Whereas RPOSD had established a decades-long history of granting funds for capital projects that promote, preserve, and protect parks and open space, this particular date marked the first cycle of competitive grants ever released by RPOSD that awarded funding for the expansion and creation of new recreation programs – a first in almost 30 years of grantmaking.
This cycle consisted of $23 million in funding for the following two Measure A competitive grant programs:
- The Youth and Veteran Job Training and Placement program for the 2022 cycle was scheduled to award up to $10.9 million in Measure A grant funding for education, skills training (career development), certification, and job placement programs in the field of parks and recreation for youth and veterans across Los Angeles County.
- The Recreation Access program for the 2022 cycle was scheduled to award up to $11.1 million in Measure A grant funding for programs aimed at increasing accessibility for Los Angeles County residents to public lands and park facilities, including education, interpretive services, safety information, transportation, and other activities, especially for those in high and very high park-need areas. Another highlight of this program was RPOSD’s collaboration with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) to provide an additional $1 million in Metro funding for transit to parks programs and initiatives as well as service improvements that directly connected the communities to high-quality park facilities.