Green Stormwater Infrastructure Community Outreach and Education Grant Opportunity

Introduction

Increasingly green stormwater infrastructure is being used as a tool to reduce localized flooding, filter and capture stormwater runoff. When these solutions are integrated within parks they can also provide communities multiple benefits such as increased access to green space for recreation and physical activity, increased social cohesion, and opportunities for education and employment. However, to ensure these benefits are realized and embraced by local residents it’s critical to provide meaningful and regular opportunities for community engagement and input.

In partnership with Southwest Airlines, the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) is supporting community efforts to build resiliency and empower residents to create solutions for the challenges facing their neighborhoods. As a component of NRPA's Great Urban Parks Campaign, this grant opportunity will fund innovative strategies that engage and educate residents in green stormwater infrastructure projects happening in parks. Community engagement strategies should be well thought out to form trusting relationships with residents, work to identify shared project goals and address environmental and social issues the community is facing. Projects will help to inform NRPA’s community engagement best practice and case study resource guide which promotes participatory planning, design, maintenance, and programming at a park system and project level that engages under-represented communities and addresses equitable community development.

Eligibility

The principal applicant must be a park and recreation agency or affiliated 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. If the applicant is not a park and recreation agency, the applicant is required to submit a letter of support for the project being proposed from the park and recreation agency director or equivalent.
Proposed project must focus on green stormwater infrastructure and look to engage an underserved community/population. NRPA defines underserved communities as neighborhoods comprising a majority of individuals of color and/or living in poverty or near poverty.

Availability of Funding
Grants of $10,000 will be awarded to three communities to fund community engagement activities that educate and empower local residents to be active drivers in the planning, design, implementation and ongoing maintenance of green stormwater infrastructure projects in their local parks.

The grant period will be between May 2018 and November 2018. Successful grantees will be required to submit a final report by December 1, 2018.

Use of Funds
Grant funds may be used for a variety of community education and engagement activities tailored to the community your agency is serving, including, but not limited to:

Hosting an educational program relating to green stormwater infrastructure
Hosting community engagement events/convenings
Creating interactive and promotional materials focused on green stormwater infrastructure
Employing local students or community members for green stormwater infrastructure projects

Successful Applicants Will:

Have or create a community engagement plan that considers the particular needs and barriers to participation of local residents and demonstrates how they will address the barriers and create a community who is informed and engaged in green stormwater infrastructure solutions.
Include a variety of community partners, committees, and local leadership in engagement and implementation.
Outline strategies for measuring success, collecting engagement metrics and describe how local residents will continue to be engaged in the project after the grant period.
Identify and describe the underserved and/or low-income community/population that they will reach, including demographic statistics compared to the surrounding communities and the need for green stormwater infrastructure projects.

Application Due Date
Applications are due by 11:59 pm EST April 13, 2018. Applicants will be notified by April 27, 2018.

Questions
To learn more about the pilot community engagement projects funded through this program last year, please visit the Great Urban Parks Campaign Pilot Projects webpage.

For questions about the grant or application, please contact Jenny Cox at jcox@nrpa.org.