LWCF State Assistance Formula Grants - Construction - FY21 Cycle I | P21AS00222

Opportunity Information: Apply for P21AS00222

The LWCF State Assistance Formula Grants - Construction - FY21 Cycle I opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number P21AS00222, CFDA 15.916) is a National Park Service (NPS) discretionary grant program under the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) State and Local Assistance Program, originally created in 1964. The core purpose is to help preserve, develop, and ensure public access to outdoor recreation resources so communities have the kinds of parks and facilities needed for active recreation and overall public health and well-being. In practice, this funding supports projects that either acquire land and water for public parks and outdoor recreation or develop new facilities and renovate existing ones, strengthening the long-term availability and quality of recreation opportunities for residents and visitors.

This cycle emphasizes construction and development-type activities that expand or improve public outdoor recreation amenities. Eligible project types are broad and can include community parks, playgrounds, picnic areas, campgrounds, trails, swimming pools, and sports fields, along with certain supportive indoor infrastructure that directly serves outdoor recreation users, such as restroom buildings. A key condition is that funded sites and facilities must be publicly owned and open to the general public; they cannot be restricted to exclusive memberships or limited to special groups. The overall intent is to ensure that improvements funded through LWCF provide lasting, widely accessible recreation benefits.

Eligibility and the application pathway are structured around state administration. Only the official LWCF state lead agency is allowed to submit an application to NPS under this announcement, as required by federal statute (54 U.S.C. 200305(a)). Applications submitted by any other entity are automatically eliminated, even if the project itself would otherwise be eligible. In this context, "State" includes not only the 50 states but also American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. While only the state lead agency can apply directly to NPS, awarded funds may be sub-awarded by the state to other eligible partners, including other state or territorial agencies, local units of government, and Indian tribes. The definition of local political subdivisions is expansive and covers entities such as counties, municipalities, towns and townships, parishes, school districts, special districts (including park districts), local public authorities, councils of governments, and similar local or regional governmental bodies.

Nonprofits, individuals, and private organizations are generally not eligible applicants for these funds. However, the program allows limited exceptions where a nonprofit is publicly chartered under state or local law to serve a clear public purpose, such as managing a park or park district. Another important threshold requirement is that a state must have a current, NPS-approved Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP). The SCORP functions as the statewide blueprint for outdoor recreation priorities, and proposed projects are expected to align with those identified needs and goals.

The selection process starts at the state or territory level, not with NPS. Interested communities, agencies, and tribes must contact their state LWCF lead agency to learn about available funding, timelines, state-specific priorities, and the criteria used to score and rank projects. States run their own competitive selection process, typically guided by an Open Project Selection Process, to identify proposals that best address the priorities documented in the SCORP. The state lead agency screens proposals for basic completeness and eligibility, evaluates them for consistency with SCORP priorities, ranks them, and then submits the top projects (within the amount of funding available to the state) to NPS. NPS then conducts its review and makes the final award decisions, but the initial gatekeeping and project nomination are state-driven.

Once an award is made, NPS issues the grant to the state lead agency, which serves as the primary grantee and is responsible for ensuring funds are used correctly and in compliance with LWCF requirements. If the state sub-awards funds to a local government or tribe, the state still retains oversight responsibility for day-to-day grant implementation and for ensuring the project complies with the LWCF Act and LWCF Manual, along with other applicable federal requirements. The state lead agency is also accountable for monitoring performance and ensuring the project’s intended recreation outcomes are achieved.

For basic opportunity details, this FY21 Cycle I announcement was created on March 29, 2021, had an original closing date of April 30, 2021, listed an award ceiling of up to $5,000,000, and identifies state governments as the eligible direct applicants because the NPS can only award directly to the state lead agency under LWCF. The practical takeaway for prospective project sponsors is that the correct first step is to work through the state LWCF lead agency (contact list provided by NPS) and compete in the state’s selection process rather than applying directly to NPS.

• The National Park Service in the other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "LWCF State Assistance Formula Grants - Construction - FY21 Cycle I" 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 2021-03-29.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-04-30. (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 P21AS00222

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