Saratoga-Capitol District Parks Region Announces $97,750 in New Grant Funding for Critical Projects
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Friends of Saratoga Spa State Park is among four recipients of grant funds awarded this week.
The Saratoga-Capitol District Parks Region was awarded nearly $100,000 in new funding through Park and Trail Partnership Grants program. Funding will be disbursed to four of the regionals friends’ groups to build programming capacity, produce educational content, and develop key infrastructure projects. The full list of awards include:
• Friends of Saratoga Spa State Park ($75,000) – To restore the Coesa spring house, provide interpretive signage about the Coesa Mineral Spring, and to install a historically accurate replica of the original granite fountain.
• Friends of Fort Crailo ($6,500) – To harness the capacity to draw broader awareness to the Friends of Fort Crailo and Crailo State Historic Site by strengthening the board makeup, developing a strong membership plan, and creating a website.
• Friends of Grafton Lakes State Park ($9,506) – To build capacity through membership, volunteer, and donor development, and to fund a series of activities including hiking, mountain biking, summer film series, fundraising events, promotional materials, and other initiatives.
• Friends of Bennington Battlefield ($6,750) – To add professionally produced audio files via QR code to recently installed interpretive panels providing diverse accounts of the Battle.
“These grants speak to the thriving partnership between State Parks and Historic Sites and our individual Friends groups.” said Regional Director Alane Ball-Chinian, in a statement. “As community focused non-profits, our Friends groups are able to execute on unique projects that meet the needs of our patrons, made possible with the Park and Trail Partnership grants. This funding will change the capacity and landscape of our sites for generations to come”
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees more than 250 parks, historic sites, recreational trails, golf courses, boat launches and more, which are visited by 71 million people annually. A recent study found that New York State Parks generates $5 billion in park and visitor spending, which supports nearly 54,000 jobs and over $2.8 billion in additional state GDP. For more information on any of these recreation areas, call 518-474-0456 or visit www.parks.ny.gov.