Skip to content

New Hampshire · Nonprofit

FRIENDS OF THE NORTHERN RAIL TRAIL

FRIENDS OF THE NORTHERN RAIL TRAIL (New Hampshire) receives grants from 13 organizations whose IRS filings report $297,200 to it, the largest being FRANK M AND OLIVE F GILMAN FOUNDATION ($83,000). 6 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2025
$213k
Funders on record
13
Grants received
$297k
Net assets
$121k
6/13 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 56%
01What it does

What Friends of the Northern Rail Trail does

Mission

To Improve, Promote and Maintain the Northern Rail Trail as a Four Season Multi Use Recreational Trail

As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.

Programs

  1. 1. $117,968 Total for Trail Resurfacing, Maintenance & Improvements. This includes: A. $79,460 Grafton, NH Resurfaced and widened the trail north and south of Grafton Center Meetinghouse, By Mark Thompson Excavation Inc. B. $11,709 for Bridge Deck Replacement and Bridge Repairs by Belletetes Building Materials, Lavalley Building Supplies. "C. $11,071 for Mowing and Leaf Blowing by Tucker Mountain Land Services and $1,224 leaf blower by Ready Rents. " D. $4,518, Boscawen, NH Resurfaced trail approach to Hannah Duston Bridge, by Mark Thompson Excavation Inc. E. $3,240, Danbury, NH Trail Resurfacing resulting from flood damage at Jack Wells Road north and south, by Mark Thompson Excavation Inc. F. $3,000, Danbury, N.H Added hard pack surface at Carr Street Crossing & cover exposed Rail Resurface, by J&B Landscaping & Excavation LLC. G. $1,820, for 3 TrafX Trail Counters by TRAFx Research Ltd. H. $1,650, Danbury, N.H. Culvert Cleaning and Ditching at Beaver Pond by Mark Thompson Excavation. I. $1,500 For State of NH Dredge & Fill Permit Trail Services at Enfield ,NH by Meridian Land Services.

    $117,968 spentof which $79,460 as grants
    89% of program spending
  2. 2. New Parking Lot Total = $8,000, Franklin,NH Excavate and surface new parking lot at Chance Pond Road for 10 cars, by J&B Landscaping & Excavation LLC . This new parking lot attracts more trail users as it offers safe and convenient parking to access the trail that is away from the high traffic road opposite the Webster Lake entrance.

    $8,000 spent
    6% of program spending
  3. 3. $6,792 Trailhead Sign and two Kiosks. This includes: A. $3,436 for a Welcome Sign at the southern trailhead. This new Welcome Sign features the 10 towns that the 59 mile Rail Trail goes through and attracts folks to the health and wellness benefits of cycling, running, walking, x-country skiing, snowmobiling and horseback riding on the trail. B. $3,386 for 2 Kiosks, Tables and a Bike Rack. These Kiosks provide a trail map with "you are here" information on trail mileage, distances to south and northbound destinations, rest area, parking, food and bicycle charging stations. Also featured is information on trail etiquette, shared use path safety protocol, permitted trail uses, QR codes for information on the NH Trails Bureau and Friends of The Northern Rail Trail. The Kiosks include historical pictures of the railroad beginning in 1847 of the economic, social and cultural impact of train services with regular passenger services ending in 1965 and regular freight services ceased in the mid-1970s.

    $6,822 spent
    5% of program spending
  4. 33 Maintenance Volunteers delivered 956 Hours. Resolved 175 incidents and removed 65 trees down on trail.

    $0 spent
    0% of program spending

The 4 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $132,790.

02The organization over time

The organization over time

Each line starts at 100 in 2021, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2021, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.

100 = 20212021 Revenue 100 ($80k) Expenses 100 ($44k) Net assets 100 ($177k)2022 Revenue 123 ($99k) Expenses 510 ($223k) Net assets 30 ($53k)2023 Revenue 161 ($129k) Expenses 253 ($110k) Net assets 41 ($72k)2024 Revenue 148 ($119k) Expenses 312 ($136k) Net assets 31 ($55k)2025 Revenue 264 ($213k) Expenses 335 ($146k) Net assets 68 ($121k)
20212022202320242025
Revenue (264)Expenses (335)Net assets (68)Peer revenue range

Balance sheet

Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2021 to 2022, from $177k to $53k (−70%).

$177k
$53k
$72k
$55k
$121k
20212022202320242025
Total assetsTotal liabilities

How it's funded, over time

Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.

2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

Government-grant reliance: 2025 55%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.

98% of FRIENDS OF THE NORTHERN RAIL TRAIL’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (62% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 12,439 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 5 reported years ran a deficit.

$37k
’21
−$124k
’22
$19k
’23
−$18k
’24
$67k
’25
10
months of
reserve
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 5 funders, grant income rose $250 → $28k.

3 of 13 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 42% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.

From the IRS filings of FRIENDS OF THE NORTHERN RAIL TRAIL’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

How concentrated its funding is

FRIENDS OF THE NORTHERN RAIL TRAIL leans on a few funders — its largest provides 28% of grant income and the top three 70%; half comes from just 2 funders.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left

58% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund FRIENDS OF THE NORTHERN RAIL TRAIL.

28%
largest funder
70%
top three
~5
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2018 100% · 2019 100% · 2020 100% · 2021 79% · 2022 45% · 2023 36% — diversifying over time.

“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

How long its funders stay

50% of FRIENDS OF THE NORTHERN RAIL TRAIL's funders are still giving 2 years after their first grant; 46% give in more than one year at all.

first grant+1y+2y

Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.

Where its funders are

53% of FRIENDS OF THE NORTHERN RAIL TRAIL's grant income comes from New Hampshire funders.

VT
NH
MA
NJ
DC
TX

In-state vs out-of-state, by year

’17
’18
’19
’21
’22
’23
New Hampshire out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $126k arriving through sponsors registered in 3 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

04Its place in the field

Against its field

FRIENDS OF THE NORTHERN RAIL TRAIL runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 7,175 community improvement nonprofits its size.

Operating margin31% · top quartile
Months of reserve10.0mo · above the median
Revenue growth (annualized)28% · top quartile

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 7,175 community improvement nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025

Organizations like FRIENDS OF THE NORTHERN RAIL TRAIL

Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.

In New Hampshire

Nationally

05Profile & governance

Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.

Where the money goes

91% of spending goes to programs.

Program 91%Management 9%Fundraising 0%

Governance

12
board members
100%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy✓Whistleblower policy–Document retention–Board reviewed the 990–Audited financials

Public support

99%

Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.

Footprint & structure

Files a return copy in 1 state

NH

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for FRIENDS OF THE NORTHERN RAIL TRAIL: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.

A paid feature, included from the $75 plan up. Sign in to download.

Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf

Questions and answers

Who funds FRIENDS OF THE NORTHERN RAIL TRAIL?
FRIENDS OF THE NORTHERN RAIL TRAIL (New Hampshire) receives grants from 13 organizations whose IRS filings report $297,200 to it, the largest being FRANK M AND OLIVE F GILMAN FOUNDATION ($83,000). 6 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does FRIENDS OF THE NORTHERN RAIL TRAIL have?
IRS filings report 13 organizations giving $297,200 in grants to FRIENDS OF THE NORTHERN RAIL TRAIL, 6 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of FRIENDS OF THE NORTHERN RAIL TRAIL?
FRANK M AND OLIVE F GILMAN FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $83,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like FRIENDS OF THE NORTHERN RAIL TRAIL find more funders?
Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in New Hampshire. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.

Play a game about who funds Friends of the Northern Rail Trail →

These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2021–2025), and the filings of 13 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing