Governor Roy Cooper recently announced $17.9 million in grants to fund 46 local parks and recreation projects across the state through the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF). The Parks and Recreation Authority approved the grants at an Aug. 23 meeting.

“These awards through the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund and the Accessible Parks Grant will bring tremendous impact to communities across North Carolina by providing more parks, more trails and more accessible recreation,” said Governor Cooper in a press release. 

Local governments applied to PARTF to fund land acquisition, and development and renovation of public park and recreation areas. Every year, the Parks and Recreation Authority allocates to municipalities and counties 30% of PARTF’s total funding. A maximum of $500,000 can be awarded to a single project, and the awardees must match funds at least dollar-for-dollar for the grant amount. This year, the Authority considered 40 grant applications requesting a total of more than $15.1 million. Of those, 22 projects were funded at the full request and one project was awarded partial funding, all totaling over $9.5 million.

One of the funded projects was the Sandy Ramey Keith Park Expansion in the Town of Vass in Moore County which was awarded $225,000.

PARTF celebrated its 30th anniversary earlier this summer, on July 16, 2024, with a proclamation from Gov. Cooper. The fund is administered through the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation. Local grants are awarded annually by the Authority at its quarterly meeting in August.