2. What can FARR grants be used for?
Eligible projects include firearms and archery range
recreation facilities.
Land Acquisition - real property in fee title and
leases/easements of at least 10 years.
Development/renovation - fixed structures related
to range use and management, safety, environmental,
accessibility and noise abatement. Example projects
include: indoor or outdoor ranges, fencing, lighting,
picnic areas, restrooms, roads/trails, site preparation/landscaping,
and utilities.
3. Who may apply?
FARR Program funds are available to nonprofit shooting
organizations, school districts, and state, county,
and local governments. Certain municipal corporations,
such as port districts, park and recreation districts,
public utility districts, etc., may be eligible if
legally authorized to develop and maintain recreation
facilities. For further information, see RCW
79A.25.210.
4. What are the deadlines?
Applications are generally due in the spring of odd
numbered years with successful proposals approved
by the end of the year. Click here for the latest
information on workshops, application due dates, evaluation
schedules and Recreation and Conservation Funding Board (RCFB)
meetings.
5. How do you decide who receives a grant?
This program involves an open and highly competitive
process in which funding relies heavily on an applicant's
oral responses to a published set of Recreation and Conservation Funding Board (RCFB) approved evaluation
questions. The applicant makes this presentation before
an advisory committee assembled by RCFB to help prepare
funding recommendations. The committee, appointed
by the Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) Director, is composed of representatives
from such groups as law enforcement, shooting organizations,
and the general public. RCO staff presents these recommendations
to the RCFB for approval.
6. May I attend a funding decision meeting?
All evaluation and board meetings are open to the
public. The RCFB invites public testimony during
its project funding deliberations.
7. Are there any long-term commitments for funded
projects?
Program participants must repay the entire grant amount
if use of the range facility is discontinued less
than ten years after the grant is accepted (RCW
79A.25.210). Other commitments include ensuring
proper maintenance, facilitating audits, providing
for nondiscrimination, etc. Further information may
be found in Manual #7 on our Manuals, Forms, and Publications page under General Policy Manuals and Reimbursement Materials.
8. Are there public use requirements?
Yes. The FARR Program's goal is to assist in increasing
public access to ranges. This includes access by law
enforcement personnel, members of the general public
with concealed pistol or hunting licenses, and those
enrolled in firearm or hunter safety education classes.
RCFB requires that FARR projects provide for use by
the general community. For example, the facility must
be open to persons not affiliated with the applicant's
organization. Further, competitive events that require
participants to be certified prior to use do not meet
RCFB's definition of public use. RCFB's
Firearms and Archery Range Recreation Manual #11 on
our Documents & Reports page contains additional
information on minimum of availability.
9. Explain some of the funding rules
Are there funding limits?
Yes. While an applicant may submit more than one
application, RCFB's contribution to any single application
may not exceed $50,000. Each application is confined
to a single site. See Manual #4 on our Manuals, Forms, and Publications page under General Policy Manuals and Reimbursement Materials for limits on planning, permits, engineering, and construction supervision.
What is a matching share?
Matching shares are resources provided by a sponsor
to help complete a project. FARR Program projects
require a matching share, and availability must
be confirmed by RCFB before project approval. The
match may come from a variety of sources, including:
cash, donated land, labor, materials, or equipment
use. Existing sponsor assets, such as real property
and structures, may not be used as the match. Other
RCFB administered grant funds may not be used as
a match.
In the FARR Program, sponsors
must match grant awards as follows:
33 Percent Match for noise abatement
or safety improvement projects/project elements:
match at least one dollar in value for each two
dollars of the grant. The improvements must add
specific elements to an existing facility that significantly
protect surrounding properties from noise disturbance
and projectile hazards originating from the range
facility.
50 Percent Match for all other
projects/project elements: match at least one dollar
in value for each one dollar of the grant.
Explain reimbursements
Project sponsors do not receive grant funds at the
time of funding approval. Rather, reimbursement
takes place after the sponsor certifies that appropriate
expenditures have been made. This is done by submitting
a complete RCFB billing request form. The amount
reimbursed may never exceed actual out-of-pocket
expenses. Manual #8 on our Manuals, Forms &
Publications
page under General Policy Manuals and Reimbursement Materials for further information.
What happens to unused funds?
Any unused funds are either offered to the next
highest ranked project or held over for the next
grant cycle. Such funds may become available for
many reasons, including an approved project using
fewer dollars than anticipated or a proposed land
acquisition where the applicant is unable to come
to terms with the seller.
How is overall funding determined?
The Firearms and Archery Range Recreation Program
depends primarily on a biennial legislative appropriation
based on receipts from the sale of concealed pistol
licenses. In recent years, appropriations have averaged
approximately $280,000 each grants cycle.
