Applications for grants of up to $50,000 to support first responders and community projects are now available from the Lower Colorado River Authority. The grants can be used to improve fire stations and provide new equipment for emergency response teams, as well as improve local community centers, sports fields, museums, parks and more.
LCRA awards Community Development Partnership Program grants for community projects twice a year to nonprofits such as volunteer fire departments, emergency responders, local governments, schools, libraries, civic groups, museums and other tax-exempt nonprofit organizations. The grants are not available to individuals, forprofit entities, professional associations, social service projects or limited-use facilities.
Applications for the next round of grants are available online at lcra.org/cdpp and must be submitted by midnight on Jan. 31. Most grants are for $25,000 or less, but several grants of up to $50,000 are awarded every grant cycle.
Applicants requesting more than $5,000 in grant funding must supply matching funds of at least 20 percent of the total project cost. The projects must benefit or be available to an entire community and improve the value of a capital asset through building, renovating or purchasing equipment.
Organizations in all or part of the following counties are eligible for CDPP grants: Aransas, Austin, Bandera, Bastrop, Blanco, Brown, Burleson, Burnet, Caldwell, Callahan, Cameron, Coke, Coleman, Colorado, Comal, Concho, Coryell, Crane, Crockett, Culberson, DeWitt, Dimmit, Eastland, Ector, Edwards, Fayette, Gillespie, Goliad, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Hamilton, Harris, Hays, Hidalgo, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, Lampasas, Lavaca, Lee, Llano, Mason, Matagorda, Maverick, McCulloch, Medina, Menard, Midland, Mills, Nolan, Nueces, Pecos, Real, San Patricio, San Saba, Schleicher, Starr, Sterling, Sutton, Taylor, Terrell, Tom Green, Travis, Upton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Waller, Washington, Wharton, Williamson and Zavala.
In the most recent round of grants in late 2023, LCRA awarded 45 grants worth almost a million dollars. The $996,929 in grants included awards for park renovations in McCamey, new lifesaving gear for several fire departments, repairs to the Eagle Lake swimming pool and improvements to numerous community centers, libraries and ballfields.
Visit lcra.org/cdpp for information on eligibility requirements and to submit an application. For more information, email [email protected] or call 800-776-5272, ext. 3140 or ext. 1627.
