LCRA, wholesale electric customers award nearly $530K in grants

AUSTIN, Texas - The Lower Colorado River Authority recently awarded nearly $530,000 in Community Development Partnership Program grants for community projects within LCRA’s wholesale electric, water and transmission service areas.

LCRA says the CDPP grants helped fund 27 projects that range from buying new equipment for first responders to improving museums and libraries to helping community centers build handicapped-accessible restrooms.

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The Lower Colorado River Authority recently awarded nearly $530,000 in Community Development Partnership Program grants for community projects within LCRA’s wholesale electric, water and transmission service areas.

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“These grants support projects that make a difference in communities throughout our service area,” LCRA General Manager Phil Wilson said in a release. “The recipients tell us time and again many of these projects wouldn’t be possible without the grants, but that’s particularly true this year when so many nonprofits had to cancel or cut back on fundraising efforts because of the pandemic.”

Wilson noted that many of the grant recipients are volunteer firefighters and public safety organizations.

To date, LCRA and its wholesale electric customers have awarded 1,795 community grants totaling more than $46.5 million. When combined with nearly $227 million in community-raised matching funds, the program has invested more than $273 million in local communities.

Applications for the next round of Community Development Partnership Program grants will be available online on Jan. 1 and are due by midnight on Jan. 31.

The 27 grants awarded in the most recent grant cycle are:

Bandera: $25,000 to the Bandera Natural History Museum for completion of a New Spain art wing to showcase works by Spanish colonial artists, and $6,596 to the Frontier Times Museum for energy-efficient windows to cut the museum’s operating costs and help protect important artifacts
Bellville: $20,000 for electrical upgrades and new storm windows at the Austin County Jail Museum
Brenham: $22,150 to Washington County for energy-efficient LED lighting in buildings on the county fairgrounds and $1,528 for rolling window shades and carpet tiles to better regulate temperatures inside the Bus Depot Gallery
Brownwood: $18,466 grant to the Brown County Museum of History for new LED lighting in its main building
Fayetteville: $25,000 for electrical and plumbing upgrades at the Fayetteville Area Heritage Museum
Hallettsville: $25,000 for updated restrooms in a Knights of Columbus community hall
Kinney County: $40,000 to help Kinney County Fire Rescue improve the entrance into the fire station vehicle bays so firetrucks can more safely depart from the station during emergency calls
La Grange: $50,000 to Fayette County for a tourism office and public restrooms in downtown La Grange
Lakehills: $3,683 for new mobile bookshelves for the Lakehills Area Library, freeing up space for events in the library’s much-used community room
Lampasas: $4,785 for an automated external defibrillator for the Lampasas County Sheriff's Office
Leakey: $21,000 to Keep it Real Beautiful (KIRB) for recycling equipment and expanded outreach efforts
Lexington: $49,565 to the Blue Volunteer Fire Department for a new fire station and renovations to the existing one to create a space for training sessions and community meetings and $20,000 for a new rescue truck for the Tanglewood Volunteer Fire Department
Llano: $8,957 to the Llano Volunteer Fire Department for specialized equipment to better clean and dry firefighting gear
Lockhart: $5,000 to Caldwell County VFW Post No. 8927 for a concrete walkway and covered seating area at the post
Lometa: $24,548 to the Lometa Independent School District for new playground equipment
Marble Falls: $4,550 to the Falls on the Colorado Museum to rebuild a historic Great Depression-era rock wall adjacent to the museum building
Mason: $25,000 for repairs and a new roof and gutters on the historic Seaquist House
Mason County: $7,648 to the Pontotoc Volunteer Fire Department for a larger-capacity water station so firefighters can refill their trucks and respond to calls more quickly
Matagorda: $25,000 to the Matagorda Volunteer Fire Department for a state-of-the art cardiac monitor and automated external defibrillator
San Saba: $5,000 for a new handicap-accessible circulation desk at the Rylander Memorial Library and $14,396 to the San Saba County Chamber of Commerce for a new digital marquee outside the county courthouse
Schulenburg: $25,000 to the City of Schulenburg for additional restrooms and a second concession stand at the city’s youth sports complex
Shiner: $25,000 to the City of Shiner for an enclosed and gated playground for preschoolers at Welhausen Park
Washington County: $25,000 for a portable electrical generator for the Chappell Hill Volunteer Fire Department

LCRA says it awards CDPP grants for projects related to community planning, education, employment, health care, public safety, recreation, and volunteer fire departments.

Eligible organizations include volunteer fire departments, emergency responders, local governments, schools, libraries, civic groups, museums, and other nonprofit organizations. For-profit entities, individuals, professional associations, and nonprofits with limited group memberships are not eligible for CDPP grants.

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