Grant money for disc golf

 I am working with a local park to construct a disc golf course. There is little money to start the project, so we will need to either raise money or acquire it from grants. Does anyone have any experience on finding grant money for building a disc golf course? Any help is appreciated.

[Tom Westphal]

We put a disc golf course in a city park in Battle Creek, Michigan with alot of grant money. The park was underutilized and a bit of a den for crime. We wrote the grant with improving the park in mind. We now have more people using the park than ever before, non-disc golfers included, and the cops love the fact that they don't have as many calls to patrol the park. People are walking their dogs, kids are playing on the swings and old ladies are feeding the ducks and geese. Crime calls are down 80% and the course is being played every day. It truly is a "city" park now.

The emphasis of your grant should be a "cost-benefit" approach. The more people you can get to use the park (disc golfers and non-disc golfers alike), the more the local government will be open to funding your changes. Look at those angles when you write your grant and you'll be more apt to receive those funds. Don't restrict yourself to only a disc golf approach and you'll be more likely to be successful.

Tall Tom

[Steve West]

Who gives those grants? How do you apply? How did you find them?

[Tom Westphal]

Our local community foundation provided the grant money for us. They are very well funded through the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (Kellogg cereal founder) here in Battle Creek. We went to them because they are always looking for projets that promote community improvement. They eat that stuff right up.

[Chuck Kennedy]

Someone posted on another forum that Home Depot may grant up to $5K credit card for disc golf projects.

[Tom Westphal]

Chad, I didn't intend to steal your thunder. Your efforts were considerably bigger than mine. I was just sharing the info. You are truly one of the people responsible for making Irving Park Disc Golf Course what it is today.

For anyone interested, Chad has more perspective on the process than I do. I merely belong to the group that sponsored the process. Chad was one of the people who came up with the idea, then the funding (including the grant writing), then the implementation. I've only dug some holes, put in some tee mats, and designed the scorecards.

Tall Tom