Capacity Building for Trail Organizations Mini Grant Program

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council administers the Capacity Building for Trail Organizations Mini Grant Program with funding provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources through its Community Conservation Partnership Program. Pennsylvania Environmental Council received $50,000 for the program, with the DCNR funding originating from the Environmental Stewardship Fund administered by the Bureau of Recreation and Conservation. The initiative is intended to strengthen the long-term sustainability and effectiveness of local trail partners by providing resources that improve organizational capacity, trail management practices, trail user experiences, and community engagement. Eligible activities include organizational planning and capacity-building efforts, volunteer recruitment and training, professional development for staff, board members, and volunteers, accessibility assessments and planning, community outreach and engagement, mapping resources, digital trail guides, promotional materials, organizational branding, marketing and communications strategies, partnership-building activities, trail user surveys, economic impact assessments, GIS mapping, and inventories of trail assets and conditions. Small-scale infrastructure improvements and minor, non-routine maintenance may also be considered, including benches, bike racks, repair stations, hazardous tree removal, trail re-routing, and trailhead amenities. Priority is being given to projects that advance recommendations in the NEPA Trails Assessing Connections and Community in Northeastern Pennsylvania report, particularly the recommendations identified on pages 158 through 166. Mini grants range from $2,000 to $10,000, and all projects, costs, and funding must conform to DCNR Community Conservation Partnership Program guidelines. Every grant requires a match equal to 20% of the total project cost, and total project cost cannot exceed $50,000. Match may consist of cash, in-kind services, or a combination. No portion of cash or in-kind match may originate from DCNR funding or a DCNR-funded project. Municipal labor and professional services may be valued using the applicable hourly billable rate multiplied by hours worked. Volunteer in-kind service is valued at the current Independent Sector Volunteer Rate for Pennsylvania at the time the work is performed; the guidelines identify the current rate as $31.80 per hour. All match must occur during the contracted grant period, and applicants should provide proof of match commitment. Grants cannot retroactively reimburse projects that began or were completed before the award, and match expenditures incurred before the award cannot be counted. Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status and registration with the Pennsylvania Department of State Bureau of Charitable Organizations, municipalities, municipal agencies, school districts, colleges, and universities. Nonprofit applicants must provide current proof of IRS 501(c)(3) status and their Bureau of Charitable Organizations registration certificate. A nonprofit unable to provide the required documentation must use a qualifying entity as its fiscal agent. Projects must be located in the program region consisting of Bradford, Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Wayne, and Wyoming counties in Pennsylvania. Applicants must identify a qualifying project, prepare a realistic budget compliant with DCNR guidelines, secure the required 20% match, and provide letters of support and/or commitment from partners supplying match. Such letters should identify the type of assistance, the match amount, and how the partner will contribute to project success. Applications are completed through an application system that permits work over multiple sessions and provides a Collaborate feature for working with project partners. Applicants are instructed to save their work, answer all application questions, complete the budget worksheet, and upload all necessary documents before final submission. Technical assistance for completing the application is available from Submittable support Monday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., with limited weekend availability. Project and program-content questions may be directed to Rachael Stark at rstark@pecpa.org or 570.285.8020. Applications will be ranked by a review committee using a 50-point base scoring system. Project Need is worth 10 points and considers whether the project description and need are well thought out and explained. Priority Alignment is worth 10 points and assesses whether the project clearly advances program priorities. Partners are worth 5 points based on their engagement and clearly identified roles. Goals, Activities or Actions, and Measurements of Success are worth 15 points and should be well defined, implementable, and measurable. Budget is worth 10 points, with 5 points for a complete budget with documented and secured local match and 5 points for realistic costs that comply with DCNR guidelines. Projects may earn up to 5 additional WOW bonus points for being unique or innovative, including introducing new ideas or partnerships, creatively addressing identified needs, differing from existing efforts, or representing a first-time applicant to PEC mini grant programs. The review committee may request additional information when it considers that information crucial to ranking. The grant round opens August 24, 2026, and applications close October 30, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. ET. No separate letter of intent, concept paper, pre-proposal, or other pre-application gating deadline is identified. Grant awards are expected to be announced in mid-December 2026. Projects begin January 4, 2027 and must be completed by December 1, 2027. Grantees must submit a mid-grant progress report and, at close-out, a final financial report with all expenditure documentation, a final Success Story using templates supplied by Pennsylvania Environmental Council, and all applicable project deliverables.

Clearly explain project need and demonstrate how the project advances Capacity Building for Trail Organizations priorities. Define goals, activities/actions, and measurements of success so they are implementable and measurable. Give partners clear roles and document the required match. Submit a complete budget with realistic, DCNR-compliant costs. Projects may earn up to 5 bonus points by demonstrating unique or innovative characteristics, new ideas or partnerships, creative responses to identified needs, differences from existing efforts, or first-time applicant status.