5 Steps to Applying for Federal Funding of your Patrol
The recently passed federal transportation bill, SAFETEA-LU, presents some great grant opportunities for patrol groups through the Recreational Trails Program (RTP). The program was recently reauthorized by Congress and dedicates $370 million over the next five years to trail and trail-related programs. New to the RTP this year is a specific reference to "non-law enforcement trail safety and trail monitoring patrol programs." That's you!
Different states have different deadlines and application procedures. The first step to take advantage of this federal money is to find out who your state trail administrator is and educate yourself about the RTP program.
- Find out who your state trail administrator is and read about the program
on your home state's website:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/rectrails/rtpstate.htm
- Read IMBA's resources and tips on how to apply for RTP grants:
http://www.imba.com/resources/grants/index.html
- Read through a list of other successful grants:
http://www.funoutdoors.info/rtphome.html
- Find out the grant deadline and work with your fellow patrollers to write
a proposal. Your state trail adminstrator can give you ideas on how to
design a winning project.
- Share your successes and experiences with IMBA so that other patrol groups can learn from them.
