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 by the Virginia General Assembly in 1997 and administered by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF), the Open-Space Lands Preservation Trust Fund (PTF) provides grants for acquisitions, easements, and other methods of permanently protecting open space for farming, forestry, recreation, public access, wildlife, and water quality. A right, privilege, or interest in real estate must be conveyed pursuant to Virginia’s Open-Space Land Act to be eligible for PTF funding.
In addition to grants for land protection, VOF also provides income-based cost-share assistance grants to landowners conveying an open-space easement to VOF or to a locality. These grants can cover legal, appraisal, and other costs associated with conveying an open space easement.
VOF will host a one-hour Preservation Trust Fund Grant Workshop Webinar on Tuesday, July 2, 2024 from 1:00-2:00p.m. using Microsoft Teams. The webinar will address key program requirements and criteria, provide guidance on material to submit with the application and share tips on navigating the grant portal. Registration is required. Click the button below to register.
VOF hosts two grant rounds annually. Grant agreements have a two-year lifespan. VOF seeks proposals for projects that protect exceptional natural, cultural, agricultural, and recreational resources. Proposals may be submitted for both public and private lands.
PTF grants may be awarded to any person, organization, or locality with a real estate interest to convey on either public or private land. Land already under locality ownership may be eligible for PTF funding provided the parcel is not already protected through existing deed restrictions.
Permanent land protection is a required component of the Preservation Trust Fund, with the legislative language specifying that in most cases, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation or a locality must take a real estate interest in a property(ies). No funds may be disbursed until the real estate interest is conveyed.
Eligible Costs
PTF grants may pay for costs associated with the conveyance of an interest, right, or privilege in open space under the Open-Space Land Act including fee-simple acquisition, public access rights of way, due diligence, legal and survey costs.
The requirement for VOF or the locality to acquire a real-estate interest may complicate or prevent land from being eligible for federal sources of grant funding, federal ownership, or, in the case of a tribal applicant, to have ownership placed in federal trust. Grant applicants who may be considering federal partnerships of any kind should contact grant staff before applying.
Applications will be accepted through an online process, which can be accessed at https://www.vof.org/protect/grants/ptf/. Interested applicants should check the website for updates. Please contact grant program staff at grants@vof.org with any questions about the application process or project eligibility.
VOF is seeking proposals for projects that provide new or expanded public access to open space, such as parks, preserves, trails, greenways, outdoor classrooms, beaches, and boat launches, as well as projects that protect exceptional natural and cultural resources for the benefit of the Commonwealth. Proposals may be submitted for both public and private lands.
The application deadline is 5:00 p.m. on August 8, 2024. Projects must meet protection standards under the Virginia Open-Space Land Act. Options include fee-simple conveyance, open-space easement, right of way, lease, or other real estate interest conveyed to either VOF or a locality. Grant awards will be announced at the October 10, 2024 meeting of the Virginia Outdoors Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
PTF grants may be awarded to any person, organization, or locality with a real estate interest to convey on either public or private land. In most cases, the real estate interest must be conveyed to VOF or a locality. Land already under locality ownership may be eligible for PTF funding as long as the parcel is not already protected through certain existing deed restrictions.
There is approximately $1.7 million available for the first grant round of fiscal year 2025. In recent cycles, grant awards have averaged $150,000 per project. However, there is no absolute cap and exceptional projects, as well as those with substantiated need, have been funded at higher amounts. Applicants are encouraged to request the amount of funding that would allow the project to be fully implemented. Partial funding is possible. Funds may be disbursed only when a real estate interest has been conveyed to VOF, a locality, or an approved eligible holder under the Open-Space Land Act. Once a land protection instrument is recorded, the grant award may be issued in full with spend-down reporting to follow.
While VOF is offering grant awards for both public access and exceptional natural and cultural resource protection projects, VOF is prioritizing those projects in which the interest in real estate includes a provision to provide access to the property by the public. Successful proposals will protect and preserve open green space.
Funding for resource protection easements will be prioritized for those projects that show exceptional characteristics in the following categories: historic and cultural, water quality, scenic and open space, habitat, agriculture and forestry, and policy alignment. Deed restrictions will protect the highest conservation values of a property.
PTF grants may pay for any costs that are associated with the conveyance of an interest, right, or privilege in open space to VOF, a locality, or an approved eligible holder under the Open-Space Land Act including fee-simple acquisition, development rights, public access rights of way, leases, legal costs, and survey costs. Components critical for public use of the land may also be included in the grant request such as infrastructure and the associated necessary engineering, design, and planning. Although design costs may be included as part of a larger proposal, priority will be given to shovel-ready land protection projects with tangible, measurable results. While infrastructure is an eligible cost, impervious surface will be capped, and project sites that are currently predominantly hardscape or are intended to be predominately hardscape are not good candidates for PTF funding.
The requirement for VOF or a locality to take a real-estate interest may complicate or prevent land from being eligible for federal sources of grant funding, federal ownership, or, in the case of a tribal applicant, to have ownership placed in federal trust for the benefit of the tribe. Grant applicants who may be considering federal partnerships of any kind should contact grant staff before applying.
Applications will be accepted through an online process, which can be accessed at https://vaoutdoors.webgrantscloud.com/logout.do. Interested applicants should check the website for updates.
Please contact grant program staff at grants@vof.org with any questions about the application process or project eligibility.
In 2023, VOF dedicated funding to expand the PTF-Easement Assistance program to provide income-based cost-share assistance to landowners donating an open-space or conservation easement to a locality. These easements may be co-held by an eligible non-profit partner. In support of locally led land conservation, VOF will provide funding to localities to reimburse landowners to offset costs related to donating an easement.
Localities
Any locality may participate in the PTF-Easement Assistance for Localities Program. A two-year signed Locality Agreement, indicating the locality’s willingness to receive funding from VOF and disburse funding to a landowner, is required before any award is made within that locality.
Landowners
Landowners conveying easements as part of a development proposal or as a proffer are not eligible.
Due Diligence
Costs associated with the donation of an easement may be eligible for reimbursement. This includes appraisals, legal services, surveys, title work, mortgage review, perk tests, baseline documentation reports (BDRs), tax assistance, and stewardship fees.
Landowners will work with the locality to determine appropriate land protection measures and easement terms.
Landowners will be reimbursed on an income-based cost-share assistance rate, with per easement awards not to exceed the maximum easement assistance listed below. VOF will determine eligibility based on submitted financial documentation.
Landowner Annual Income | Reimbursement Rate | Maximum Easement Assistance |
Up to $70,000 | 100% | $25,000 |
$71,000 – $85,000 | 80% | $20,000 |
$86,000 – $105,000 | 50% | $8,500 |
Over $105,000 | Not Eligible | Not Eligible |
Funds must be disbursed from VOF to a locality. The locality will reimburse the landowner.
Once a signed Locality Agreement is in place, a landowner, or a locality on the landowner’s behalf, may submit an application for easement assistance through the VOF grant portal at https://vaoutdoors.webgrantscloud.com/index.do. Tax information and a landowner signature are required components of the application. Awards up to $20,000 may be approved administratively on a rolling basis. Contact grants@vof.org with questions.
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