ORIF Application Information

The following documents must be submitted prior to any award being made:
  • Form W-9
  • Proof of active SAM.gov registration - UEI #
  • For construction subawards
  • Environmental narrative
Application and Award Period
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, with the review committee meeting quarterly, as needed. All award funds must be spent by May 31, 2026. In order to allow time for projects, no applications will be accepted after December 31, 2025. The review committee may choose to award all funding prior to this deadline.

Program Management
The EDA State Outdoor Recreation Community Infrastructure Fund (ORCI) program is managed by the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs (BEA). The New Hampshire Office of Outdoor Recreation Industry Development (ORID) will operate the program as administrator to provide award notification, and servicing for grants applications and grants offered through the program.

Application and Funding Determination
  • ORIF Grant Materials on BEA website – July xx, 2022
  • Letter of Intent - due xx days prior to Application submission  
  • Applications Portal Opens – September XX, 2022
  • Grant Award/Unsuccessful Applicant notification -  October/November  
  • Grant Agreement Distribution – xx days after notification
Maximum Grant Award Amounts
The award ranges are as follows:
  • Development projects: max grant amount $1 million (construction, purchasing)
  • Pre-development projects: max grant amount $100,000 (planning, engineering, feasibility studies, strategic plan)
  • Awards are announced roughly 45-60 days after deadlines. Infrastructure awards may not be announced until 90-120 after deadlines.
  • Matching Requirement
  • There is no match requirement to be considered for funding; however, demonstrated matches may be considered more favorably in the evaluation process.
  • Outdoor Recreation Component

ORID Applicant Priority
After reviewing the eligibility criteria of each applicant, and if the total amount of money asked by participants exceeds the resources available in the grant program, priority will be given to applicants based on how many of the criteria for which they qualify within the program. In the event of multiple applications appearing equal in the assessment of these criteria, preference will be given to eligible applicants that are located in rural areas, are women, veteran and/or minority-owned, and meet additional criteria.

Review Committee
A review committee will be responsible for the evaluation of applications and will subsequently make recommendations of approval to BEA’s Compliance Manager and the EDA Program Manager. The review committee will be composed of the following:
  • Two (2) BEA staff members, aside from the Program Manager
  • Two (2) State of New Hampshire employees from other divisions
  • One (1) external volunteer with expertise in grant making and/or outdoor recreation
Applicants may not contact review committee members at any point to discuss their application. Any applicant found to have done so will have their application automatically disqualified from consideration. Any questions about a pending application should be directed to the Program Manager.

Evaluation Criteria
The rubric  below will be used to evaluate the strength of applications.
Project Readiness: Notice to proceed within xx months of award, Budget and workplan are feasible, project quality, project collaboration and community support
  • Define in more detail
  • Alignment with Outdoor Recreation Economic Plans: EDA, State of NH, Regional RPC/RDC
  • Economic Impacts: Show the significance of economic development to the community, region and/or state.
  • Organizational Capacity: Applicant presents a reasonable work plan/budget and can demonstrate project sustainability.