LWCF State Assistance Formula Grants - Construction - FY21 Cycle 2 | P21AS00540

Opportunity Information: Apply for P21AS00540

The LWCF State Assistance Formula Grants - Construction - FY21 Cycle 2 (Funding Opportunity Number P21AS00540) is a National Park Service (NPS) grant program under CFDA 15.916 that supports the development and renovation of public outdoor recreation facilities through the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) State and Local Assistance Program, originally established in 1964. The core purpose is to help preserve, develop, and ensure public access to outdoor recreation resources for current and future generations, with an emphasis on facilities and spaces that strengthen public health and community well-being through active recreation.

This particular opportunity focuses on construction-type work, meaning funding is aimed at building new outdoor recreation facilities or renovating existing ones. Eligible project types are broad and can include community parks, playgrounds, picnic areas, campgrounds, trails, swimming pools, sports fields, and similar recreation assets. It can also support certain indoor infrastructure when it directly enables outdoor recreation use, with restrooms given as a clear example. A key requirement is that assisted sites and facilities must be publicly owned and open to the general public, and they cannot be restricted to special or exclusive user groups.

Applications do not go directly from cities, counties, tribes, or other local entities to NPS. Instead, the LWCF process runs through each state or territory's designated LWCF lead agency. Interested entities must begin by contacting their state or territory lead agency (contact list is maintained by NPS at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/lwcf/contact-list.htm) to learn about the availability of funds, the state timeline, state priorities, and how the state competition is run. The state lead agency solicits proposals from eligible partners such as other state agencies, local units of government, and Indian tribes, then conducts a competitive selection process to identify the projects that best advance the statewide outdoor recreation goals identified in the Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP). Only states and territories with a current NPS-approved SCORP are eligible to participate, and the SCORP is central because it establishes the needs and priorities that project selections are expected to address.

Legally, only the LWCF state lead agency may submit the final application to NPS under 54 U.S.C. 200305(a). For this program, "state" includes the 50 states plus American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. While NPS will only award the grant to the state lead agency, those funds may be sub-awarded by the state to other eligible entities, including other state/territory agencies, local political subdivisions, and Indian tribes. The notice provides a wide definition of local political subdivisions, covering counties, municipalities, towns/townships/parishes, school districts, special districts (like park districts), councils of governments, and similar public entities. Individuals, private organizations, and most nonprofit organizations are generally not eligible to receive LWCF grants directly, though there can be limited exceptions for nonprofits that are publicly chartered under state or local law to serve a public purpose (for example, an entity created to manage a park district).

In terms of administration and compliance, the state lead agency plays the central oversight role. It is responsible for reviewing proposals for eligibility and completeness, confirming consistency with SCORP priorities, ranking projects using its Open Project Selection Process, and submitting the highest-ranked projects (within available funding) to NPS. If a project is selected, NPS issues the financial assistance award to the state lead agency, which then remains accountable for ensuring the grant is implemented properly, including any sub-awards. That includes day-to-day oversight to ensure the project follows the LWCF Act and LWCF Manual requirements, meets applicable federal rules, and achieves performance goals. Applications submitted to NPS by any entity other than the state lead agency are automatically eliminated, which effectively means all prospective local or tribal applicants must work through the state process.

Key source details included in the announcement are: it is a discretionary grant opportunity from the National Park Service; the original closing date was July 30, 2021; and the listed award ceiling is $5,000,000.

• The National Park Service in the other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "LWCF State Assistance Formula Grants - Construction - FY21 Cycle 2" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.916.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-06-02.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-07-30. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $5,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

Apply for P21AS00540

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