Seeking Input: Tahoe for All Grant Program

DRAFT Tahoe for All Grant Program Description

Recreation and Public Access Program
California Tahoe Conservancy

Background and Grant Program Overview

Eligibility Criteria and Funding Priorities

Funding Amount and Application Process

Background and Grant Program Overview

Conservancy Grant Guidelines

The California Tahoe Conservancy (Conservancy) administers grants from many funding sources and has agency-wide grant guidelines that apply to all grant applicants and grantees. Tahoe for All grant applicants and grantees should reference the Conservancy’s Grant Guidelines for guidance on grant funding administration, audit procedures, monitoring and reporting requirements, reimbursement processes, insurance requirements, and California Environmental Quality Act requirements.

This document outlines the Tahoe for All Grant Program Description, which guides the funding for the Tahoe for All Grant Program (Program) and complements the Conservancy’s agency-wide grant guidelines. Applicants and grantees will need to read and understand both the Conservancy Grant Guidelines and the additional guidance provided in this document.

Tahoe for All Grant Program

The goal of the Program is to support programs and projects that provide positive and inclusive outdoor experiences for communities that face barriers to accessing outdoor recreation infrastructure and opportunities in the Lake Tahoe Basin (Basin). Although Lake Tahoe is a world-class outdoor recreation destination, many people face barriers to accessing and enjoying its recreational opportunities. In California and nationwide, outdoor access and its benefits are not equitably available to all communities. The Program seeks to improve access to Lake Tahoe and surrounding forests for historically underserved and excluded people and communities by providing grants to programs and projects that address economic, physical, social, cultural, or other barriers. The Program supports the Conservancy’s Strategic Plan by improving equitable access to outdoor recreation, and the California Outdoors for All Initiative, which directs state agencies to expand all Californians’ access to parks, open space, nature, and cultural amenities.

The Conservancy will establish and Advisory Committee to help create an equitable and impactful program. The Advisory Committee will comprise people who have experience and expertise related to the Program’s purpose. The Advisory Committee will assist Conservancy staff in reviewing applications. It will also provide input on Program processes, along with Conservancy Board Members. Advisory Committee members will serve two-year terms.

Priority Communities

Through the Program, the Conservancy aims to reduce economic, physical, social, cultural, or other barriers for communities that have been historically underserved and excluded from outdoor spaces at Lake Tahoe. Examples of priority communities served by the Program include, but are not limited to: people of color, people with physical, cognitive, or emotional disabilities, low-income individuals or households, English as an additional language learners, Federally recognized Native American tribes, foster youth, and other historically excluded communities who face barriers to accessing and enjoying Lake Tahoe and the surrounding public lands. The Conservancy acknowledges that many Californians face barriers to accessing the Basin and encourages all organizations working to reduce barriers to accessing and enjoying outdoor recreation opportunities in the Basin to apply.

Eligibility Criteria and Funding Priorities

Eligibility Criteria

Unless the funding source specifies otherwise, eligible applicants for Program funding include:

• Local public agencies including cities, counties, special districts, and joint powers authorities; state agencies; federal agencies; the Tahoe Transportation District; and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency;
• Federally recognized Native American tribes; and
• Nonprofit organizations registered to do business in California and identified in section 66905.9 of the Government Code as “any private, nonprofit organization which qualifies for exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and has among its principal charitable purposes the preservation of land for scientific, historic, educational, recreational, scenic, or open-space opportunities, or protection of the natural environment or preservation or enhancement of wildlife.”

Eligible projects must:

• Serve the priority communities defined above;
• Increase access by reducing economic, social, physical, cultural, or other barriers to visiting and experiencing the Basin;
• Provide or enhance recreational or educational outdoor experiences in the Basin;

• Be located within the California side of the Basin.

Funding Priorities

The Conservancy’s scoring criteria will consider but is not limited to, the extent to which the project:

• Provides an enjoyable outdoor experience in the Basin;
• Serves participants from groups that consistently face barriers to experiencing and enjoying the Basin;
• Reduces economic, physical, cultural, or social barriers to enjoying and connecting with the Basin;
• Facilitates the inclusion of all participants by considering differences in cultural and social backgrounds, experiences, physical capabilities, knowledge, and comfort levels;
• Serves participants with varying physical and/or cognitive abilities;
• Provides long-term positive impacts on participants by providing leadership development opportunities, multi-year programming, participant engagement over multiple occasions, family members or other support systems involvement, peer-to-peer mentorship, solutions to overcoming ongoing barriers, or career pathways creation;
• Has an outreach strategy to recruit participants from priority communities;
• Has a clear and reasonable budget that balances impact on participants with funding requested;
• Includes methods to monitor progress towards meeting project objectives and impacts on participants.

Funding Amount and Application Process  

Award Amount and Reimbursement

Based on available funding, Conservancy staff will announce available funding and minimum and maximum grant amounts in the funding announcement. Conservancy staff may also recommend to the Conservancy Board an award amount that is lower than the amount requested.

The Conservancy will likely distribute grant funds as reimbursements for expenses paid, unless otherwise specified in the funding announcement.

Project Duration

Applicants may request one to three years of funding unless otherwise specified in the funding announcement.

Solicitation and Application Process

At the beginning of each grant round, the Conservancy will publish a funding announcement on the California Tahoe Conservancy website, the California Grants Portal (www.grants.ca.gov), various social media outlets, and email lists. The funding announcement will provide information for applicants to successfully apply, including grant application processes and templates, deadlines, grant scoring criteria, funding availability, minimum and maximum award amounts, and grant application assistance.

After the grant application deadline, Conservancy staff and the Advisory Committee will review all applications and score them using the scoring criteria published in the funding announcement; the scoring criteria will be based on the funding priorities listed above.