2012 Playful City USA Construction Grant Overview

What is the Playful City USA Let’s Play Grant Program?
The Playful City USA Let’s Play grant program is excited to offer 25 $20,000 grants to qualifying organizations to be used towards the purchase of playground equipment that will be built using the KaBOOM! community-build model. Grantees will plan their project, share best practices, and challenges through the KaBOOM! website. Communities who receive a grant must complete their playground project within a year of award.

Why use the community-build model?
Your playground project is an opportunity to bring your community together around the common cause of play and the very tangible result of building a playground. By working together to make your playground project a reality, you will transform part of your neighborhood into something that is beautiful, safe and fun for children. Your project will be an opportunity to empower the individuals involved to form alliances and to experience achievable wins. After a successful playground build, people often see their community differently and recognize that they can make other changes as well. KaBOOM! refers to this as Cascading Steps of Leadership.

Why require online engagement of grantees?
The online tools have helped to improve the planning process for communities across the country. By using the online tools, you will benefit from what others have learned and you will be able to share valuable new insights with others. Grantees will share successes and challenges through a variety of KaBOOM! online tools, including the Project Planner. If you aren’t internet savvy, partner with a colleague to help you with this portion of the program.

Why a Challenge Grant?
We want to inspire a community who has recognized a need for a playground to do something about it and provide an opportunity for a community who has begun to work on a project to dream even bigger. Your playground project costs will include playground equipment, safety surfacing, site prep and side projects. Grants of $20,000 will be made through this challenge grant program to offset your equipment costs. Selected grantees will agree to fundraise for equipment that will fall in the range of $30,000 to $60,000 total. That is a generous $1 for every $1.50 - $3.00 your community raises toward the equipment portion of your project.

Why must the project be completed within one year of being awarded?
We have heard from communities that one of the most important keys for success in a project like this is to establish a Build Date. Past experience has demonstrated that a community can accomplish the work needed to complete their project in eight months. Projects that go for longer than a year can become burdensome to the individuals most involved. Selected grantees will commit to making their playground dream a reality by no later than a year after they are awarded the grant.

Where could we find partners to build this playground?
In section three of the Playful City USA (re)application you audited your community’s playspaces and used the KaBOOM! Playspace Finder to map the data. This visualization of data helps you identify the play desert(s) in your community – places where there is no playground within walking distance of the young people that live there. Partnering with an organization that owns land suitable to construct a playground, and serves communities facing significant need and a play deficit are important criteria in the grant evaluation process. The city may also own the land and serve as the grantee (see eligibility requirements).

Mini-Case Studies:

• For the past three years, Dothan, Alabama (population 65,000) has used volunteers to build one playground per summer. According to Kim Meeker, Assistant Director-Operations Dothan Leisure Services, the community-build “model has transformed our thinking of playground builds from being just construction projects to being a valuable tool for building alliances in neighborhoods and creating neighborhood pride. The builds also provide newsworthy events that show our community in a positive light; of course we have already saved many thousands of dollars in the process. Thanks to KaBOOM! every playground built in Dothan will be a Community Built Playground.”
• Similarly, Greenbelt, Maryland (population 21,000) uses volunteers consistently to build new playgrounds and renovate existing playgrounds. With a large number of playgrounds within walking distance of citizens, partnership with different Homeowner’s Associations and the use of volunteers are essential components to maintaining high quality play opportunities in the city.

About the grant: A National Partner of KaBOOM!, Dr Pepper Snapple Group has made a $15 million, three-year commitment to the organization as part of the company’s Let’s Play initiative. Let’s Play is a community partnership led by Dr Pepper Snapple Group designed to get kids active nationwide. Through Let's Play, KaBOOM! and Dr Pepper Snapple Group will provide the tools, places and inspiration to help communities increase physical activity.

Grant Applications are due March 29, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET. Grants are contingent on your community also successfully submitting a Playful City USA application and being selected for the program.

Eligibility

• To be eligible to apply for this grant, your organization must meet the following criteria:
• Submit a completed application
• Applicant (future playground owner) must own the land or possess a long term lease and must obtain permission from the land owner
• Applicant must be a non-profit organization or governmental subdivision
• Playground project cannot be supported through any other KaBOOM! funding
• Playground project must be a part of the online project planner (projects.kaboom.org) as a part of the application process. Please join KaBOOM! (kaboom.org/join) and establish a log-in to register your project.
• Scope of playground project must include a total equipment purchase of a minimum of $30,000 and a maximum of $60,000.
• Demonstrated ability to maintain the playground and fulfill commitments of the grant program.
• Submit your application by March 29, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET

Selected Grantee Program Requirements/Commitments

• Agree to purchase playground equipment from a KaBOOM! Preferred Vendor (Note: grant funds will be released directly to the equipment vendor to be used toward equipment purchase. Funds will only be released when grantee has demonstrated that they have raised the portion of the equipment not covered by the grant and complete a final report)
• Participation in monthly planning calls – grantee will join cohort of Playful City USA grantees, to share experiences and exchange feedback
• Complete steps of planning by established timelines (this will be provided to selected grantees)
• Submit proof of funds raised for the project (grant funds will only be released at this time)
• Post new pictures and information in your project record and on the playspace finder after the playground is completed

Program Requirements/Commitments in Letter of Intent that must be agreed to by Grantee

• Provide proof of commercial & general liability insurance for at least $1,000,000 and ability to list KaBOOM! and Dr Pepper Snapple as additional insured.
• Accept liability and maintain the playground
• Have space availability to accommodate a playground
• Agree to all eligibility requirements set forth in official grant agreement
• Ability to sign the letter of agreement for the grant.
• Acknowledge that neither KaBOOM! nor Dr Pepper Snapple nor their respective subsidiaries and affiliates, and their officers, directors, employees or agents shall be liable for any acts, omissions, injuries, errors or damages, whether direct, indirect, incidental or consequential, associated with the use of the Grant funds or the Grant sponsored project [agree to and able to sign an indemnification clause]
• Letter of Intent

Selection Criteria

Only applicants who have submitted complete applications and demonstrate they meet the eligibility requirements will be considered. Key criteria used in the competitive selection process include:

• Only communities successfully recognized as a 2012 Playful City USA are eligible for grant
• Demonstrated need for a playground in the community
• Anticipated impact that the playground and project will have on the community
• Impact on low income areas
• Capacity to engage the community in planning and building the playground
• Capacity to generate the matching funds to support and complete the build within the time frame of the grant period
• Demonstrated enthusiasm for this project and commitment to fulfill requirements