How to Find Funding For Your New Community Playground

Building a playground for your school or community can be a fun, exciting job - but finding funding to make your visions for play a reality can sometimes be a challenge.

We work with many school communities, like those at St. Andrew School in Calgary, Alberta, who knew they needed a new playground but had to raise the funds themselves to build it. They built a fundraising strategy to raise money for the playground - and were able to successfully bring their vision to life!

So as you start to plan your playground and build your own budget gameplan, here are 3 ways you could consider to help find more funds for your project:

Community Fundraising – rally the community for a series of events, all geared to raise money (and excitement!) for your new playground. From bake sales to fun-runs, this is a great way to get your larger community involved in the new playground built for them.

Corporate Donations – approaching local businesses within the community is another good way to encourage community involvement, often times with a higher dollar value. Just remember be clear about your ask and your intent for the money, as well as what is available in return (will you post signage at the park or mention the Donor in a media release?).

Apply for grants and giveaways. Across the country, there are many organizations offering grant funding opportunities. Continue to search your area, and a national level, throughout the year as timeframes are often specific to each organization.

Right now, in Alberta, Alberta Recycling has open applications for it’s Municipal Grant Program, designed to help award recycled tire products (like surfacing) to community projects in the province - but act soon! This year's deadline for applications is November 14, 2019.

Similarly, in Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan inMotion has partnered with Saskatchewan Blue Cross for it’s Go Out & Play initiative, encouraging communities to rally together and stay active. Registration is now open for the March 2020 challenge.

Although it can sometimes feel like a hurdle, there are many ways to find funding for your playground – have fun with it! Involve the community, share your vision and get people excited about contributing to a new place to play for everyone to enjoy together.

Questions on how to get started? Connect with us – we can help.