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Partnership for the National Trails System Inc at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Partnership for the National Trails System Inc

Our mission is to connect, strengthen and amplify a vibrant network of partners united to preserve, enhance and promote national historic & scenic trails.

$31k
Granted FY2025still arriving
1
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$31k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Recreation & Sports$408kEnvironment$260kArts & Culture$178kEducation$29kYouth Development$28kHuman Services$10k
02FY2025 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$30,553
Median grant
1
States reached
$177k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE ESTRIA FOUNDATION$30,553
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY19–19, $10k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%WESTERN COLORADO CONSERVATION CORPS: $10k → 11%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

AK
WA
MT
WI
MI
MA
WY
CA
UT
CO
MO
WV
VA
MD
AZ
NM
NC
SC
HI
TX
FL
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

73%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$671k · 14 repeat orgs$242k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +74% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

14 repeat relationships: 0 still active in FY2025, 14 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

14
19

Total granted

$671k
$211k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+74%
0%

Still filing today

93%
58%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 0% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $31k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureEnvironmentRecreation & SportsPublic BenefitEducationHuman ServicesOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • OT
    OREGON-CALIFORNIA TRAILS ASSOCIATION
    7× · 2017–2024 · $69k · revenue +94%
  • CD
    CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TRAIL COALITION
    7× · 2017–2024 · $68k · revenue +197%
  • TF
    THE FLORIDA TRAIL ASSOCIATION INC
    7× · 2017–2024 · $62k · revenue +162%

Funded once

  • NM
    NATIONAL MALL AND MEMORIAL PARKS
    one grant, 2020 · $30k
  • NT
    NATIONAL TRAILS INTERMOUNTAIN REGION NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
    one grant, 2017 · $20k
  • IN
    IDITAROD NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL INC
    one grant, 2017 · $10k · revenue -38%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
National Pike Trail Council
Environment
2
Scenic Montana Trails
—
3
Washington Trails Association

Washington trails association is on a mission to connect everyone to the outdoors and build a community that gives back to trails and public lands.

—
4
Methow Valley Trails Collaborative

Enhancing sustainable trail experiences in the Methow Valley.

Environment
5
Bigfoot Trail Alliance

The Bigfoot Trail Alliance is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is working to support the establishment of the 360 mile route through the Klamath Mountains to celebrate the regions biodiversity. The BFTA fosters a community…

Environment
6
American Discovery Trail Society

The American Discovery Trail is responsible for the ongoing development and promotion of America's first coast-to-coast non-motorized trail for hiking, biking, running and other recreational purposes. Passing near the homes of more than 40…

Recreation & Sports
7
Falls Creek Wildlands and Trails

Falls Creek Wildlands and Trails FCWT promotes conservation stewardship and responsible recreation in the Falls Creek area through trail development and maintenance environmental restoration and preservation projects and educational…

Environment
8
Rails to Trails Conservancy

The rails-to-trails conservancy is the nations largest trails org. with a grassroots community more than 1 mil. strong dedicated to building a nation connected by trails, reimagining public spaces to create safe ways for everyone to walk,…

Environment
9
Transcaucasian Trail Association

The TCTA's mission is to develop, promote, and maintain the Transcaucasian Trail - a world-class hiking trail across the Caucasus Mountains - in order to improve access to the region's diverse cultural and natural heritage and encourage…

Environment
10
The Colorado Trail Foundation

To provide, improve, and maintain, through voluntary public involvement and in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, a linear, non-motorized, sustainable, scenic, recreation trail corridor for hikers,…

Recreation & Sports
11
Kennett Area Trails Alliance
Recreation & Sports
12
American Trails

To advance the development of diverse high quality trails and greenways for the benefit of people and communities through collaboration, education and communication to raise awareness of the value these trails offer.

Recreation & Sports
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is North Country Trail Association Incorporated; the most unlike its peers is Pompeys Pillar Historical Assoc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

25 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 25 of the 34 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
12
Early backer (in before they grew)
25/25
Grantees still filing
17/25
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

OREGON-CALIFORNIA TRAILS ASSOCIATION: $69,085 · OtherOREGON-CALIFORNIA TRAILS ASSOCIATIONNORTH COUNTRY TRAIL ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED: $57,985 · OtherNORTH COUNTRY TRAIL ASSOCIATION INCORPORATEDICE AGE TRAIL ALLIANCE INC: $57,685 · OtherICE AGE TRAIL ALLIANCE INCPACIFIC NORTHWEST TRAIL ASSOCIATION: $48,848 · OtherPACIFIC NORTHWEST TRAIL ASSOCIATIONNATIONAL MALL AND MEMORIAL PARKS: $30,000 · OtherNATIONAL MALL AND MEMORIAL PARKSPACIFIC CREST TRAIL ASSOCIATION: $20,000 · OtherNATIONAL TRAILS INTERMOUNTAIN REGION NATIONAL PARK SERVICE: $20,000 · OtherANZA TRAIL FOUNDATION: $19,285 · Other+9 more: $88,159 · Other+9 moreEl Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail Association: $69,185 · Arts & CultureEl Camino Real de l…THE ESTRIA FOUNDATION: $30,553 · Arts & CultureTHE ESTRIA FOUNDATI…NATL WASHINGTON-ROCHAMBEAU REV RT A: $19,185 · Arts & CultureNATL WASHINGTON-ROC…IDITAROD NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL INC: $10,000 · Arts & CultureIDITAROD NATIONAL H…Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Fdtn: $10,000 · Arts & CultureLewis and Clark Tra…NATIONAL HISTORIC CALIFORNIA TRAIL INTERPRETIVE CENTER FOUNDATION: $9,000 · Arts & CultureNATIONAL HISTORIC C…OVERMOUNTAIN VICTORY TRAIL ASSOCIATION: $6,000 · Arts & CultureCONTINENTAL DIVIDE TRAIL COALITION: $67,635 · EnvironmentCONTINENTAL DIVIDE …Appalachian Mountain Club: $57,685 · EnvironmentAppalachian Mountai…ALA KAHAKAI TRAIL ASSOCIATION: $10,000 · EnvironmentALA KAHAKAI TRAIL A…Eastern Sierra Conservation Corps: $9,285 · EnvironmentEastern Sierra Cons…BCHC EDUCATION FUND INC: $9,000 · EnvironmentBCHC EDUCATION FUND…THE FLORIDA TRAIL ASSOCIATION INC: $61,657 · Recreation & SportsTHE FLORIDA …APPALACHIAN TRAIL CONSERVANCY: $39,285 · Recreation & SportsAPPALACHIAN …ARIZONA TRAIL ASSOCIATION: $54,113 · Public BenefitLIVING CLASSROOMS FOUNDATION: $29,285 · EducationMESA YOUTH SERVICES INC: $10,000 · Human Services
Other$411,047Arts & Culture$153,923Environment$153,605Recreation & Sports$100,942Public Benefit$54,113Education$29,285Human Services$10,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetEl Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail Association: $69,185 over 7y, 8.1% of budgetOREGON-CALIFORNIA TRAILS ASSOCIATION: $69,085 over 7y, 2.4% of budgetCONTINENTAL DIVIDE TRAIL COALITION: $67,635 over 7y, 1.5% of budgetTHE FLORIDA TRAIL ASSOCIATION INC: $61,657 over 7y, 1.2% of budgetNORTH COUNTRY TRAIL ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED: $57,985 over 6y, 0.9% of budgetICE AGE TRAIL ALLIANCE INC: $57,685 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetAppalachian Mountain Club: $57,685 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetARIZONA TRAIL ASSOCIATION: $54,113 over 6y, 1.0% of budgetPACIFIC NORTHWEST TRAIL ASSOCIATION: $48,848 over 5y, 1.7% of budgetAPPALACHIAN TRAIL CONSERVANCY: $39,285 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetLIVING CLASSROOMS FOUNDATION: $29,285 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetPACIFIC CREST TRAIL ASSOCIATION: $20,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetNATL WASHINGTON-ROCHAMBEAU REV RT A: $19,185 over 2y, 4.2% of budgetLewis and Clark Trail Heritage Fdtn: $10,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetALA KAHAKAI TRAIL ASSOCIATION: $10,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetMESA YOUTH SERVICES INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetPOMPEYS PILLAR HISTORICAL ASSOC: $10,000 over 1y, 6.8% of budgetAMERICAN HIKING SOCIETY: $10,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetEastern Sierra Conservation Corps: $9,285 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetBCHC EDUCATION FUND INC: $9,000 over 1y, 7.8% of budgetNATIONAL HISTORIC CALIFORNIA TRAIL INTERPRETIVE CENTER FOUNDATION: $9,000 over 1y, 11% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

National Park Foundat…National Park Trust I…American TrailsNational Forest Found…National Fish and Wil…Ibm International Fou…Ge Aerospace Foundati…Jpmorgan Chase Founda…The Pfizer Foundation…American Endowment Fo…The Bank of America C…American Online Givin…
National Park FoundationDC31.8× affinity13 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: National Park Foundation · National Park Trust Inc · American Trails · National Forest Foundation · National Fish and Wildlife Foundation · Ibm International Foundation · Ge Aerospace Foundation · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · The Pfizer Foundation Inc · American Endowment Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Partnership for the National Trails System Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Partnership for the National Trails System Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 14%
  • The Florida Trail Association Inc: 100% of income from government
  • American Hiking Society: 14% of income from government
  • Living Classrooms Foundation: 7% of income from government
  • Appalachian Mountain Club: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 34 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Partnership for the National Trails System’s filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home