Community Partnership Grant Program

The Mountain Recreation Metropolitan District believes that everyone deserves to be healthy and happy. The District’s Community Partnership Program is designed to:

• Enrich the lives of Eagle County residents so that everyone has an opportunity to be healthy and happy through recreational opportunities;
• Grow the breadth of reach and access to recreational programs and services in Eagle County;
• Keep recreational programs and services diverse and affordable; and
• Create partnerships that enhance recreational opportunities.

In order to qualify for the Community Partnership program, organizations must meet specific eligibility criteria.  Applicant organizations must:

• Offer programs or services that are recreational in nature or conduct improvement projects that expand or enhance recreation opportunities in the District;
• Serve Eagle County, as evidenced by (1) at least 80% of program participation coming from Eagle County or (2) propose projects directly benefitting and accessible to Mountain Recreation District residents;
•  Offer programs or projects that are available to everyone equally, with open participation or involvement that is not restricted by diversity factors such as race, ethnicity, religion, ability, skill, or financial ability to pay; and
• Be registered in good standing as a Colorado nonprofit organization with the Colorado Secretary of State and have 501c3 status.

Mountain Recreation will allocate significant funding in the FY24 budget to support successful applicants with in-kind support in the form of facility use or staff support for programs and services that expand or enhance the mission of Mountain Recreation.  Applicants should consider how the proposed program or service aligns with the Strategic Plan adopted by the Board of Directors of Mountain Rec (see website).  Alignment with the District’s mission, vision, and strategic plan will strengthen the application and should be emphasized in the program/project narrative.  In-Kind funding is available only to programs/events/services that are not conducted in partnership established with Mountain Recreation.

In-kind resources available through the grant process may include:

• Use of Mountain Rec’s owned/operated facilities
• Staff assistance (hourly basis)
• Registration/reservation services
• Child care/Camp spaces

Applications will open on July 15!

Applications will be accepted once per year from July 15-August 15 and be submitted to the Mountain Rec Board of Directors at their public September Board Meeting (third Wednesday of the month). Organizations wishing to apply must complete a Healthy and Happy In-Kind Grant Application found here.

Applications should be submitted to Lizzy Owens (LOwens@MountainRec.org) by 5pm August 15 each year.

Awardees will be required to submit a report detailing the results of the program/project within one year of grant award via report template supplied by Mountain Rec.  Report submittal is required in order to be eligible to apply for Community Partnership Grant awards in successive years.  Reports are due one year from date of grant award.

For more information about the Community Partnership Program, please contact Lizzy Owens, Community Engagement Manager.

Mountain Recreation recognizes that many organizations in the community offer mission-aligned programs and services that may be outside of the District’s ability to effectively or efficiently provide to the community.  Organizations such as these may establish a partner relationship that affords support to the mission and vision of District through a mutually beneficial and legally documented annual agreement.  Types and amounts of support are negotiated during the annual budget preparation period for inclusion in the budget proposed to the board and are not guaranteed year to year.

Mountain Recreation may recognize Youth Sports Organizations as specially qualified Youth Serving Organizations through an annually negotiated use of Mountain Rec owned / operated facilities in exchange for offering aligned services to the community and providing assistance to the District matching their expertise.  Organizations holding specially recognized status and user group agreements for 2023 include:

• Let Her Play
• The Cycle Effect
• Three Rivers Little League
• Vail Mountaineers Hockey Club
• Vail Valley Lacrosse Club
• Vail Valley Soccer Club
•  YouthPower365

Small Champions has negotiated an agreement with Mountain Rec for the mutual support of inclusive and adaptive programs that serve people with disabilities in Eagle County.  Small Champions provides inclusion services to families desiring to participate in District programming and the District shares its facilities with Small Champions to support adaptive programs.

Interested organizations are encouraged to connect with Community Outreach Manager Lizzy Owens prior to July of each year for consideration.  Partnership agreements shall be presented to the Mountain Recreation Board for consideration within the Annual Budget.

Partners are asked to submit an annual report on the template provided each year.

Mountain Recreation invests annually in an incubator style approach toward growing reach and equitable access to healthy, active, and social-emotional-behavioral health supporting recreational programs and services.   The incubator program will operate on an invitation only basis and will depend on the priorities set by the Board of Directors.  Mountain Recreation’s Board meets annually in summer to select priorities for the following year’s investment.

All Every Age Every Season Incubator Projects will be presented to the Mountain Recreation Board for consideration within the Annual Budget proposed.

Please watch here for updates.

Legal Disclaimer

In accordance with Mountain Recreation’s authority to adopt rules and regulations not in conflict with the constitution and laws of Colorado for carrying on the business, objects, and affairs of the board and Mountain Recreation, and its authority to exercise all rights and powers necessary or incidental to or implied from the specific powers granted to Mountain Rec by law (C.R.S. §32-1-1001(m)(n)), the Board of Directors or its designated agent(s) may approve of the payment of certain stipends to organizations for the provision of a service or facility to Mountain Recreation and/or its residents, where such service or facility is of the type that Mountain Recreation would or could otherwise provide and the provision thereof by the receiving organization defrays or eliminates the need for the District to do so, thus allowing Mountain Recreation to spend its resources on other items.