50/50 Matching Grant Program

The 50/50 Matching Grant Program is a reimbursable grant program. This means that the grantee will be reimbursed for half of the amount of the project cost up to the grant amount. The grantee must finance 100% of the cost of the project, which can include in-kind labor, land donations, contributions and general appropriations. We will not reimburse the grantee for any more than the amount of cash they spend. Fifty percent of the eligible expenditures, up to the grant amount, may be reimbursed by periodic billings during the project period, or the grantee may wait until project completion to request total reimbursement.

The funding for the 50/50 Matching Grant Program comes from two sources, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Grant and Trust Fund (NCRGTF). The LWCF is a federal program authorized by the LWCF Act of 1965 (Public Law 88-578). These funds are derived from the sale of federal surplus property, the federal motor fuel tax and the Outer Continental Shelf mineral receipts. The NCRGTF is a state program authorized by Act 729 of 1987. Funds are collected from a tax on the transfer of certain real estate in the State of Arkansas.

The purpose of the Matching Grant Program is to build outdoor recreation facilities. Enclosed facilities cannot be constructed within the area described by the park boundary map, except as support to an outdoor facility (i.e., rest rooms or concession stands). Pavilions cannot have sides that give the effect of a closed-in building, nor can facilities constructed with LWCF or NCRGTF monies be enclosed at a later date.

For Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 our program had an estimated $2.9 million dollars to grant out and an estimated $4.2 million dollars in requests from applicants. We had 35 applications in FY 2007 and were able award grants to 34 of them. Projections indicate that we will have similar numbers for FY 2008.

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