Lower Colorado River Authority Again Offering Vital Grants in the Concho Valley

SAN ANGELO – The Lower Colorado River Authority is again offering grants of up to $50,000 for community projects throughout LCRA’s wholesale power, water and transmission service areas.

Applications for Community Development Partnership Program grants will be available online in July and must be submitted by midnight July 31. Most grants are for $25,000 or less, but several grants of up to $50,000 are awarded during each cycle.

According to the LCRA, grants will help provide for a regional firefighter training facility in Caldwell County; electrical upgrades, a renovated kitchen and expanded bathrooms at the Mills County Civic Center in Goldthwaite; a new chassis for an aging brush truck used by the Christoval Volunteer Fire Department; and completion of the initial phase of a Veterans Honor Park in Giddings.

Eligible organizations include volunteer fire departments, emergency responders, local governments, schools, libraries, civic groups, museums and other tax-exempt nonprofit organizations. The grants are not available to individuals, for-profit entities, professional associations, social service projects or limited-use facilities.

Applicants requesting more than $5,000 in grant funding must supply matching funds of at least 20 percent of the total project cost. The projects must benefit or be available to an entire community and also improve the value of a capital asset through building, renovating or purchasing equipment.

Organizations in all or part of the following counties are eligible for CDPP grants: Aransas, Austin, Bandera, Bastrop, Blanco, Brown, Burleson, Burnet, Caldwell, Callahan, Cameron, Coke, Coleman, Colorado, Comal, Concho, Coryell, Crane, Crockett, Culberson, DeWitt, Dimmit, Eastland, Ector, Edwards, Fayette, Gillespie, Goliad, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Hamilton, Harris, Hays, Hidalgo, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, Lampasas, Lavaca, Lee, Llano, Mason, Matagorda, Maverick, McCulloch, Medina, Menard, Midland, Mills, Nolan, Nueces, Pecos, Real, San Patricio, San Saba, Schleicher, Starr, Sterling, Sutton, Taylor, Terrell, Tom Green, Travis, Upton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Waller, Washington, Wharton, Williamson and Zavala.

In the most recent round of grants in spring 2022, LCRA awarded more than $815,000 to 36 projects, including purchasing new vehicles and equipment for first responders; making renovations to historic buildings; and improving parks and community centers.

Visit lcra.org/cdpp for details about eligibility requirements and previous grant awards. Applications will be available July 1. For questions, email [email protected] or call 800-776-5272, ext. 3140 or ext. 1627.