Jun 10, 2026

Federal Park Funding is Available– Here’s What You Need to Know About ORLP

As the next round of federal Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) funding approaches, Center for Creative Land Recycling (CCLR) staff attended the City Parks’ Alliance roundtable “Bring Federal ORLP Park Funding to Your City” – hosted by Next City on May 20th, 2026, and featuring National Park Service (NPS), Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) state liaison staff, and city leaders who have successfully secured these grants, to gather critical information to share with our network of park professionals and advocates.

The National Park Service’s ORLP program has invested more than $385 million in park projects nationwide, making it a powerful catalyst to help communities transform city parks into vital green infrastructure. The next funding round is anticipated this autumn with grants ranging from $300,000 to $15 million per project to support acquisition, creation and renovation of parks in disadvantaged urban communities (1:1 community match required). This funding can be a lifeline to under-resourced communities, supporting expensive aspects of park development and maintenance at a time when funding options are reducing and costs are increasing.

Many communities may not know about this funding or feel intimidated to apply, but with the practical tips, real case studies, and key resources shared from this webinar, we hope to encourage and prepare any municipality for a strong application!

What is ORLP?

ORLP is a nationally competitive grant program to assist communities with little-to-no opportunities for park development. Established in 2014, the program is managed by the National Park Service (NPS) and funded through the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). The program aims to serve urban communities with a population of 25,000 or more, with priority given to projects located in low-income areas that lack outdoor recreation opportunities.

ORLP operates as a reimbursement grant: your agency builds the project first, and is then reimbursed through your lead state or tribal agency. The program has an annual November 1st deadline, with selections made by May 1st of the following year. The ORLP NOFO opened on June 8th! To stay up-to-date on future developments, subscribe to any of the following newsletters:

The program provides approximately $120M annually in funding (this figure varies by round) to meet the following program goals:

Increase access to outdoor recreation opportunities
Align with community needs
Leverage resources in support of recreation
Promote conservation and ecological benefits

What Can Funding Be Used For?

ORLP funding can be used for the acquisition and/or development of, or to substantially renovate, public parks and other outdoor recreation spaces. This intentionally includes a wide range of eligible projects, such as community parks, play structures, green spaces, campgrounds, swimming pool repairs, fishing piers, community gardens, murals, and trails. In this upcoming round of funding, NPS is encouraging project proposals that also emphasize workforce development, nature-based solutions, and programmatic outdoor infrastructure. What is NOT eligible is any indoor-focused community centers.

Who Can Apply?

Eligible applicants include state and territorial lead agencies, federally recognized tribes, and Alaska Native communities. Local cities and park departments may apply as subrecipients through their state lead agency. Verify your community’s official urban and rural classification and eligibility via the US Census Bureau Urban & Rural Page TIGER webtool. Use the National Park Service’s State Contact List to identify your state’s lead LCWF agency.

The EXPLORE Act

The EXPLORE Act (Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act) is a landmark bipartisan act passed by congress in 2024. It serves as the foundational framework behind ORLP’s purpose, reviewer criteria, and eligible activities. Familiarize yourself with it early– a successful application must clearly demonstrate how your project aligns with its priorities. At its core, the EXPLORE Act is about expanding equitable outdoor access for all Americans. That means a successful application must demonstrate two things: a thorough understanding of your community’s specific needs, and a clear plan to leverage resources to meet them.

Tips for A Strong Application

1. Start Early & Align Strategically

The crux of a successful application is alignment – in program, timing, and resources– across several scales and agencies. To best prepare, connect with your state lead agency as early as possible to understand your state’s priorities and application timeline. From a narrative standpoint, align your application with your Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP), referencing it by title, date, and the specific priorities your project supports. Likewise, read the EXPLORE Act early on– as noted, and repeated for emphasis, your project should clearly reflect its priorities. Experts on this webinar also strongly recommend finalizing your budget and site plan before writing any narrative, ensuring alignment across these concrete parameters from the start.

PRO TIP: Make sure your application and project narrative are clearly organized by criteria and topic. Using labeled sections and bullet points makes it easier for reviewers to follow your argument and assess your project against others.

2. Community Engagement– The Backbone

A robust, equitable, and meaningful community engagement process sets the tone for the rest of your application (and your eventual project’s) success. Thorough community engagement will enable you to craft an accurate, reflective, and well-supported narrative; build critical partnerships and a broad support base; quantify need; and demonstrate project readiness. Everything that follows in this list is built upon it.

Meaningful community engagement requires demonstrating that targeted audiences (across public, private, nonprofit, and community groups) were not only invited, but actively participated in critical discussions and visioning. It also means showing that your project protects against gentrification. Use the NRPA Environmentally Sustainable Parks Assessment Tool Screening Tool to demonstrate to reviewers how neighborhood residents will genuinely benefit from park improvements without risk of displacement. Be sure to document your engagement rigorously with dates, photos, attendance numbers and specifically how community input directly shaped design. Finally, cultivate community partnerships early in order to build partnership trust, allow honest community narratives to unfold, and tackle difficulties together.

3. Building a Data Driven Needs Case

A demonstrated community need is the single most important factor to a strong application. Likewise, a strong needs assessment is foundational. You’ll want to use data to tell a compelling, authentic story about your community. Start by gathering input using surveys, forums, or direct resident engagement. Then, layer in the demographic data highlighted in the EXPLORE Act– population density, income levels, and existing park access– and map park deficits to visually reinforce your case.

There are three approaches to demonstrating need, and you may find that more than one applies to your project:

Level of Service (Standard Base Approach): Uses quantitative metrics like number of facilities per 1,000 residents, acres of green space per population, or distance-based access (i.e., the 10-minute walk standard). You likely already have this data in your parks and open space plan or master park plan.
Demand-Based Approach: Draws on public involvement data, i.e. participation rates, resident surveys, and other community input, to demonstrate unmet demand.
Resource-Based Approach: Identifies physical assets like ponds, drainage corridors, and critical ecosystems that can be leveraged for new or improved recreational opportunities.

Tap into your existing master plans and planning documents to connect and reinforce your needs statement. Throughout this section, quantify as much as you can: trends, gaps, opportunities, and specifically how your project addresses them. Keep your needs narrative focused, concise, and organized by criteria; and be upfront and transparent about your project, including if it is phased.

Helpful tool: TPL’s ParkServe

4. Demonstrate Project Readiness

Your project doesn’t need to be shovel-ready, but it should demonstrate clear momentum and no major delays. The ORLP program prioritizes projects that will break ground within one year of award and be open to the public within two to three years. Reviewers want confidence that your project can actually deliver. Here’s how to build that confidence across four key areas:

Site & Design. You must document site control– this includes a deed or long-term lease and, depending on your state, may require a property profile from a title company to confirm no liens or encumbrances. Complete as many environmental reviews and clearances as possible before submitting, including state historic preservation officer (SHPO) consultation, interagency planning and consultation (IPAC) review, and past site usage documentation. The more you’ve done upfront, the stronger your application will be. Your concept design should be clear, complete, and labeled, marking grant elements, phases, boundaries, acreage, and existing uses. If your parcel is large, consider including a separate boundary map.

Timeline. Construct a realistic schedule that reflects likely award dates, permitting requirements, and the practical pace of construction. Backwards planning (starting from the estimated award window and period of performance) can be a helpful approach. Your timeline should reflect milestones and demonstrate feasibility.

Budget. This is where many applicants struggle. Your budget must be detailed and consistent with both your narrative and site plan. Try to provide clear cost justification through an engineer’s opinion of probable cost, vendor quotes, and/or comparisons to recently completed similar projects (with inflation adjustments, if necessary). Be sure to identify who developed your cost estimate.

Operations & Maintenance. Reviewers want to know your project will last long after ribbon cutting from an operational, financial, and programmatic perspective. Your maintenance plan should clearly identify who is responsible for upkeep, how it will be funded, and what the long-term operational model looks like. Explicitly address how your targeted community will benefit over the long term. Nonprofit and community partner structures are particularly worth highlighting here, as they have real potential to strengthen stewardship and long-term success.

5. Team & Partnerships

A collaborative, multidisciplinary team is what’s going to get this application (and project) across the finish line. This includes roles such as: capital project manager, park planner, subject matter experts, community leaders and more. That same cross-functional team structure is also what can help unlock funding at the municipal level, which can serve as a match for the grant itself.

In your application, name your primary project manager, finance director, and the person who will ultimately be responsible for the site once it’s complete. The qualifications of your project team should demonstrate their experience with federal grants, construction projects, and long-term maintenance responsibility. It is also suggested to offer details on staffing availability and maintenance and operation budget for continued operation at the site.

Letters of support from residents, organizations, and businesses help demonstrate broad community backing and illustrate confidence in the relevance, success, and support of the project.

And lastly, be sure to build and maintain strong relationships with your local lead agency staff. They are your partners in this process, and those relationships can make a meaningful difference.

Case Studies

Hearing from cities that successfully received ORLP funding was one of the most valuable parts of the webinar. Here are two standout examples:

Raleigh, NC – Smoky Hollow Park

Speaker: Lauryn Kabrich, Raleigh Parks

Raeigh has been awarded ORLP grants three times in the last decade. Their most recent project, Smoky Hollow Park, is a 14-acre greenway and stream restoration project funded through a combination of a 2022 Parks Bond ($11.5M), Stormwater Funds, and an ORLP Grant ($8.7M). As Lauryn notes: Raleigh’s city culture of equity, collaboration, resilience, planning, and political responsiveness is baked into every aspect of their application. Their Park Master Plans have consistently included equity analyses and robust community engagement strategies, which over time have shaped a coherent and credible grant philosophy. Lauryn attributes their application success and ability to make their projects stand out due to their compelling narrative, community engagement, advance planning.

Her lessons learned are:

don’t be intimated;
have backup plans;
develop good relationships with your lead agency staff

Texas — Statewide ORLP Success

Speaker: Kara Escajeda, Texas Parks & Wildlife

Texas Parks & Wildlife has received nearly $50M across 10 statewide ORLP projects and has nine projects prepared for the 2026 rounds, representing more than $130M in funding. A standout example is the Burnet Bayland project in Harris County– a phased, multi-funded project that ties together demographics, environmental context, and community needs into one cohesive and compelling narrative. However, the broader takeaway from Kara’s presentation was the power of intentional, statewide alignment: coordinating priorities across state, municipal, and community levels to build a consistently strong pipeline of projects. Kara emphasized aligning with state priorities and your SCORP, investing in the quality of community engagement, and doing the due diligence to craft a reflection and accurate needs assessment.

Her top tips were: