Timing is Important!

 

Urban Play Park

The Division of Conservation Services grant programs are normally conducted on an annual cycle, unless a special round is announced by the Secretary.

 

If the community would like to be eligible for reimbursement, do not proceed with the project unless the community has a signed contract for it. Costs incurred prior to execution of the contract cannot be reimbursed. Award announcements are anticipated on or about 90 days from the Application Deadline.

FY13 Grant Round

  • Application release date: late March
  • Information workshops:
    • Date: Thursday, May 10, 2012, 10 am -12 pm
      • Location: Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs at 100 Cambridge St., 2nd Floor Conference Room B, Boston, MA 02114
    • Date: Tuesday, May 15, 2012, 11 am -1 pm
      • Location: Department of Agricultural Resources offices at 101 University Drive, Suite C4, Amherst, MA
  • End of Open Question Period: June 29, 2012
  • Application Deadlines:
    • Conservation Appraisal and Open Space Recreation Plans for Small Communities: rolling submission, not later than May 30, 2012
    • Conservation Partnership: July 16, 2012 at 3:00 pm
    • LAND and PARC: July 12, 2012 at 3:00 pm
  • Site inspections: to be completed by mid-September
  • Award announcements: approximately 100 days from application deadline (Conservation Appraisals for Small Communities funding is non-competitive and will be announced on a rolling basis)
  • Project completion:
    • Conservation Appraisal and Open Space and Recreation Plans for Small Communities: June 30, 2013 (the LAND application deadline)
    • LAND, Conservation Partnership, and some PARC projects: June 30, 2013
    • Other PARC projects: June 30, 2014
      Preserved Open Space
Each grant program:
  • Is a reimbursement program requiring the applicant to raise, borrow or appropriate the total project cost, and then be reimbursed a portion of that cost by the grant
  • Requires a local investment and therefore only reimburses on a sliding scale to each municipality, from 52% to 70% of the total project cost up to a maximum grant limit set by the Secretary
  • Conservation Appraisal and Open Space Recreation Plans for Small Communities reimburses 80% of approved costs
  • Has regulations and guidance documents
  • Involves a competitive project selection system
  • Favors proposals that support the Secretary's focus as detailed in the grant round announcement letter and in the RFR
Eligibility

In order to be eligible for either PARC or LAND grants, your municipal Open Space and Recreation Plan must be up to date and approved, and there must be no current unresolved parkland conversion issues with EEA. To learn more about these items, please refer to the links below:
 

 View the presentation from our last workshop for communities PDF

 

This information is provided by the Division of Conservation Services.