Groundwork Richmond VA Outdoor Recreation Partnership | P18AS00611

Opportunity Information: Apply for P18AS00611

The Groundwork Richmond VA Outdoor Recreation Partnership (Funding Opportunity Number P18AS00611) is a National Park Service (Department of the Interior) cooperative agreement focused on improving outdoor access, environmental stewardship, and community capacity in Richmond, Virginia, with a particular emphasis on underserved neighborhoods. The opportunity is categorized under community development and is structured as a discretionary cooperative agreement, meaning the work is carried out in close collaboration with the NPS rather than as a typical independent grant. The listed award ceiling is $60,000 with one expected award. Importantly, this notice is not open for competition: it is a notice of intent to partner with Groundwork Richmond (GW RVA) under an existing agreement, and no applications are being accepted.

A major component of the project is to continue building GW RVA's Urban Trails Program, which aims to create safe pedestrian pathways that link residents from underserved areas to parks, recreation opportunities, and conserved natural resources. The work centers on public outreach and participation, such as attending public venues to promote trail development and to ensure neighborhood trail segments connect into broader citywide trail systems. It also includes hands-on community engagement, where GW RVA and partners educate residents about trail benefits, gather local input on trail routes and connections, and make sure neighborhood perspectives shape what gets built and improved. Another key deliverable is developing a long-term trail stewardship and maintenance approach. GW RVA is expected to research and compile best practices for community-based maintenance models like Adopt-a-Trail programs or Trail Friends groups, then translate that research into practical recommendations tailored to Richmond. The project requires selecting a trail segment or project to serve as a stewardship demonstration site, implementing the maintenance and stewardship strategy with community participation, evaluating results, and producing recommendations for scaling the approach to additional trails.

The partnership also looks beyond trails to Richmond's waterways by assessing opportunities for conservation and restoration of urban tributaries to the James River. This portion begins with convening meetings with city and community partners to identify realistic restoration and conservation opportunities that also serve broader community goals like environmental education, green jobs training, and neighborhood stewardship. GW RVA is expected to research comparable river conservation efforts in other cities, including examples from Groundwork Lawrence and Groundwork Cincinnati, and distill lessons learned into recommendations for Richmond stakeholders. The work then becomes more site-specific: identify an appropriate restoration location, develop a plan, and select an initial phase to implement as a demonstration project. Volunteer engagement is built into the approach, with planning and organizing volunteer opportunities to support restoration activities. After implementing the first phase, GW RVA must assess outcomes and provide guidance on whether and how similar restoration projects should proceed in the future, supported by documented results.

Another central element is building stronger organizational infrastructure through a GW Richmond Volunteer Management System. The intent is to improve how volunteers are recruited, coordinated, supported, and retained across GW RVA projects and programs, while also making volunteer participation easier for residents, partners, and other stakeholders. The tasks include researching volunteer management systems used by other organizations, compiling recommendations for how a system should be designed and maintained in the context of GW RVA's existing volunteer base, and selecting a specific project or program where the system can be piloted. From there, GW RVA develops an implementation plan, explores ways to involve volunteers in building the system itself, launches a first phase, and then evaluates how well it worked. The evaluation is expected to produce recommendations for expansion to additional projects and programs, along with documentation of outcomes and any changes needed.

In addition to local delivery, the agreement includes a technical assistance role. GW RVA is expected to share experience and on-the-ground expertise with other communities working on similar efforts to improve access to parks, recreation, and conserved natural resources, in coordination with the National Park Service. This involves working with NPS to identify community-led projects that would benefit from Groundwork Richmond's support, creating work plans with each selected community project that spell out goals, roles, responsibilities, timelines, and expected outcomes, and then collaborating with those communities and NPS to achieve the stated results.

Across all project areas, the grant places strong emphasis on accountability, documentation, and reporting. GW RVA must track and document leveraged resources such as additional funding, in-kind contributions, volunteer hours, donated materials, and equipment. The organization is also required to maintain a photographic record and a running list of accomplishments for all projects undertaken. Progress is formally reported through quarterly narrative reports submitted to the NPS, describing work completed against the tasks in the agreement, along with final or periodic reporting that highlights accomplishments, assesses outcomes, and recommends adjustments for future efforts.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the community development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Groundwork Richmond VA Outdoor Recreation Partnership" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.954.
• This funding opportunity was created on Aug 29, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Notice of intent to partner with Groundwork RVA under existing agreement. No applications will be accepted.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $60,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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