LCRA MAKES $100,000 COMMUNITY GRANTS PERMANENT
An increased grant award opportunity from the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), created in celebration of 30 years of community grants, is now a permanent addition.
LCRA said in a release that its Board of Directors has chosen to make $100,000 grants a standing feature of the LCRA’s Community Grants program, after introducing them as part of the 30th anniversary of the program and seeing “record application volume” as a result.
Beginning in July, two $100,000 grants will be awarded, one during each of the two yearly application cycles. The new tier joins existing grants of up to $50,000.
The two $100,000 grants that were presented during the 30th year grant cycle went toward the expansion and modernization of the El Progreso Memorial Library in Uvalde, as well as closing the gap for the Divide Volunteer Fire Department in Kerr County to more than double the size of its current fire station.
LCRA Acting General Manager Jim Travis said the $100,000 grant tier is to support communities that need a partner to complete the last portion of large projects. He said, “We’re now making it an ongoing part of the program because increasing project costs are making it harder for communities to complete these projects, while the need for these investments continues to grow.”
According to LCRA, since launching in 1995, the grant program has awarded 2,218 grants totaling over $56 million. Combined with $250 million in community-raised matching funds, the program has invested nearly $307 million in local communities.
Applications for the next funding cycle will open on July 1st at https://lcra.org/grants. Applicants may include volunteer fire departments, emergency responders, libraries, civic groups, museums and other tax-exempt nonprofits, as well as local governments, schools and hospitals in LCRA’s service areas.