Doppelt Family Trail Development Fund

Jeff Doppelt on the 2019 Trailblazer Tour on the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail

Overview

RTC launched a grant program from 2015-2021 to support organizations and local governments that are implementing projects to build and improve multi-use trails. Under the Doppelt Family Trail Development Fund, RTC will award approximately $85,000 per year, distributed among several qualifying projects, through a competitive process. The fund was established with an $80,000 grant from Jeff Doppelt of Great Neck, New York, a long-time supporter of RTC and the development of rail-trails in the United States, and an additional $20,000 donation from an anonymous donor.

Jeff on the 2016 Trailblazer Tour on the Route of the Hiawatha | Courtesy Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
Jeff on the 2016 Trailblazer Tour on the Route of the Hiawatha | Courtesy Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

View grantees by year and an interactive map below.

2021  2020  2019  2018  2017  2016  2015

2021 grant recipients:

  • Headwaters Trail System (Montana): $10,000
  • Northwest Nebraska Trails Association (Nebraska): $10,000
  • Peninsula Trails Coalition (Washington): $10,000
  • Rail-to-Trails of Wayne County (Ohio): $10,000
  • Cedar Trails Partnership (Iowa): $10,000
  • Yellowstone Historic Center (Montana): $10,000
Ohio's Heartland Trail | Courtesy Rails-to-Trails of Wayne County
Ohio's Heartland Trail | Courtesy Rails-to-Trails of Wayne County

2020 grant recipients:

  • Missouri Rock Island Trail, Inc. (Missouri): $20,000
  • Armstrong Trails (Pennsylvania): $35,000
  • Groundwork Jacksonville, Inc. (Florida): $30,000
  • Bike Easy (Louisiana): $5,000
  • Lafayette Consolidated Government (Louisiana): $5,000
  • Rail-Trail Council of Northeastern Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania): $5,000
Rock Island Spur of Katy Trail State Park in Missouri | Photo by TrailLink user chia57
Rock Island Spur of Katy Trail State Park in Missouri | Photo by TrailLink user chia57

2019 grant recipients:

  • Greater Arkansas River Nature Association (Colorado): $5,000
  • Putnam Blueways & Trails Citizen Support Organization (Florida): $5,000
  • City of Union Point (Georgia): $15,000
  • City of Farragut (Iowa): $15,000
  • Friends of the Bourne Rail Trail (Massachusetts): $15,000
  • TART Trails (Michigan): $5,000
  • Midtown Greenway Coalition (Minnesota): $10,000
  • Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest-Butte Ranger District (Montana): $27,500
  • Mountain Heritage, Inc. (Virginia): $25,000
  • Cascade Bicycle Club (Washington): $10,000
Potential Midtown Greenway extension over the Mississippi River | Courtesy Midtown Greenways Coalition
Potential Midtown Greenway extension over the Mississippi River | Courtesy Midtown Greenways Coalition

2018 Grant Recipients

  • City of Dayton (Ohio): $15,000
  • Dallas County Conservation Board (Iowa): $15,000
  • Friends of Clare County Parks & Recreation (Michigan): $5,000 
  • Marin County Bicycle Coalition (California): $5,000
  • Rock Island Rail Corridor Authority (Missouri): $25,000 
  • Western New York Land Conservancy, Inc.: $10,000
  • New Jersey Bike & Walk Coalition: $7,500
  • Rutherford County Government (North Carolina): $30,000
  • Southwest Renewal Foundation of High Point, Inc. (North Carolina): $10,000

2017 Grant Recipients

  • The City of Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services Department (Colorado): $35,000
  • Tillamook Forest Heritage Trust (Oregon): $30,000
  • Wyoming Pathways (Idaho, Montana, Wyoming): $20,000
  • National Road Heritage Corridor (Pennsylvania): $7,500
  • Detroit Greenways Coalition (Michigan): $5,000
  • Cowboy Trail West, Inc. (Nebraska): $5,000
Ashton-Tetonia Trail in Idaho, part of the Greater Yellowstone Trail system | Photo by Camrin Dengel
Ashton-Tetonia Trail in Idaho, part of the Greater Yellowstone Trail system | Photo by Camrin Dengel

2016 Grant Recipients

  • Cross Vermont Trail Association (Vermont): $25,000
  • Allegheny Trail Alliance (Pennsylvania): $20,000
  • Fort Wayne Trails, Inc. (Indiana): $20,000
  • Gallatin Valley Land Trust (Montana): $15,000
  • Great Shasta Rail Trail Association (California): $10,000
  • Ecology Action of Santa Cruz (California): $7,500
Great Allegheny Passage | Photo by Traillink user aeljarou
Great Allegheny Passage | Photo by Traillink user aeljarou

2015 Grant Recipients

  • Allegheny Trail Alliance (Pennsylvania): $40,000 for the renovation of the Pinkerton Tunnel, which will create a continuous rail-trail connection through a section of the Great Allegheny Passage, eliminating a 1.5-mile detour.
  • Harrison County Commission (West Virginia): $11,000 to reopen (including tools, labor costs and equipment) the 12-mile Harrison County North Rail Trail—which will close a major gap in West Virginia's trail network. Scheduled for reopening in Spring 2016, this trail has been closed for several years due to brownfield remediation
  • Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (Nebraska): $10,000 to engage communities along 126 miles of undeveloped corridor to complete the Cowboy Recreation and Nature Trail in Northwest Nebraska, while developing a strategy for economic development opportunities along the trail.
  • Redbank Valley Trails Association (Pennsylvania): $8,000 to help build and provide the limestone surfacing for a 1-mile section (in a 9-mile gap) of the Redbank Valley Rail Trail, a connection of the Armstrong and Erie to Pittsburgh trails.
  • Missouri Rock Island Trail, Inc. (Missouri): $7,500 to support trail development on a 145-mile segment of the inactive Rock Island Line in Missouri, which will eventually be a crucial part of a 384-mile cross-state trail system linking St. Louis and Kansas City; an additional $7,500 will be used for trail consulting services.
  • Erie to Pittsburgh Trail Alliance, Inc. (EPTA) (Pennsylvania): $1,000 to help match a $10,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for completion of a three-year strategic plan (and 2016-2017 work plan) for the Erie to Pittsburgh Trail.

Have questions? Feel free to contact us.


Interactive Map


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