Grants for community parks and recreation centers

1,357 community parks and recreation centers received at least $53.2 million in grants for the most recent fiscal year. This includes 1,895 grants made from 1,453 grantmaking organizations, with a median grant amount of $1,048. Of these 1,453 foundations, 85% made just a single grant to community parks, and 2% made grants to four or more community parks. This analysis is based on grantmakers that e-file their Form 990s, and likely is an undercount of grants.
$53,248,876
Total grant dollars given to community parks and recreation centers
1,895
Number of grants made annually to community parks and recreation centers
1,453
Number of grantmakers funding community parks and recreation centers
$1,048
Median grant size to community parks and recreation centers

Foundations that support community parks and recreation centers

Out of all grants made to community parks and recreation centers, 76% came from small foundations with less than $10 million in assets. The top 10 grantmakers accounted for 73% of the dollar-value of grants to community parks. Foundations funding community parks also made grants to multiservice human service organizations, food banks, educational service providers, food distribution programs, and natural resource conservation nonprofits.

Foundation size

Foundation sizeNumber of grantmakers
Small
 
1,116
Medium
 
182
Large
 
155
Small foundations have <$10M in assets. Medium foundations have $10M to $50M in assets. Large foundations have >$50M in assets.

Foundation type

Foundation typeNumber of grantmakers
Community
 
48
Private
 
1,227
Corporate
 
73
Other
 
105

Grants made

Grants made to community parksNumber of grantmakers
1
 
1,247
2-3
 
176
4-10
 
20
11+
 
10

Top 10 foundations supporting community parks and recreation centers

GrantmakerStateGeographic focusPercent of grant dollars to community parksNumber of grants made to community parksMedian grant size
Seattle FoundationWAState0.0%25$1,000
Community Foundation of Greater Des MoinesIAState0.1%20$2,000
Alliant Energy FoundationWIState0.6%17$538
Shell Oil Company FoundationTXNational0.1%17$250
Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (CFMT)TNMetro0.1%16$764
Salesforce Com FoundationCANational0.1%16$100
Baird FoundationWINational0.2%16$250
JP Morgan Chase FoundationNYNational0.0%15$500
Abbvie FoundationILNational0.0%14$150
Carmax FoundationVANational0.1%13$1,000

Community parks and recreation centers grantees

Community parks and recreation centers with more than $5 million in total revenues received 63% of all grant dollars. These larger organizations accounted for 29% of all community parks.

Grant amounts

Size of grantNumber of grants
<$10k
 
1,881
$10k-$25k
 
0
$25k-$100k
 
0
$100k+
 
14

Grant amount by grantee size

Grantee annual revenueMedian grant size
<$100k
 
$1,300
$100k-$500k
 
$1,500
$500k-$1M
 
$1,100
$1M-$5M
 
$1,000
>$5M
 
$1,000

Grantee states

State of granteeNumber of grants
New York
 
448
California
 
184
Pennsylvania
 
105
Texas
 
76
Other
 
1,082

Grantee metros

Metro area of granteeNumber of grants
New York City
 
402
San Francisco
 
87
Atlanta
 
56
Chicago
 
55
Other
 
1,035

Top 25 grants made to community parks and recreation centers

GranteeGrant sizePurposeGrantmaker
Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore$6,564,659General SupportThe Associated Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore
Muskingum Recreation Center$4,688,950General SupportMuskingum County Community Foundation (MCCF)
San Francisco Parks Alliance$4,500,000General SupportStanford University
The Big Sky Community Organization (BSCC)$4,000,000EnvironmentSilicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF)
Central Park Conservancy$3,750,000General UnrestrictedThomas L. Kempner Jr Foundation
National Winter Activity Center Winter4kids (NWAC)$3,342,190General SupportCommunity Foundation of New Jersey
The Bay Park Conservancy$3,120,966EnvironmentGulf Coast Community Foundation
The Big Sky Community Organization (BSCC)$3,026,612Community Center/trailhead ImprovYellowstone Club Community Foundation
Minneapolis Parks Foundation (MPF)$3,019,600General Operating SupportThe Minneapolis Foundation
Rushville Fitness and Community Center$2,890,000Support the Community Fitness Center ProjectThe Chicago Community Trust
Jewish Community of Louisville$2,854,005Capital Campaign, Programs, Education, Preschool, Camps, Security, Outreach, EngagementJewish Heritage Fund for Excellence (JHFE)
FitLot$2,799,858Grant To Design & Build 15 Publicly Accessible Fitlot Outdoor Fitness Parks for the 50+ Population Across the United StatesAarp
Dorothea Dix Park Conservancy$2,515,058Public & Societal BenefitNorth Carolina Community Foundation (NCCF)
Shepherd Center Foundation$2,500,000Traumatic Brain Injury Center Expansion PartnerBoulder Crest Foundation
Blanchester Pool and Recreation Center$5,000Repair Community CenterRichard and Shirley Vallee Charitable Foundation
Aspinwall Riverfront Park$5,000Collaborative Program SupportPennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC)
City of Fountains Foundation$5,000Operating SupportThe Estelle S and Robert A Long Ellis Foundation
Central Park Conservancy$5,000GeneralThe Bonnie Ward Simon Foundation
Central Park Conservancy$5,000General SupportThe Jerome P and Carol B Kenney Trust
Piedmont Park Conservancy$5,000General OperationsSpeedwell Foundation
Santa Barbara Mountain Bike Trail Volunteers$5,000Human ServicesSanta Barbara Foundation
Boston Harbor Now$5,000GeneralMarion L Decrow Foundation
Alchemy Skateboarding$5,000Charitable Contribution Through the Matching Gifts ProgramAnnie E Casey Foundation (AECF)
Oshman Family Jewish Community Center$5,000In Support of the Icon ProgramShimon Ben Joseph Foundation
Oshman Family Jewish Community Center$5,000General Operating SupportShimon Ben Joseph Foundation
Methodology: To determine grants and grantees, Cause IQ analyzes electronically-filed Form 990, Form 990-EZ, and Form 990-PF financial disclosure documents, matching grantees to specific organizations using EINs and fuzzy matching logic. The "Community parks and recreation centers" category for this page is determined by the "N30: Physical Fitness and Community Recreational Facilities" National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) code. Cause IQ determines NTEEs for organizations by its own internally-developed secret-sauce algorithms.