Michigan · Nonprofit
Iron Belle Trail Fund
Iron Belle Trail Fund (Michigan) receives grants from 7 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,425,126 to it, the largest being THE HERBERT H & GRACE A DOW FOUNDATION ($1,000,000). 5 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $193k
- Funders on record
- 7
- Grants received
- $2.4M
- Net assets
- $0
What Iron Belle Trail Fund does
Mission
The mission of the Michigan Trails Fund is to secure and distribute private resources that will be used to assist in the expansion and connectivity of the statewide non-motorized trail system which promotes access for all, healthy communities, connects people to places through heritage, improves local economies, and maintains Michigan's position as The Trail State.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Program
The Iron Belle Trail Fund (IBTF) was established for charitable and educational purposes to support the construction, maintenance, and programming of the Iron Belle Trail (IBT), a hiking and biking trail connecting Belle Isle Park in Detroit, Michigan to Ironwood, Michigan. Recognizing the importance of the entire network of trails in the state of Michigan, IBTF has expanded its mission to support regional bike trails throughout the state. As a part of this recognition, the Iron Belle Trail Fund adopted a DBA, the Michigan Trails Fund (MTF) effective January 1, 2022. The MTF continues to work collaboratively with local, state, and corporate partners throughout Michigan to strategically support communities by helping to connect resources as they work to advance trail systems. As a part of these efforts, the MTF awarded and administered several grants for trail planning, trail engineering, and trail development projects in several counties throughout Michigan. Trail usage remains high as citizens continue to seek outdoor recreation opportunities throughout the state. Private funds, such as those obtained, managed and granted by the MTF are critical to trail development in Michigan…
$4,746,926 spentof which $4,746,649 as grants100% of program spending
The program described on its FY2024 Form 990. Program spending in total: $4,746,926.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2020, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2020, 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.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2024 to 2025, from $5.0M to $0 (−100%).
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.
12% of Iron Belle Trail Fund’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (18% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 6 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Who funds it, year by year
2020 → 2023: the base broadened from 2 funders to 6 funders, grant income fell $500k → $475k.
2 of 7 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 1% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $47k from one payer (the payer shares this organization's board, largest Michigan Physical Fitness Health and Sports Foundation). These are real filings, and they are not money Iron Belle Trail Fund raised.
From the IRS filings of Iron Belle Trail Fund’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
Iron Belle Trail Fund leans on a few funders — its largest provides 41% of grant income and the top three 95%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2020 100% · 2021 100% · 2022 50% · 2023 53% — 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.
Where its funders are
100% of Iron Belle Trail Fund's grant income comes from Michigan funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $25k arriving through sponsors registered in 2 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.
Against its field
Iron Belle Trail Fund's revenue fell 76% between 2020 and 2025.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 10,453 recreation & sports nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Organizations like Iron Belle Trail Fund
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 Michigan
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
97% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
46%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Michigan Physical Fitness Foundation · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for Iron Belle Trail Fund: 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.
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 Iron Belle Trail Fund?
- Iron Belle Trail Fund (Michigan) receives grants from 7 organizations whose IRS filings report $2,425,126 to it, the largest being THE HERBERT H & GRACE A DOW FOUNDATION ($1,000,000). 5 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does Iron Belle Trail Fund have?
- IRS filings report 7 organizations giving $2,425,126 in grants to Iron Belle Trail Fund, 5 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of Iron Belle Trail Fund?
- THE HERBERT H & GRACE A DOW FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $1,000,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like Iron Belle Trail Fund find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Michigan. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2020–2025), and the filings of 7 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