Improve the appearance of your community with the support of a Keep Louisiana Beautiful Beautification Grant.
2024-25 Keep Louisiana Beautiful Beautification Grant Application
Grant Description
Grant Purpose: The KLB Beautification Grant provides funding to help improve the appearance of communities throughout Louisiana by creating beautiful, well-maintained public spaces. People are less likely to litter in areas that display community pride and that are well maintained and beautiful, so reducing litter in highly visible areas is an additional key driver of this grant. Priority planting projects include improving and beautifying entry points to cities, highway corridors and medians, downtown roadways and intersections, and other highly visible and highly used public spaces. KLB seeks projects that have diverse community support, volunteer involvement, collaboration with stakeholders and benefit many community members.
Grant Type: KLB will award reimbursement grants from $1,000 to $10,000 to fund planting projects in highly visible areas to enhance the beauty of public spaces, promote community pride, and help reduce litter. A minimum 15% cash match, in-kind donation or equivalent volunteer hours value is required. The project must be on public property and completed on or before May 22, 2025.
Funding: The grant focus is to fund the purchase of native trees, shrubs, and perennial plants. Plantings must account for a sizable portion of the project. The grant project must be completed on or before May 22, 2025. Reimbursements will be dispersed once the project is completed and the Final Report, including proper reimbursement request documentation is submitted to KLB by May 22, 2025.
- 25% of the plantings must be native to Louisiana
- Annual plants will not be funded
- Soil, mulch, pavers, and edging when incorporated into a planting project may not exceed 25% of grant request
- Welcome sign materials when incorporated into a planting project may not exceed 25% of grant request
- Contractors to assist with the project may not exceed 25% of grant request
- A 15% in-kind or cash match, or equivalent volunteer hours value is required
This grant is made possible with funding from the State of Louisiana and the Office of the Lt. Governor.
Timeline:
- May 30, 2024: Deadline to submit application.
- July 2024: Grant awards announced. Mandatory webinar for all grant recipients. Grant Agreement signed and returned.
- July 2024 – May 2025: Projects implemented including all grant requirements
- May 22, 2025: Projects completed. Final report and reimbursement requests and documentation due.
Eligible to Apply:
- Louisiana parishes, municipalities, state agencies, governmental entities
- KLB Community Affiliates who are current Circle of Excellence recipients and KLB Community Affiliates in formation in cooperation with their municipality’s highest authorizing official agreeing to allow the project to be executed on public property and agreeing to maintain the project
- KLB University Affiliates and University Affiliates in formation in cooperation with their university’s highest authorizing official agreeing to allow the project to be executed on university property and agreeing to maintain the project
- All applicants must submit Form W-9
- All applicants must be in good standing with the Louisiana Secretary of State
- All applicants must be a State Certified Vendor. Register: doa.la.gov/doa/osp/vendor-resources/
Requirements and Terms: Failure to abide by all the requirements and/or submit the completed final report by May 22, 2025, will result in non-reimbursement for this grant and ineligibility for subsequent KLB grants. To be awarded a grant, applicants agree to the following:
- Gardens and plantings must be on public property or on Louisiana university campuses.
- Applying for this grant must be pre-approved by the applying entity’s highest authorizing official. A letter from the highest authorizing official, approving use of the public space for this grant project and agreeing to maintain the project must be uploaded with this application.
- A Grant Agreement (Agreement) must be signed between KLB (Grantor), the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism (DCRT) and the grant recipient (Grantee) before reimbursable work or purchases can begin on the grant project. Grantee must abide by the approved grant budget documented in the Agreement.
- All Grantees must attend a mandatory scheduled webinar before KLB will issue the Agreement.
- A minimum 15% in-kind or cash match, or equivalent volunteer hours value is required.
- Any project that requests funding for a “Welcome” sign must include some type of planting (garden or trees) to enhance the area surrounding the signage.
- Projects must have an irrigation plan and a maintenance plan. Plans must be uploaded with the application.
- Projects must have a plant design that must be uploaded with the application. The design does not have to be done by a professional landscape designer. It can be a sketch, but it must have sufficient detail to describe the project and show that the project has been well thought out. Plant and tree types, quantity and placement, and hardscape materials and placement must be identified.
- Community engagement and volunteer support are required.
- A small sign provided by KLB must be staked in the garden area acknowledging KLB’s and the Lt. Governor’s support of the project for at least one month after the project has been completed. A photo of the sign at the final project site must be uploaded in the Final Report.
- A grant award acknowledgement letter must be sent to Grantee’s state representatives and senator. A copy must be uploaded with the Final Report.
- A press release announcing that grantee received a KLB grant must be sent to the local media. A copy must be uploaded with the Final Report.
- Two social media posts must be made:
- By 30 days after Agreement is executed, Grantee must announce on social media channels that Grantee received a KLB Beautification Grant and how the grant will help the community. Tag Keep Louisiana Beautiful – on Facebook and Instagram tag @keeplouisianabeautiful and – on Twitter tag @keeplabeautiful.
- At the conclusion of the project, a second social media post must be made announcing the outcome and photos of the completed project tagging as instructed above. Photos of both media posts must be uploaded in the Final Report.
- Photos of both media posts must be uploaded in the Final Report.
- “Before” photographs of the proposed project site must be submitted with the application, and “after” photographs of the project, including the KLB acknowledgement sign, must be submitted with the Final Report.
- Beautification Grant projects must be completed on or before May 22, 2025.
- Changes in grant scope and/or budget as outlined in the Agreement must be pre-approved by KLB.
- A completed Final Report, photographs, press release, acknowledgement letters, social media photos and reimbursement request with proper receipts and documentation must be submitted to KLB by May 22, 2025. The Final Report may be submitted before the deadline upon project completion but will not be accepted after May 22, 2025.
- Grantees must register for, conduct, and submit a report for a KLB Love the Boot Week event tentatively scheduled for April 18-27, 2025.
- The grant cycle begins once the Grantee attends the mandatory grant webinar and the Grant Agreement is signed by the Grantee and executed by the Executive Director of KLB and DCRT’s Appointing Authority. The grant cycle ends for all grantees on May 22, 2025.
Directions
Before beginning an application, download the sample application, gather information, and prepare responses. After starting the online application, a link will be provided to return to and complete the application, if necessary. Save the provided link, as KLB cannot provide this. Follow these suggested steps to completing the application successfully:
Download the sample application by clicking the button below.
2024-25 Grant Recipients
Beauregard Parish
City of DeRidder/Keep DeRidder Beautiful: The City of DeRidder will plant Live Oak trees and Willow Oak trees in West Park.
Bienville Parish
Town of Arcadia: The beautification project will involve installing welcome signage surrounded by plants native to Louisiana at town entry points.
East Baton Rouge Parish
City of Baker/Keep Baker Beautiful: Native Louisiana trees and plants will be planted in the area surrounding the welcome sign.
City of Zachary: The city will purchase Louisiana native crepe myrtles to replace those lost along the medians throughout the city.
LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens: Deciduous and evergreen trees predominantly native to the region will be planted near the entrance to LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens.
Jefferson Parish
Grand Isle: The Grand Isle Garden Club and the town of Grand Isle will use the grant to plant live oak trees to replace the cheniere canopy that was damaged by Hurricane Ida.
Lafourche Parish
City of Thibodaux: The City of Thibodaux’s goal for this project is to enhance Eagle Park with a new sign, adorning plants, and trees.
Orleans Parish
Dillard University: The university will landscape the areas in front of the dormitories that connect to the Avenue of the Oaks.
Keep Algiers Beautiful: The purpose of Keep Algiers Beautiful’s beautification project is to create and restore signage and do plantings in various areas of Algiers.
Sabine Parish
Village of Florien: The Village of Florien will erect welcome signs and doing plantings around the signs.
St. James Parish
Keep St. James Parish Beautiful: The primary purpose of this planting project is to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the St. James Parish Welcome Center.
St. Martin Parish
City of Breaux Bridge: The grant will add shade trees and plants to the newly renovated Judge Carl Williams Park.
St. Tammany Parish
City of Mandeville: A vast vacant land in the center of the City of Mandeville will be transformed into a drought tolerant native tree and palmetto garden.
Keep Slidell Beautiful: The grant will fund a planting project at the train depot, right outside of the busy Olde Towne Main Street District.
Tangipahoa Parish
City of Hammond/Keep Hammond Beautiful: The City of Hammond plans to renovate Morrison Alley with beautiful, well-maintained gardens and plantings.
Webster Parish
City of Minden: The Parks and Beautification Department will orchestrate the revamping of a sign, add an updated irrigation system, and install Louisiana native plants.