The Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund was established by an act of the General Assembly in 1993. The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, Bureau of Library Development, administers the public library portion of this program which is funded from a portion of realty transfer taxes.
Grants pay up to 50 percent of eligible costs to plan, acquire, construct, or rehabilitate public library facilities. Examples of fundable projects include, but are not limited to: ADA upgrades, roof or window replacement, energy efficient upgrades to HVAC systems, facility expansion and new construction.
Keystone grants must be matched dollar-for-dollar. Matching funds may include cash, other state funds, and federal funds. See program regulations for further details.
Grants are awarded on a competitive basis. PDE Uses grant award criteria (need, funding priorities, etc.) to evaluate and score applications.
To apply, a sponsoring municipality must submit an application developed cooperatively with the board of the state-aided library.
Title 22 Chapter 142.2 requires the Office of Commonwealth Libraries to prepare a long-range plan containing strategies to guide the allocation of Keystone program grant funds to eligible public library facilities. The Keystone Grants for Public Library Facilities Long-Range Plan (PDF) was prepared in 2022 to meet this requirement. The Plan incorporates the results of a statewide facility Needs Assessment as well as analysis of other data relevant to administration of the Keystone program.
For inquiries regarding the Keystone grant program, contact Ed Lupico, Keystone Grants Administrator, 717-783-5747 or ra-keystone@pa.gov
Getting Ready to Apply for a Keystone Grant
If you intend to apply for a Keystone grant in the upcoming grant round, your first step will be to visit the Get Ready to Apply page and obtain an Administrative Unit Number (AUN) for the municipality submitting the application, following the instructions on the Register My Organization page. These pages include other required and optional steps which will later be necessary to complete and submit an application. Each step may be completed with no commitment to submitting a Keystone application if your plans change.
2024 Keystone Grant Cycle Application
The Office of Commonwealth Libraries opened a Keystone grant round on July 17, 2023, with an application submission deadline of October 13, 2023 at 12 noon.
IMPORTANT:
To access the application on eGrants:
- the municipality submitting the application must obtain an Auxiliary Unit Number (AUN) from the PA Department of Education as described on the Get Ready to Apply page.
- it is also necessary for users to create a login for MyPDESuite.
When the municipality obtains an AUN, please complete and submit this eGrants Request Form . The municipal contact will be notified via email with instructions on accessing the Keystone application via eGrants. The municipal contact will serve as account administrator and can allow access for others to work on the application.
Legislative Reports