Deadline:
June 29, 2012 at 3:00 pm EDT

Open Spaces Sacred Places: The Healing Power of Nature
The TKF Foundation has announced the final phase of the Open Spaces Sacred Places (OSSP) National Awards Program.  The program was enacted in 2 phases, a Planning Grant Phase, now closed, and an open call for proposals. Final Awards will fund development of significant new sacred public green spaces in urban settings that demonstrate a combination of high quality design-build and rigorous research about user impacts. The total remaining funding pool is $4 million.

LWCF_Op-Ed_TheHill_12202011.pdf

Deadline:
March 1, 2012
Through Our Town, subject to the availability of funding, the National Endowment for the Arts will provide a limited number of grants, ranging from $25,000 to $150,000, for creative placemaking projects that contribute toward the livability of communities and help transform them into lively, beautiful, and sustainable places with the arts at their core.

From Pushcarts to Real Estate: Creating Opportunities for Earned Income
February 29, 2012 at 2:00 PM EST
City park managers are increasingly looking to commercial activity to generate revenue for park operations. Examples range from restaurants and cafes to facility rentals. If you’re starting out, how do you develop a strategy? What are the best models for commercial activities in parks of different sizes, from destination parks to neighborhood parks? What should an agreement between the park agency and vendor include? How can you take maximum advantage of on-site facilities? This webinar will provide an overview from the perspective of a consultant, a public agency and a non-profit organization.

City Parks Alliance and HR&A Advisors surveyed 58 dedicated park stewardship organizations across North America to understand their role in park management and the opportunities they create for signature city parks.  Among the findings were that these organizations augment public investment with substantial private funding to improve public spaces.

The typical organization sponsors 60 programs each year and provides park maintenance, volunteer recruitment, and other key functions. These parks are resourceful in securing funding, spending an average of $160,000 per acre managed, but real estate value capture remains a substantial, often untapped opportunity to support signature city parks. 

To read the full report, click here: Signature Park Survey

Deadlines:
Urban Forestry - December 15, 2011
Urban Waters - January 23, 2012

The U.S. Forest Service FY2012 Competitive Allocation RFP combines three previously separate processes in order to reduce duplicated submissions. The funding authorities are Urban and Community Forestry, Forest Stewardship, Fire, and Forest Health. The three project categories for this RFP are

CPA_Press_Release_11_8_11.pdf

Washington, DC - 50 mayors across the country urged President Obama this week to support federal funding of urban parks and green space as a strategy for creating jobs and driving economic development. Mayors from Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and smaller cities like Bozeman, Montana, and Bridgeport, Connecticut, sent a letter requesting the administration's continued support for full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the nation's premier tool for protecting open space in urban and rural communities nationwide without the use of taxpayer dollars. The City Parks Alliance met with senior White House officials this week to deliver the letter and discuss the importance of LWCF funding to America's urban communities and economies.

Johnson Hall, Occidental College, Los Angeles
October 22, 2011 8:00 am - 3:00 pm
City Parks Alliance, in partnership with the California State Parks Foundation, is organizing a workshop that focuses on new models for sustainable urban parks stewardship, featuring local and national leaders.  The workshop aims to connect California park organizations with the national network of City Parks Alliance and to provide best practices, tools and informational resources to help improve California urban park organizations' effectiveness and enhance their ability to meet their parks' goals.

Summer and Fall 2011
The Partnership for Sustainable Communities is an interagency partnership of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).