California Outdoor Equity Grant Program
Improving the health of Californians through outdoor opportunities
California’s Outdoor Equity Grant Program creates educational and recreational opportunities for underserved communities to experience the outdoors. Activities include service learning, career pathways and leadership opportunities with the goal of increasing access to the outdoors—whether at a local park, state park or on public lands.
Since its start, the program has allocated $57 million to 125 grantees. However, the program has received more than $167 million in grant requests from 384 organizations demonstrating a major gap between funding available and grants requested.
Outdoor recreation is a significant economic driver in California. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, outdoor recreation generated $54.7 billion and accounted for more than half a million jobs in 2021. Further increasing funding for the Outdoor Equity Grant Program will not only boost outdoor access and address inequity, but also help grow this massive economy for years to come.
