Patricia (finance lead for the Outdoor Equity Grant program) told the board on Nov. 6 that the program remains dependent on lottery "spillover" and that Treasury reporting lags make near-term forecasting difficult. She said the program needs average monthly GoCo revenue roughly in the $7.2 million range to trigger spillover and about $7.6 million to fully fund the Outdoor Equity Grant program this year.

"We're looking at about 620,000 in unobligated fund balance," Patricia said, noting that most of the roughly $4.5 million starting balance is encumbered to current grantees. She added that the long bill provides $4 million in spending authority but that cash is not on hand: "We have the credit limit to spend $4,000,000, but we don't have the cash."

To close an FY25 revenue gap, Patricia said GOCO approved an emergency award of $1,000,000 (referred to in materials as "resolution 20 25 dash 15") to the Outdoor Equity Grant program; those funds are available through Dec. 31, 2027. Combined with $500,000 from the Parks Cash fund and $500,000 from the Wildlife Cash fund, staff described a $2,000,000 pool available for awarding in the FY26 cycle.

Board members debated whether to spend small unobligated balances now or to hold them as a contingency against uncertain lottery revenue next year. After discussion Crystal (board staff) summarized the trade-offs and the group agreed, by consensus, to reserve about $185,000 rather than commit it this cycle so the fund can better weather potential shortfalls next year. Board members also stressed the importance of a single, consistent public message explaining that choice.

Patricia said staff will continue to update the board monthly as lottery numbers arrive, will provide documentation requested by members and will brief the board on any changes to the revenue outlook.

What happens next: staff will use the $2,000,000 funding package (Parks Cash, Wildlife Cash and GOCO) to advance awards; any final obligations will require valid contracting documentation (staff flagged a missing W-9 for one applicant that must be corrected before an award is finalized).