Town of Montross Town Park, Westmoreland County
January 17, 2024
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The Town of Montross has its first-ever park thanks to the efforts of the community and a Get Outdoors grant from VOF.
Established in 2020, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation’s Get Outdoors (GO) Fund provides grants for projects that increase access to safe open space in Virginia’s communities, especially those that are underserved. Some examples of project types include planning, capacity building, programming, and infrastructure, although priority will be given to shovel-ready projects with tangible, measurable results. The intent of the program is to serve as a flexible, adaptable tool to be used to address communities’ needs.
VOF is pausing the Get Outdoors Fund program for fiscal year 2025. No grant rounds will be offered this year.
Inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Get Outdoors Fund was started in 2020 to serve more Virginians and help them get outdoors. The program was funded with revenue from a recordation fee on real estate transactions in localities where VOF holds open-space easements. The program will be paused until there is an outside revenue source for funding. All committed grants will continue to be paid out.
We are proud to have funded 119 projects totaling $2.3 million. Click here to read about many of the projects.
If you are an approved applicant from a previous grant round, please use the VOF online grant portal to manage your application. The portal can be accessed at https://www.vof.org/protect/grants/go/. Please email grants@vof.org with any questions.
VOF is pausing the Get Outdoors Fund program for fiscal year 2025. No grant rounds will be offered this year.
Inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Get Outdoors Fund was started in 2020 to serve more Virginians and help them get outdoors. The program was funded with revenue from a recordation fee on real estate transactions in localities where VOF holds open-space easements. The program will be paused until there is an outside revenue source for funding. All committed grants will continue to be paid out.
We are proud to have funded 119 projects totaling $2.3 million. Click here to read about many of the projects.
GO Fund grants may be awarded to state, local, regional, or tribal government entities, educational institutions, or non-profit organizations registered as tax-exempt under the Internal Revenue Service code, https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/exempt-organization-types. Federal governmental entities, for-profit entities, and individuals are not eligible at this time.
Applicants who have received past GO Fund grants of more than $5,000 must complete the approved project before submitting additional proposals. Other VOF grant awards do not impact GO Fund eligibility.
The amount of funding available for each grant round is determined annually and announced in June or July. Funding requests are capped at $25,000. Projects with budgets that greatly exceed $25,000 are not usually appropriate for the program unless the GO Fund award is meeting the final need to bring the project to fruition, or the proposal is focused on a specific stand-alone component of a larger project. Inversely, projects with a scope of work that could be completely funded and implemented through a GO Fund grant exclusively are competitive.
Funding will be disbursed on a reimbursement basis as progress is made. A one-time advance not exceeding $1,000 may be considered on a case-by-case basis and for good cause shown. No funds will be paid directly to a vendor. Partial funding is possible.
The Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF) may provide funding for studies, planning, concept development, capacity building, programming, and infrastructure to enable safe use of or access to public open space, as well as for land acquisition. Priority will be given to shovel-ready projects with tangible, measurable results. Projects that seek to acquire or convey an interest in real estate (such as land acquisition, easement protection, lease agreement, or a right of way) should consider applying for a grant from VOF’s Preservation Trust Fund program, which can be accessed at http://www.vof.org/protect/grants/ptf/.
Applications are accepted through the VOF online grant portal, which can be accessed at https://www.vof.org/protect/grants/go/. VOF requires a pre-application to be submitted for review before a final application for funding may be submitted. Interested applicants should check the website for updates. Please email grants@vof.org with any questions about the application process or project eligibility.
VOF is seeking proposals for projects that increase access to safe open space in Virginia’s communities, especially those that are underserved. The second grant round of fiscal year 2024 opens on January 17, 2024.
The GO Fund requires the submission of a short pre-application. Pre-applications most aligned with program parameters will be invited to submit a final application. Pre-applications were due February 12, 2024.
Those who received an invitation to submit a final application must do so by 5:00 p.m. on March 8, 2024. No unsolicited final applications will be accepted. Grant awards will be announced at the June 13, 2024 meeting of the Virginia Outdoors Foundation’s board of trustees.
GO Fund grants may be awarded to state, local, regional, or tribal government entities, educational institutions, or non-profit organizations registered as tax-exempt under the Internal Revenue Service code, https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/exempt-organization-types. Federal governmental entities, for-profit entities, and individuals are not eligible at this time.
Applicants who have received past GO Fund grants of more than $5,000 must complete the approved project before submitting additional proposals. Other VOF grant awards do not impact GO Fund eligibility.
There is $175,000 available for the spring FY24 grant round with funding requests up to $25,000 per project considered. Partial funding is possible.
VOF may provide funding for studies, planning, concept development, capacity building, programming, and infrastructure to enable safe use of or access to public open space, as well as for land acquisition. Priority will be given to shovel-ready projects with tangible, measurable results. Projects that seek to acquire or convey an interest in real estate (such as land acquisition, easement protection, lease agreement, or a right of way) should consider applying for a grant from VOF’s Preservation Trust Fund program.
Applications are accepted through the VOF online grant portal, which can be accessed at https://vaoutdoors.webgrantscloud.com/index.do. VOF requires a pre-application to be submitted for review before a final application for funding may be submitted. Interested applicants should check the website for updates. Please email grants@vof.org with any questions about the application process or project eligibility.
The Town of Montross has its first-ever park thanks to the efforts of the community and a Get Outdoors grant from VOF.
The Weller Woods Learning Trail will provide the students of its namesake elementary school with opportunities to let nature be their teacher.
With help from volunteers and VOF’s Get Outdoors fund, Essex County’s Rotary Poorhouse Park is set for its long-delayed grand opening.