Story County Conservation doesn't offer grants, but we often provide advice and expertise to communities that are applying for grants to improve local parks and recreation or community beautification.  Several grant programs are available to communities to help in these areas.
           

One of the first and best options for communities wishing to pursue land acquisition for parks or certain park or trail improvements, as well as for local historic preservation is Iowa's Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) program.  This state-funded program allows communities to compete with other communities close to their size (small, medium, large).  The beauty part of REAP funding is that it can provide up to 100% of the proposed project's costs.  Many other grant programs require 20% or more of the project cost in local matching funds.  Each grant proposal must include comments from the County REAP Committee prior to submitting it to the Iowa DNR for scoring.  The committee met on July 22, so it's too late to prepare a grant for 2010 consideration.  Several communities have won multiple REAP grants over the years to build major projects.  Some improvements like ball fields or swimming pools would not qualify for REAP funding.  Information on this grant program including application forms is available on the Iowa Department of Natural Resources' web site.    Communities considering a grant application for REAP funds should start the process early in the year to make sure the project is well planned and has solid community support before writing the grant proposal.
           

REAP funded projects need to be listed in the county's Five-Year REAP Plan, a document that the County REAP Committee updates periodically.  Our last update was in 2007, but the committee is going to be talking about needed updates to the plan yet this summer to get an early start on the next required update.  Please notify the Story County Conservation office at McFarland Park if your community has park or trail improvement plans they might wish to pursue with REAP grants.  We'll make sure that your project is included in the next County REAP Plan update.
           

A new grant program is available to communities of 5000 and under.  The grant is part of the state's Keep Iowa Beautiful program and could fund litter prevention, recycling programs, or flower, tree, and shrub plantings.  Projects that provide long-term benefits will be favored.  There's still time to apply for this year's grant review, but grant applications are due by August 20.  Grants of up to $5000 are available for beautification projects and up to $15,000 for removal of derelict buildings.  Information on this new grant program is available on Keep Iowa Beautiful's web site at www.keepiowabeautiful.com.
           

Member communities of the Central Iowa Regional Transportation Planning Alliance (CIRTPA) are eligible to apply for trail development grants under the Federal Transportation Enhancement grant program.  Major projects that interconnect with other regional trails may qualify for funding as a project of statewide significance, but strictly local projects compete under CIRTPA's administration.  This is a 70%-30% cost-share grant.  Some communities have also used Vision Iowa funds for park acquisition and development.  Funding for state grant programs is somewhat limited during the economic recovery, but it is hoped that more grant proposals can be funded as the recovery continues.