Promote Fishing, Outdoor Recreation, and Career Development thr | P19AS00107

Opportunity Information: Apply for P19AS00107

Promote Fishing, Outdoor Recreation, and Career Development thr (Funding Opportunity Number P19AS00107) was a discretionary grant opportunity offered by the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, using a cooperative agreement funding instrument. The project focus sits at the intersection of education and natural resources (CFDA 15.931) and was designed to broaden youth participation in outdoor recreation while also creating structured career development pathways for older students. The opportunity was created on April 10, 2019, with an original application closing date of April 19, 2019, indicating a short submission window.

The core purpose of the project was to increase awareness of and access to outdoor activities such as fishing, camping, archery, and related recreation opportunities for more than 4,000 youth and their families across the Denver metropolitan area. The emphasis was not just on introducing activities, but on reducing barriers to participation by actively connecting young people and families with ways to experience the outdoors in and around their community. A key theme is expanding the reach of the National Park experience beyond physical park boundaries, so that engagement with public lands and conservation-oriented recreation can happen where people live, learn, and gather, not only inside a single park unit.

Another major element of the opportunity was career development for high school and college students. While the announcement does not list specific job roles, the intent is clear: provide meaningful exposure to career pathways tied to outdoor recreation, conservation, public land stewardship, and agency operations. In practical terms, this kind of career development often includes mentorship, hands-on leadership roles, job-shadowing, facilitation or instruction experience, and skill-building that aligns with employment in parks, wildlife, outdoor education, and recreation management. By pairing youth programming with workforce development, the project aims to build both immediate community engagement and longer-term capacity by preparing the next generation of outdoor leaders and professionals.

The project was also explicitly collaborative across multiple public land and recreation partners. It sought to connect youth and families with a range of agencies and local entities, including the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and Denver Parks and Recreation. This multi-agency approach suggests coordinated programming and shared outreach, helping participants see outdoor recreation and stewardship as a connected system of opportunities rather than separate, hard-to-navigate programs. It also supports the idea of a "beyond the border" park experience, where national, state, and city partners work together to make public lands and outdoor resources more visible and accessible in an urban metro area.

In terms of funding, the opportunity anticipated a single award, with an award ceiling of $68,739. Eligibility was limited to nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education). The cooperative agreement format typically indicates that the National Park Service expected to play an active role in the project, such as collaborating on implementation, providing technical input, coordinating with partners, or supporting program delivery, rather than simply issuing funds and stepping back.

Overall, this grant opportunity targeted a specific, measurable community impact: reaching thousands of youth and families in the Denver area with hands-on outdoor recreation access, while also strengthening career readiness for older students and building durable partnerships among federal, state, and local public land and recreation organizations.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the education, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Promote Fishing, Outdoor Recreation, and Career Development thr" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.931.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 10, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 19, 2019. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $68,739.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

Apply for P19AS00107

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