To: Board of County Commissioners
Through: Gini Pingenot, Director, Open Spaces
Prepared By:
prepared
Michele Frishman, Grants and Acquisitions Manager, Open Spaces
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presenter
Presenter: Sandra Bottoms, Grants and Acquisitions Administrator, Open Spaces
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Subject:
title
2:15 PM *Approval of Total Available Funding for 2026 Open Space Grants
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Purpose and Request:
recommended action
Open Spaces staff will present recommendations for total funding allocation available for the 2026 Open Space Grants cycle and request approval of the funding by the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC). This will represent the total amount of funding available for eligible applicants to pursue as part of the 2026 grants cycle.
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Alignment with Strategic Plan: Good Governance - Understand and respond to community needs, interests, and values.
Background and Discussion: Since 2005, the Open Space grants program has awarded more than $67 million to agencies across the County for park, trail, and open space projects. Grant categories, funding caps, and application criteria have evolved over time to encourage competitive, high-quality projects and to meet the needs of our partner agencies. Open Spaces staff uses grantee outreach and recent grant cycle trends to make recommendations for upcoming grant cycles.
Open Spaces staff recommends keeping the total allocation for 2026 at $5.5 million and keeping maximum award amounts at $600,000 (standard grants) and $150,000 (small and planning grants). These amounts were first introduced in 2023 in response to grantee feedback about rising costs. Keeping the total allocation at $5.5 million will ensure we can fund an adequate number of projects while maintaining the higher maximum award amounts.
Staff would allocate the $5.5 million in total funding for three grant categories:
- $4,000,000 for Standard Grants: $150,001 to $600,000, 25% minimum cash match
- Up to $750,000 for Small Grants: $1,000 to $150,000, ...
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