Request an Eligible Partner Project Grant

Eligible Partner Project Grants may be applied for by a governmental or quasi-governmental entity that provides park and recreation services, such as Title 32 recreation districts and school districts (only to the extent that any school district uses City-provided funding pursuant to this policy for Allowable Uses, and which owns the property or has a right to use the property on which the Eligible Partner Project is located), and 501(c)(3) organizations that provide recreational amenities and uses within the City that qualify as an Eligible Partner Project.

A separate application must be submitted for each project. A project application for which the City could provide funding must meet ALL of the following eligibility requirements:

• Meet with City staff prior to submittal of grant application to ensure that the application meets program requirements;
• Involve design, construction, or renovation of a park, recreational facility, open space or trail;
• Be open to and available for use by the public;
• Be in one of the following locations, listed in order of preference:

1. Within the City;
2. On land intended for annexation by the City; or
3. In an area that significantly serves Centennial residents.

• Meet one or more of the priorities and recommendations in the Trails and Recreation Plan(PDF, 3MB);
• Have an ongoing funding source for maintenance and replacement that does not involve City funding;
• The Eligible Partner must commit matching funds of:

1. Ten percent for projects costing up to $100,000.00
2. Twenty-five percent for projects exceeding $100,000.00
3. Note: Matching funds may not include Arapahoe County Open Space grant funding or in-kind services.

If a project is approved for grant funding, the applicant will enter into a funding agreement with the City. Here is an example of the funding agreement(PDF, 328KB).

Step 1: Prior to application submittal, please schedule a meeting with Centennial Staff at centennialplanning@centennialco.gov to discuss your grant application. However, reach out to staff with questions about this program year round.

Step 2: Application submittal. The 2025 Eligible Project Grant applications ended on April 30, 2024. Applications for 2026 funding year will be accepted between January 1 to April 30, 2025.

Step 3: City staff will review applications and make recommendations to the City’s Open Space Advisory Board (OSAB).

Step 4: The applicant (or applicant’s representative) will be required to present their project application to OSAB at its regularly scheduled June meeting. OSAB will review and recommend which project applications should move forward to City Council for funding consideration.

Step 5: City Council will approve or deny applications as part of the City’s annual budget process in November each year.

Step 6: Once approved, the Eligible Partner will sign a funding agreement with the City.