APF Awards First-Ever $100,000 Impact Grant to St. John Park

First Ever ACL Music Festival Impact Grant and Largest Amount Donated by APF Will Re-Develop East Side Park

AUSTIN, Texas (March 1, 2017) – Austin Parks Foundation (APF) is thrilled to announce that their inaugural ACL Music Festival Impact Grant of $100,000 has been awarded to the St. John Neighborhood Association. These funds will be used to support the redevelopment of St. John Park (933 Wilks Ave., Austin, TX 78752).

“St. John Park is located in City Council District 4, which has the least acreage of public parkland in Austin, as well as the highest percentage of children under the age of 10,” said Ladye Anne Wofford, APF’s Director of Programs. “The Impact Grant will help begin the transformation of this property into the neighborhood park that the St. John community wants and deserves. We at APF are tremendously proud that our organization can help improve the quality of life for residents in this community by helping to fund their park improvements.”

Austin Parks Foundation recently added the Impact Grant to allow for a variety of large-scale park improvements throughout the Austin community. The $100,000 gift is awarded once a year to one Adopt-a-Park group looking to create a master plan, or embark on significant capital improvements in their designated park.

The Impact Grant will be combined with funding from the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department to support the transformation of St. John Park into a vibrant and usable recreational space for the community. APF’s funding will allow for a new gazebo, information kiosk, drinking fountains, new sidewalk, picnic tables, and more to be included in the redevelopment.

“St. John’s neighborhood motto is ‘Together we can do more! ¡Juntos podemos hacer mas!,’” said Julie Weeks, St. John Neighborhood Association President. “We are thrilled to receive APF’s first ever Impact Grant and we are excited to come together as a neighborhood to help build a park that meets the needs of our community.”

The goal of the Impact Grant and of the ACL Music Festival Grants Program is to expand the reach of Austin City Limits Music Festival’s generosity and offer more opportunities for local park adopters to take ownership of the care and maintenance of their neighborhood parks. Additional grants in the program include Community Grants, which vary from $5,000 to $50,000 and are intended for large-scale projects, and Neighborhood Grants that range from $500 to $5,000 for smaller-scale projects.

2017 grant applications are currently being accepted. For more information about APF’s Grant Program and to apply, please visit austinparks.org/grants.