Outdoor Recreation Grant Amendments

For the VOREC Community Grant Program, Recreational Trails Program, Land and Water Conservation Fund, and ERSA Trail Grants. 

What is an amendment? 
When do I need an amendment? 
How does the amendment process work? 
What should I include in an amendment request? 
What does FPR consider in evaluating an amendment request? 
 

What is an amendment? 

Once a grant agreement is fully signed and executed, it is a legal document.  The Grantee is required to complete all the elements of the scope of work in order to receive reimbursement.  If a Grantee would like to change any of the content outlined in their grant agreement, including the scope of work, significant budget allocations, and end date, we must officially amend the grant agreement.    

In all cases, requests to amend a grant agreement must be submitted in writing.  The Recreation Grants team will review the request, ask clarifying questions, and decide on whether to pursue an amendment.  If an amendment is pursued, the Grantee cannot implement the changes until the amendment is fully signed. 
 

What can and cannot be amended? 

In general, FPR will consider amendments to changes to scope (Attachment A of the grant agreement), budget allocations (Attachment name varies), or end date. In rare circumstances, we will also amend a grant to correct an administrative error.  

FPR will not approve any Grantee requests to amend payment provisions (Attachment B) or any state and federal requirements (Attachments C for all grants, and Attachments D/E for federally funded grants).   

We cannot increase the total of a grant award through an amendment.  We will not amend VOREC, ERSA or RTP grants to add additional funding.  As specified in the payment provisions, any cost overruns are the responsibility of the grantee.  If the grantee is unable to cover a cost increase and thus is not able to successfully complete the project as originally written, the grantee must submit an amendment for a scope change as outlined below. The only exception to this is for LWCF projects when FPR specifically invites current grantees to submit a request for additional funding for multi-year projects. 
 

When do I need an amendment? 

FPR considers amendment requests when there has been a significant unforeseen change since the grant agreement was originally executed.  If a Grantee cannot adequately describe the unforeseen condition impacting their project, it is unlikely an amendment will be approved. Example conditions that can prompt an amendment:  

• State or national-level major events (ex: COVID-19 pandemic, 2023 flooding)  
• Planning/permitting results that require plans to change  
• Significant cost inflation due to more than 18 months between application submission and project implementation 
• Other documented, substantial unforeseen changes that have occurred since the grant agreement was signed. 
   

If a Grantee experiences one of these types of conditions, they would require an amendment to: 

• Change the scope, including alterations/substitutions to planned work, major additions or removals of project components, and any changes to deliverables or metrics. 
• Change the budget allocations, beyond the flexibility described in your grant agreement. 
• Change the end date.  
   

Not all changes require an amendment!   

FPR has intentionally built flexibility into many grant agreements to prevent the need for amendments for small changes.  Examples of changes that do NOT require an amendment include: 

• Going above and beyond the minimum requirements in the scope. 
  • For example, installing 10 water bars in a designated trail section to be repaired instead of “at least 6” or hosting 5 community engagement events instead of “a minimum of 4”  would not require an amendment.
  • Note: if a Grantee will be doing work that extends beyond or changes their current scope (ex: adding work in a new section of trail or a section with a new landowner, supplementing with a different type of programming, upgrading a culvert to a bridge, etc.), these types of big changes DO require scope amendments – even if they are working within the same total funding.  If you aren’t sure whether your change is big enough to impact your scope, reach out and ask! 
     
• Making small adjustments to the budget categories, if specified in the Payment Provisions (Attachment B, paragraph 4 or 5). 
  • For example, if a grant agreement says: “Budget modifications in any category identified in Attachment G – Project Budget that are at or above 25% of the estimated budget for that category will require written State approval...” This means that only adjustments that result in a change of more than 25% of any budget line need to be amended.   
    • Ex: $10,000 is budgeted for Project Component A; 25% of $10,000 is $2,500. Therefore, actual expenses $7,500-$12,500 for Project Component A don’t need FPR approval, but budget plans that would cause this line to be $12,500.01 and above or $7,499.99 and below would require an amendment. 
  • If the overall cost of the project has increased, the Grantee will be covering the additional costs through matching funds, and there is no significant change to the allocation requested for reimbursement, an amendment is not needed.  Remember: any cost overruns are the responsibility of the Grantee (Attachment B).  
     
• Making changes to the timeline that will not change the end date.  
  • Progress reports should capture small timeline changes (ex: a task initially planned for May needed to wait until August).  So long as 1) the Grantee is still completing the task and 2) the overall project will still be completed by the end date, we do not need to amend the grant agreement. 
  • The exception is if there are any changes to specific dates/months named in the scope; in this case, an amendment is needed to change the timeline. 
     

How does the amendment process work? 

Like grant agreement development, the amendment process can be long.  Please reach out to the grants team as soon as you know changes may occur. Remember, a Grantee cannot implement any changes until an amendment is signed, so plan ahead! 

1. Grantee identifies a change needed to their grant agreement.   
2. Grantee reaches out to FPR Recreation Grants staff to alert them to the challenge. Grants staff may point the Grantee to resources, let them know if an amendment will be required, and/or remind the Grantee of other requirements to keep in mind when developing their plan. 
3. Grantee outlines a detailed response plan and submits it in writing to FPR at least 2 months prior to the end date of the grant 
   • This should be a well-defined plan that provides the same level of detail as what was required to develop the original grant agreement. 
4. FPR reviews the amendment request. FPR may request additional information as needed. 
5. If the amendment request is approved by the Grants team, the Grants staff will prepare and submit a formal amendment request documentation to our business office.  
   • If the request is not approved, Grants staff will reach out to the Grantee to inform them of the decision and discuss alternative solutions. 
6. The business office will review the grant amendment request and prepare the final document package.  
7. The Grantee’s authorized representative will receive an amendment via DocuSign to sign. After the Grantee signs, the amendment will be signed by the FPR Commissioner. 
8. Once the grant amendment is signed by both parties, the fully executed copy will be sent to all parties and the Grantee can move forward with implementing new plans. 
    

What should I include in an amendment request? 

All amendment requests should be accompanied by an updated Certificate of Insurance (COI) if the policy has been renewed since a COI was last submitted.

Budget Allocation Adjustments: If a change is more than the allowed percentage for any single budget category (Attachment B, Paragraph 4 or 5), the grant agreement will need to be amended before a reimbursement can be processed. To start this process, please email the following information to ANR.FPRRecreationGrants@Vermont.Gov: 

• Summary detailing the original grant budget, what happened, and why the original budget allocations no longer work. 
• Proposed new budget allocations. 

Extensions: Grantees should aim to complete all project components by the award end date noted in part 1 of the grant agreement. If there are unforeseeable circumstances that make it impossible to meet the deadline of the grant, as soon as possible and at least two months before the grant end date please email the following information to ANR.FPRRecreationGrants@Vermont.Gov to request an extension:  

• Summary detailing original grant timeline, what happened, and why specifically the grantee can no longer meet the original timeline. 
• Proposed new end date and summary of what the grantee has done to feel confident they can complete the work within the newly proposed timeline. 
   

Scope Changes: Approval is required to change any project components identified in the Scope of Work in Attachment A of your grant agreement. In these instances, please review your grant agreement in full detail and then email ANR.FPRRecreationGrants@Vermont.Gov to request an amendment. Major changes are unlikely to be approved. To request a scope change, email the following information: 

• Summary detailing what happened, and why the original scope needs to change. 
• Itemized list of proposed new scope – including both project component additions and removals, if applicable. 
• If the new scope also includes a budget allocation change, please provide the same details as requested above for budget adjustments. 
   

What does FPR consider in evaluating an amendment request? 

FPR staff review each amendment request individually.  All requests will be evaluated, and while most amendments are approved, FPR reserves the right to not approve amendment requests that do not meet program requirements. The factors FPR considers in reviewing amendment requests include but are not limited to: 

• What has changed since the grant agreement was signed?  Was that change unforeseen? 
• Is there another strategy the grantee could use to still be successful without an amendment? 
  • For example, if the Grantee no longer has the staff capacity to complete the project on time, could they hire a contractor with the same budget amount to accomplish the work? 
• Does the new proposal fulfill all the original state and/or federal funding requirements, including eligible scope, expense types, and timeline? 
  • If required for certain types of amendments for federal grants, does the funder approve of the changes? Please note, if federal approval is required for your proposed change, this can significantly increase the length of the amendment process. 
• Does the new proposal still fulfill the original goals of the grant and the priorities of the grant program? 
• Do we need advice from the original ranking committee about whether the proposed changes still fulfill the original goals? This has been done in the past in rare cases when there was a significant reduction in the proposed scope of work to ensure the retained components were the most critical ones. 
• Does the new proposal still fulfill all the original grant requirements (permit requirements, documented signed landowner permission, etc.)? 
   

After reviewing this information, if you have any questions about the amendment process or whether or not your project may need an amendment, please reach out to us at ANR.FPRRecreationGrants@Vermont.gov.