Playground grants in Utah

The Community Parks & Recreation Grant from the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation names playgrounds directly, along with community parks, sports fields and pools. It funds both building new facilities and rehabilitating existing ones, so a brand new playground and a renovation of an old one can both fit. Award sizes are not published.

If the goal is replacing worn-out play equipment, the same division also runs the Recreation Restoration Infrastructure Grant. It pays to repair or replace developed recreation infrastructure on public lands, which could cover an aging public playground. Both programs take applications in set cycles rather than year round. See our playgrounds for parks.

Yes, the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation runs two programs aimed at new facilities. The Land & Water Conservation Fund pays to create high-quality public outdoor recreation facilities, and a permanent public playground is that kind of facility. It runs in periodic cycles, not year round.

The Utah Outdoor Recreation Grant funds new outdoor recreation infrastructure and amenities, but only those that support local economic development. A playground proposal for this grant should show how it serves that goal, for example by drawing visitors to a park or town center. Award sizes are not published for either program. See our playgrounds for parks.

It can, for 501(c)(3) nonprofits in the Rocky Mountain Power service area. Government entities are sometimes considered for charitable purposes. Two of its yearly cycles fit play spaces. Environmental Respect names parks, trails and gardens, and Community Enhancement names community and recreation centers. Neither names playgrounds, but both allow small capital requests.

Grants are generally under $10,000, most fall between $2,000 and $5,000, and small capital grants top out at $5,000. The foundation does not fund capital campaigns or maintenance of existing facilities, so present a defined new piece such as shade or surfacing as its own project. You choose the cycle based on your organization's type, not the project.

It is difficult. Rocky Mountain Power Foundation grants go to 501(c)(3) nonprofits in its service area, so an HOA without that status is not eligible. Walmart Spark Good Local Grants, which fund many local community projects, state outright that homeowners' associations cannot apply.

The Rocky Mountain Power Foundation also will not pay to maintain existing facilities, so even an eligible group could not use it to repair an older HOA playground. A neighborhood group that is itself a 501(c)(3) nonprofit could apply for a small capital grant of up to $5,000 for a new addition. See our playgrounds for HOAs.

Yes, through Walmart Spark Good Local Grants, which accept faith-based organizations as long as the project benefits the broader community. The church must serve the same area as the Walmart store, Sam's Club or distribution center it applies to. Awards run from $250 to $5,000, so they cover part of a playground rather than the whole thing.

There are three application cycles each year. An organization that wins cannot apply to the same store again in the same fiscal year, so plan which piece of the project to request from each location. A playground open to neighborhood families fits the broader community requirement better than one limited to the congregation. See our church playground equipment.