ALEXANDRIA, VA –? Through its State R3 Program Grants, the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) has awarded funds to seven programs in seven states. Now in its tenth year, the State R3 Program Grants’ goal is to support state recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) initiatives to increase fishing and boating participation.

RBFF is providing approximately $157,500 in grants this year, and seven state agencies are contributing more than $290,000 in project funds and in-kind support, bringing the total amount of funding support to more than $503,000 for these programs.

The 2024 State R3 Program Grants support state agency R3 initiatives and plans in three focus areas:

Communicate the relevance of fishing and/or boating to urban, multicultural audiences to increase participation
Implement angler and/or boater customer engagement strategies to retain and/or reactivate anglers and boaters to increase participation
Enhance the capability of agencies to develop and implement effective angler and/or boater R3 efforts

“RBFF’s State R3 Program Grants is a key state engagement initiative to retain anglers in fishing and boating and to introduce the activities to new audiences,” said Stephanie Hussey, RBFF’s Senior Director of Government Engagement. “We are pleased to support these state agencies with their marketing and outreach efforts to grow fishing and boating participation, ultimately benefiting aquatic conservation in their state.”

The State R3 Program Grants fund sustainable and replicable angler and boater R3 initiatives and plans that focus on increasing fishing license sales and boat registrations to help increase fishing and boating participation. Proposals are reviewed and selected by RBFF staff and a Proposal Review Working Group made up of industry, federal agency and NGO representatives.

The 2024 grantees include:

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission

2024 R3 Fishing Plan

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Hispanic Angler Communication Methods Marketing Campaign

Georgia Division of Wildlife Resources

Gateway to Fishing Program’s, Atlanta Fishing Guide

Indiana Division of Fish and Wildlife

IN DNR Marketing Campaign for Female Angler Retention and Reactivation

Ohio Division of Wildlife

Netting New Recruits: Leveraging a CRM to Extend the Efficacy of Marketing Recruitment Efforts

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Text Messages to Lapsed Boaters

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

Utah R3 Underserved Communities Marketing Campaign – Phase II

The State R3 Program Grants are partially funded by RBFF under cooperative agreement #F23AC00806 from the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

To learn more about the State R3 Program Grants and other initiatives, visit RBFF’s website.
About RBFF

The Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) is a nonprofit whose mission is to increase participation in recreational angling and boating, thereby protecting and restoring the nation’s aquatic natural resources. To help recruit, retain and reactivate participants, RBFF developed the award-winning Take Me Fishing™ and Vamos A Pescar™ brands which educate the public on fishing, boating and conservation while inspiring them to hit the water. RBFF offers consumer research, website plugins, marketing education and shareable content to help better connect industry stakeholders and government agencies with their customers.