Exploring and Enhancing Outdoor and Heritage Tourism in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

The National Park Service, through NPS Chesapeake Gateways, is offering the Exploring and Enhancing Outdoor and Heritage Tourism in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed grant under Funding Opportunity Number P27AS00032 and Assistance Listing 15.930, Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network. For nearly thirty years, NPS Chesapeake Gateways has worked with partners to connect visitors and residents with the natural and cultural heritage, recreational opportunities, stories, places, and experiences of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The program is authorized by the Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act of 1998. Its goal is to encourage outdoor recreation and natural, historical, and cultural tourism that expands access to and awareness of the Chesapeake Bay watershed while fostering community economic development. The competitive program supports projects that enhance and expand outdoor recreation and natural, historical, and cultural tourism, connect outdoor and heritage tourism with economic impact, and celebrate gateway communities that invite residents and visitors to explore authentic Chesapeake places and stories. Funding is divided into two categories. Linking Tourism and Economic Impact Projects may receive $25,000 to $50,000 and may support visitor amenities, tourism and economic development capacity, visitor experiences, local recreation and history, main street improvements, Tribal Nation tourism, accessibility, connectivity among outdoor spaces and communities, and expanded recreational and heritage experiences. Network and Community Events, including America at 250 activities, may receive $10,000 to $20,000 for qualifying public events and festivals. Applicants are encouraged to prioritize projects and events supporting the celebration of America's 250th birthday. Across the entire opportunity, the stated award range is $10,000 to $50,000, estimated total program funding is $1,000,000, and 26 awards are expected. Projects must provide a public purpose consistent with the Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act and must occur within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Projects outside the watershed are ineligible. Construction projects other than structural improvements, archeology projects, land acquisition, building acquisition, and endowments will not be selected for funding under the applicable restrictions. Grant funds cannot be used to purchase alcohol, lobby, or support costs that are unallowable under 2 CFR 200. Projects resulting in ground disturbance must budget appropriately for necessary permitting and NEPA and Section 106 compliance assessments unless those costs are covered through other funding. Cost sharing is not required. Applicants may address indirect costs through an eligible de minimis rate of up to 15 percent of modified total direct costs or through an applicable negotiated indirect cost rate. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and state controlled and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; Native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments; public housing and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status, excluding institutions of higher education from those nonprofit categories; for profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The applicant must also satisfy the Chesapeake Gateways Network requirement. At a minimum, the applicant must be a non-federal Chesapeake Gateways Network member or an organization pursuing an eligible self-nomination. A self-nomination does not have to be approved by the application deadline, but rejection of a pending nomination makes the applicant ineligible to proceed to merit review. Foreign entities and projects conducted outside the United States are not funded, and NPS reviews applicant entities and key project personnel against SAM.gov exclusions before award. Applications must be submitted electronically to the National Park Service through Grants.gov and cannot be submitted by email or U.S. Mail. Applicants must complete required registrations, including SAM.gov and Grants.gov, and an Authorized Organization Representative must submit the Grants.gov Workspace. Required application materials include SF-424, SF-424A, a Project Abstract Summary, a detailed budget, a Project Narrative, and a Budget Narrative, with additional forms applying in specified circumstances. The Project Narrative is limited to eight pages using at least 11 point font and one inch margins and must address the project overview, purpose, goals, objectives, grant category, deliverables, watershed location, Chesapeake Gateways partner, tasks and milestones, strategic intent, economic impact, community collaboration, organizational capacity, project team, and proposed partners. Optional resumes may be submitted and do not count toward the eight page limit. Partner letters of support are not required, although the narrative should confirm partner concurrence and support. Eligible applications undergo an initial review followed by comprehensive merit review. The four weighted merit criteria are Connection to the Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act at 22 percent, Connection to Economic Impact at 34 percent, Investments in Community Collaborations at 22 percent, and Clarity of the Project's Operational Plan and Team Capacity at 22 percent. Applications are scored from zero to five for each criterion. Reviewers also examine budgets for correctness, necessity, reasonableness, allowable costs, required approvals, proper indirect cost treatment, and potential duplication. Final selection may additionally consider geographic distribution within the watershed, types of awardees, thematic distribution, available funding, and recommendations from the NPS Chesapeake Gateways Superintendent. A pre-award risk review considers financial management, project delivery experience, staffing, past award performance, administrative and reporting compliance, and project complexity. The opportunity was posted August 27, 2026, and applications are due November 4, 2026, no later than 11:59 PM Eastern Time. No required pre-application deadline is identified. The anticipated project period is May 1, 2027 through April 30, 2029. Programmatic questions may be directed to Samantha Utt, Project Coordinator, at Chesapeake_grants@nps.gov. Administrative and submission difficulty questions may be directed to Monica Marcus, Financial Assistance Awarding Officer, at FinancialAssistance_Chesapeake@nps.gov. Grants.gov technical support is available at Support@grants.gov or 1-800-518-4726. Award notices are issued electronically through GrantSolutions or email, and only a Notice of Federal Award signed by an authorized Grants Officer legally obligates funding. The source does not state that this opportunity recurs annually or on another regular schedule.

Organize the narrative so each merit criterion is separately and clearly addressed. Demonstrate a strong connection to the Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act and at least one applicable interpretive theme. Give particular attention to the project's connection to economic impact because this criterion carries the highest weight at 34%. Demonstrate substantive community collaboration, especially with Chesapeake Gateways Places or Experiences. Clearly align objectives, activities, costs, deliverables, outcomes, budget, and team expertise. Keep administrative and indirect costs reasonable because reviewers consider lower administrative and indirect costs as a competitive factor. Confirm partner concurrence in the narrative even though letters of support are not required. Do not rely on hyperlinks to supply proposal information because external information will not be considered. Submit well before the deadline and ensure the Grants.gov submission passes validation checks.