Can a nonprofit friends-of-the-park group use this?

Yes. Friends-of-the-park groups, trail associations, and other nonprofits can use Main Street Grants. The knowledge base is built around your mission, your projects, and your community. Main Street Grants flags which programs require a government applicant and which accept nonprofits.

What about KABOOM! and AARP Community Challenge?

Both are in the database. Main Street Grants scores your fit against AARP Community Challenge priorities and KABOOM! requirements, and drafts the application from your project plans. These are faster cycles than federal grants, so you get a quick win while the bigger grants are in progress.

How much does it cost?

Two plans. Done-With-You is $1,200 setup plus $249/month; you write and submit with the platform’s help. Done-For-You is $2,500 setup plus $749/month; we prepare and submit your grants for you, including one standard application every month. Flat fees, never a percentage of your award. Done-With-You is month-to-month with 30 days notice; Done-For-You has a six-month initial term, then month-to-month.

Grants for Parks and Recreation

Parks and recreation departments, and the towns and nonprofits that run them, can apply for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) for land acquisition and park development, the Recreational Trails Program (RTP) for trails, state recreation funds like Tennessee's Local Parks Recreation Fund (LPRF), the AARP Community Challenge for quick-build public space improvements, KABOOM! playground grants for community-built playgrounds, and Safe Routes to School for connecting infrastructure like sidewalks and crosswalks near schools.

Where the money is

Where the money actually is

These are the real programs that fund parks and recreation. Main Street Grants matches your organization against all of them, every day, and scores your fit before you spend a weekend on an application.

Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF)

Federal program for land acquisition and development of outdoor recreation facilities. Administered through state agencies. Funds parks, trails, ballfields, playgrounds, and waterfront access. Requires a non-federal match.

Recreational Trails Program (RTP)

Federal program administered through state DOTs for trail construction, maintenance, and trailside facilities. Funds motorized and non-motorized trails. Good fit for communities building or improving trail networks.

State Recreation Funds (e.g., Tennessee LPRF)

Many states have their own recreation grant programs. Tennessee's Local Parks Recreation Fund (LPRF) funds local park development and renovation. Check your state's parks and recreation agency for programs and deadlines.

AARP Community Challenge

Funds quick-build, temporary, or permanent improvements that make communities more livable. Open to local governments and nonprofits. Awards range from $300 to $50,000. Fast application, fast decision.

KABOOM! Playground Grants

KABOOM! partners with communities to build playgrounds through volunteer labor and corporate funding. The community contributes volunteer labor and some materials. Good fit for towns building a new playground.

Safe Routes to School

Funds sidewalks, crosswalks, bike infrastructure, and traffic calming near schools. Administered through state DOTs. Good fit for towns improving pedestrian safety and connecting neighborhoods to schools.

The problem

Parks and recreation is often the first department cut when budgets get tight, and the last to get grant help. A parks director or recreation coordinator might know about LWCF and the Recreational Trails Program, but tracking the deadlines, the match requirements, and the application formats for federal, state, and foundation funders is more than one person can handle on top of running programs and maintaining facilities.

The result is that parks go unfunded and trails go unbuilt because nobody had the time to write the grant. A town that could have won an LWCF match for a new park or an AARP Community Challenge grant for a downtown plaza misses the cycle, and the project waits another year, or it never happens.

How we help

How Main Street Grants helps

Main Street Grants was built for organizations that do not have a grant writer on staff. Here is what that looks like for parks and recreation.

Every morning, Main Street Grants scans federal, state, and foundation grant databases for new opportunities and scores them against your parks and recreation profile, your facilities, your trail plans, your community demographics, and your past grants. You see a ranked list of grants you actually qualify for, with a fit score, before you spend a weekend on an application.

When you pick an opportunity, Main Street Grants drafts every section from your knowledge base, your parks master plan, your trail plans, your facility inventory, and your community data. You review and edit, not write from scratch. A first draft takes an afternoon.

Every grant lives in one pipeline dashboard. Deadlines, status, scores, match requirements, and follow-ups. The city council and the board see a real pipeline instead of a verbal update.

Main Street Grants tracks match requirements for each program, so you know what your town needs to contribute before you start the application, and you can line up the local match before the deadline.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. LWCF and RTP are two of the most common grants Main Street Grants matches for parks and recreation. It tracks the cycles through your state agency, scores your fit, and flags the match requirement so you can plan ahead.

Ready to find your grants?

Start your workspace today, or book a 15 minute look at Main Street Grants first. Either way, we will walk you through it.

Start your workspace Or book a 15 minute look at it first

Start your workspace

Tell us about your organization and we will set you up. Or book a 15 minute look at Main Street Grants first.

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