Partnerships

Link up with resources to power your Trail Town.

  • In your community – To kick things off and keep it moving, you need your community behind you. Rally public support so that your town adopts the program and invests in its success. (You can assure them: it pays off!)
  • Along your trail – To net the longer-term overnight trips that power a trail economy, you need to form a network of dining, lodging, repair stations and more along your entire trail, so riders have access to amenities during their whole trip.
  • And beyond – Regional, state and national partners can help with everything from funding to building your trial to marketing.

If they aren’t interested in a partnership right away, keep the lines of communication open. Ask for advice, or even referrals to other resources that may be a better fit.

As your movement grows, your successes can leverage more support. Keep making progress, even small steps, so that you stay in the public eye and don’t lose momentum.

 

 

 Our partners

Tip: Look at other trail organizations’ partners. If an organization has worked with a similar project, there’s a good chance they will already understand the potential benefits of yours.

These partners support the Trail Town Program® financially:

  • Appalachian Regional Commission of Maryland
  • Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
  • Colcom Foundation
  • The Katherine Mabis McKenna Foundation, Inc.
  • PA Department of Community and Economic Development?
  • PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
  • Richard King Mellon Foundation
  • The Student Conservation Association
  • United States Department of Agriculture – Rural Development

Other organizations have given us specific project support:

  • Allegheny Trail Alliance
  • Columbia Gas
  • Community Foundation of the Alleghenies
  • Community Foundation of Fayette County
  • Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau County Tourism Programs (Fayette, Somerset, and Westmoreland Counties)
  • Pennsylvania Council on the Arts
  • Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission
  • Preservation Pennsylvania
  • Preserve America
  • Rockwood Rotary
  • Somerset County Rails-to-Trails Association
  • The Sprout Fund

We greatly appreciate use of photos owned and taken by:

  • Allegheny Trail Alliance
  • Bill Merlavage
  • Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau
  • Paul g. Wiegman
  • Rick Armstrong
  • Jamie Martina
  • Trail Town Program & Outreach Corps
  • Erie to Pittsburgh Trail Alliance
  • City of Franklin
  • Cathy Kentzel
  • Titusville Trail Town Action Team

 

For more partner tips:

For more tips to connect to the right people to get your Trail Town going, check out our complete Trail Town guide.

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