April 22, 2026
Webinar - FY27 Handshake and Community-Led Partnership Program #1
Start: 2:00 EDT
See Teams Information
Other Information: The Handshake program is in its twenty-fourth year and offers an additional funding source (i.e., seed money up to $50,000 per project) to USACE facilities for worthwhile partnership projects.

For FY27, the Handshake program is expanding to aggressively advance the goals of the "Sustaining Access to Recreation Facilities" program and the "Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork" initiative. The focus is on implementing durable, cost-effective management solutions that limit the growth of our program liabilities. This funding opportunity prioritizes proposals that delegate some management to others, leverages cost-sharing agreements and utilizes hiring flexibility to reduce long-term staffing and operational costs. We are seeking partners who can operate facilities and deliver services more efficiently, allowing USACE to focus its resources on its core missions.

Handshake Partnership proposals must demonstrate clear cost-savings and support partnerships that include a challenge cost-sharing cooperative management partner, a conservation corps, or an Army Career Skills/DoW SkillBridge participant, alongside at least one other non-federal entity. Proposed projects should support activities that enhance recreation facilities and/or natural resources at USACE Civil Works projects.

Additionally, offices are invited to apply for "Community Led Recreation" funding to support the transition of recreation areas to external partners through outgrants or leases. This program is designed to reduce the government's financial footprint by transferring operational control and associated costs. Funding may also be used for one-time improvements to make a site viable for a partner and to cover the administrative costs of the property transfer, thereby creating self-sustaining recreation areas at lower long-term costs for the taxpayer. Max request is $200,000 per proposal.

The request for nominations memo, instructions and application forms will be sent out soon and posted on the Gateway: https://corpslakes.erdc.dren.mil/employees/handshake/handshake.cfm