Green Acres provides grants and low interest (up to 2%) loans to municipal and county governments to acquire open space and develop outdoor recreation facilities. Green Acres works with local governments from the time of application through project completion. Over 80,000 acres have been protected and hundreds of recreation development projects throughout the state have been financed through Green Acres’ Local and Nonprofit funding program.

Green Acres also provides matching grants to nonprofit organizations to acquire land for public recreation and conservation purposes.

The Planning Incentive Program provides grant and loan funding to local governments (municipalities and counties) that have enacted an open space tax and have adopted an open space and recreation plan.

Green Acres also administers the Tax Exemption Program, which provides exemption from local property taxes to eligible nonprofit organizations that own recreation or conservation lands and permit public use of their private lands. The Tax Exemption Program has protected over 80,000 acres of private lands.

For funding application packages, visit our Forms and Regulations page. We also provide guidance documents about local/nonprofit appraisals, eligibility, and deliverables issues on our policies page.

To find a list of Green Acres parkland in your town, please see the Recreation and Open Space Inventory (ROSI), which is now maintained by the Office of Transactions and Public land Administration (OTPLA).