New Jersey law lets Green Acres grants pay the full cost of nonprofit projects on state land
Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed Senate Bill 4495 on Oct. 27. The Department of Environmental Protection may now pay the whole cost of a nonprofit's work on state-owned land, though it can still ask for a match.
Trenton. Nonprofits that build, repair or improve facilities on New Jersey's state-owned land can now have the whole cost of a project paid by a Green Acres grant, under a law Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed on Oct. 27.
Senate Bill 4495 was sponsored by Sens. John F. McKeon and Douglas J. Steinhardt, and its Assembly twin, Assembly Bill 5321, by Assemblywomen Alixon Collazos-Gill and Marisa Sweeney. It supplements the Garden State Preservation Trust Act and took effect immediately as chapter 101 of the laws of 2026. The Senate passed it 40 to 0 on June 30 and the Assembly 74 to 0 on Sept. 24, according to the Legislature's bill history.
A match at the state's discretion
The law covers a "qualifying tax exempt nonprofit organization" doing development, capital repair or improvement work on property on state-owned land. Such a project may be fully funded by a grant from the Preserve New Jersey Green Acres Fund or any similar state fund, notwithstanding the section of the act that otherwise governs grants to nonprofits.
As introduced in June, the bill said the Department of Environmental Protection "shall not" require these nonprofits to provide matching funds. The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee amended it on June 28, and the law as signed says the department "may, at its discretion" require a match, or may award a grant that covers up to 100 percent of a project's cost. The match becomes the department's choice rather than a fixed condition.
The state's rules cap a Green Acres grant to a nonprofit for buying land at 50 percent of allowable costs. WRNJ Radio, which reported the signing on Oct. 31, described the law as ending the existing 50 percent match for projects on state land. The committees wrote that the aim is to improve "the stewardship, good repair, maintenance, and safe operations" of preserved state facilities and lands used for education, research and outdoor recreation.
Money already approved
The signing came six days after the Garden State Preservation Trust, at its Oct. 21 meeting, approved $88 million in dedicated revenue that includes $7,663,000 for Green Acres nonprofit development projects, according to the New Jersey Business & Industry Association. That package still has to be appropriated by the Legislature.
“Nonprofits do important work that our communities depend on, but raising money for major repairs and improvements can be a significant hurdle.”
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