that will be phased in over five years. VDOF plans to include a greenway component in its application for funding next year. The RFP for the last grant round is available online at: www.dof.virginia.gov/info/index-finance-assist.shtml.

Virginia Tech College of Architecture and Urban Studies (CAUS)
Community Design Assistance Center (CDAC)

  • Website: http://cdac.arch.vt.edu/
  • Amount: Approximately $5,000 - $7,500. DOF provides approximately $25,000 - $30,000 each year to CDAC to assist four to five communities.
  • Deadline: Contact UCF and CDAC immediately, as the Center is preparing its annual work plan.
  • Contact: Elizabeth Gilboy, CDAC Director, 540-231-5644, egilboy@vt.edu.
  • Overview: The DOF funds assist communities via the Healthy Living by Design program. This program provides planning and design assistance to communities and non-profit organizations unable to afford or unprepared to engage the services of a private consultant.

NEA

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
Challenge America Fast Track Grants

  • Website: www.nea.gov/grants/apply/GAP08/Challenge.html
  • Amount: $10,000
  • Deadline: June 1, 2007 for FY 2008.
  • Eligibility: Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), U.S. organizations; units of state or local government. Organizations with operating budgets of greater than $50,000 that have previously applied for public funds preferred.
  • Overview: To extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations. An excellent opportunity to incorporate the arts into greenways and trails.
  • Criteria: Involvement of professionally trained, experienced artists and arts professionals is critical. The project will be reviewed for artistic excellence and merit.
  • Contact: Specialist, National Endowment for the Arts, Nancy Hanks Center, Room 726, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20506-0001, 202-682-5700.
  • Uses: Arts event with one or more guest artists (including guest fees, public relations, documentation and program enhancements), public art projects (such a murals, sculpture, or environmental art) developed through community involvement, civic design activities (such as design competitions, charrettes, or feasibility plans for the renovation, restoration, or adaptive reuse of facilities or spaces for cultural activities, and projects that enhance cultural tourism or cultural districts through the unified promotion of community-wide arts activities and resources.
  • Examples: The Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington, IN, received a grant in 2007 to “support the Crestmont Boys and Girls Club’s design of a public art work, the Bike Archway Project. Youth, parents, and residents of Crestmont, a public housing neighborhood, will work with professional artist Joe LeMantia to create a large scale sculpture using recycled scrap metal.”

VA DEQ – Virginia Naturally Grants

Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ)
Office of Environmental Education - Virginia Naturally

  • Website: www.vanaturally.com
  • Virginia Naturally is the official environmental education initiative of the Commonwealth. The website is a gateway to “organizations which provide environmental education programs and services in Virginia, including volunteer and funding opportunities…conferences, and community events…”

Classroom Grants

  • Amount: $500, $750, $1,000
  • Deadline: September 15
  • Eligibility: Any school or school division.
  • Overview: Virginia Resource Use Education Council (VRUEC), Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and the Virginia Environmental Endowment (VEE) sponsor this program to provide teachers with small amounts of money for the purpose of conducting meaningful outdoor experiences with their students.
  • Criteria: Meet the definition of a "meaningful watershed educational experience," are new or greatly enhanced, reach minority or under-served communities, build partnerships with local community organizations, reach a large number of students (~100) or have an extended implementation period, show evidence of commitment or capacity-building.
  • Uses: Restoration, enhancement, protection and monitoring projects; investigative or experimental design activities.

Partner Grants

  • Amount: $1,000 - $5,000
  • Deadline: September 7
  • Eligibility: Community groups
  • Overview: Help community groups build capacity for delivering and sustaining high quality, meaningful environmental education related to water and watersheds.
  • Criteria: Must be connected to or include Chesapeake Bay education, meet the definition of "meaningful"
  • Uses: Equipment and non-consumable supplies (no give-aways), compensation to an educator for training of organization staff and/or volunteers.

    • Go to the Objective list at top

Grants
Private and Nonprofit

National

American Hiking Society - National Trails Fund

  • Website: www.americanhiking.org/alliance/fund.html.
  • Amount: $500 - $5,000.
  • Deadline: November 1, 2007 for 2008 grants.
  • Eligibility: Nonprofits.
  • Contact: Ivan Levin, Trail Programs Manager, 1422 Fenwick Lane, Silver Spring, MD 20910, 301-565-6704 ext. 208, ILevin@AmericanHiking.org.
  • Overview: The National Trails Fund, established in 1998, is “the only privately supported national grants program providing funding to grassroots organizations working toward establishing, protecting and maintaining foot trails in America.”
  • Criteria: Although AHS prefers to fund projects that have hikers as the primary constituency, “all human powered trail uses are applicable.”
  • Uses: Land acquisition (preferred), acquiring conservation easements, trail facility, improvements to existing trail, new trail, constituency building, etc.
  • Examples: The Palmetto Conservation Foundation was among 15 recipients of grants during the 2007 grant cycle. The Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to conserving South Carolina’s natural and cultural resources, and promoting outdoor recreation with trails and greenways. PCF received money for a project to build bridges and trail to connect to an existing trail.

Bikes Belong Coalition

  • Website: www.bikesbelong.org
  • Amount: $180,000 in cash grants awarded each year.
  • Deadline: Postmarked by November 26, 2007; Committee decision by January 31, 2008.
  • Eligibility: Nonprofit organizations with missions that are bicycle or trail specific. Public agencies and departments at the national, state, regional, and local levels. Municipalities are encouraged to align with a local bicycle advocacy group.
  • Contact: Elizabeth Train, Bikes Belong Grants & Research Director, 1920 13th Street, Suite A, Boulder, CO 80302, 303-449-4893 x3, elizabeth@bikesbelong.org.
  • Overview: “The Bikes Belong Grants Program strives to put more people on bicycles more often by funding important and influential projects that leverage federal funding and build momentum for bicycling in communities across the U.S. Since 1999, Bikes Belong has awarded 150 grants to municipalities and grassroots groups in 42 states and the District of Columbia, investing more than $1.2 million in community bicycling projects and leveraging more than $450 million in federal, state, and private funding.”
  • Criteria: Encourage ridership growth, support bicycle advocacy, promote bicycling, build political support, everage funding, and serve diverse regions/populations.
  • Uses: Facility projects, including bike paths, trails, routes, and lanes. Bikes Belong will not fund general operating costs, planning and policy documents, amenities (such as signs, maps, information kiosks, benches, and restroom facilities), events, or projects in which Bikes Belong is the sole funder (they will consider being the initial funder).
  • Examples: In 2001, the Marin County Bicycle Coalition (MCBC) received a Bikes Belong grant “to help develop the North–South Greenway, a commuting and recreation route just north of San Francisco. The route combines bike lanes and paths to connect transit centers, downtown districts, workplaces, schools, and residential areas…the project is an integral part of Marin’s Safer Routes to School infrastructure.”

Captain Planet Foundation

  • Website: http://captainplanetfoundation.org
  • Amount: $250-$2,500
  • Deadline: March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31. Use online application.
  • Eligibility: “All applicant organizations or sponsoring agencies must be exempt from federal taxation under the Internal Revenue Code Section 501, in order to be eligible for funding (this includes most schools and non-profit organizations).”
  • Contact: 133 Luckie Street, 2nd Floor, Atlanta, GA 30303, 404-522-4270.
  • Overview: “The mission of the Captain Planet Foundation is to fund and support hands-on, environmental projects for children and youths. [The Foundation’s] objective is to encourage innovative programs that empower children and youth around the world to work individually and collectively to solve environmental problems in their neighborhoods and communities.”
  • Criteria: Proposals must “promote understanding of environmental issues, focus on hands-on involvement, involve children and young adults 6-18 (elementary through high school), promote interaction and cooperation within the group, help young people develop planning and problem solving skills, include adult supervision, commit to follow-up communication with the Foundation…”
  • Uses: Other relevant projects that have received funding have focused on water/stream quality testing and analysis and reforestation and wetlands restoration.
  • Examples: At the Fuqua School in Farmville, VA, the ecology club constructed a nature trail with $1,577 in funding granted in 2001. In 2000, Rails to Trails of Mongolia and Preston Counties, WV, received $300 to have a group of 11-18 year-olds adopt and maintain part of a trail. In 1999, an elementary school partnered with Home Depot and received funds to build a nature trail along a creek in Carmel, NY.

Conservation Fund

  • Kodak American Greenways Awards Program
  • Website: www.conservationfund.org/node/245:
  • Amount: $500 - $1,500; $2,500 maximum.
  • Deadline: Open March 1 - June 15, Notifications in September.
  • Contact: 703-525-6300, kodakawards@conservationfund.org.
  • Eligibility: Public agencies may apply, but community organizations (nonprofits) receive preference.
  • Overview: Eastman Kodak, The Conservation Fund, and the National Geographic Society provide small grants to stimulate the planning and design of greenways.
  • Criteria: Importance of the project to local greenway development efforts, demonstrated community support for the project, extent to which the grant will result in matching funds or other support from public or private sources, likelihood of tangible results, capacity of the organization to complete the project.
  • Uses: Mapping, ecological assessments, surveying, conferences, design activities, developing brochures, interpretive displays, audio-visual productions, public surveys, hiring consultants, incorporating land trusts, building foot bridge, planning a bike path, et al.
  • Example: In early 2007, Friends of Greenville Greenways, Inc. (FROGGS) worked on a Kodak American Greenways grant application, requesting $1,800 for printed materials and a kiosk for the entryway to the South Tar River Greenway. FROGGS will match the donation. The estimated costs were $1,500 for the kiosk and $781 for the printed materials. FROGGS asked the City and the EAC to write letters of support for the grant application.

State

  • Beirne Carter Foundation - Coming Soon
  • LifeNet Foundation - Coming Soon
  • Virginia Environmental Endowment - Coming Soon

Regional

  • Augusta Health Care Community Foundation - Coming Soon
  • Canaan Valley Institute - Coming Soon
  • Community Foundation of the Central Blue Ridge - Coming Soon

Local

Public Financing

  • Property or sales and use taxes
  • Real estate transfer taxes
  • Impact fees (e.g., stormwater fees)
  • Special assessments
  • Business Improvement Districts
  • General obligation or revenue bonds

    • Go to the Objective list at top
Environmental Finance Center
1104 Preinkert Field House, College Park, MD 20742
phone: (301) 405-5036 | fax: (301) 314-5639
email: efc@umd.edu