Authored By: The Circuit Trails | August 27, 2024

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC), on behalf of the Circuit Trails Coalition and with funding from The William Penn Foundation, is excited to launch Round 2 of the Circuit Trails Coalition Community Grant Program.

The program provides one-year grants of $1,000 to $12,000 for projects that increase a sense of welcome, belonging, and safety among under-represented groups on the Circuit Trails, a network of hundreds of miles of multi-use trails throughout nine counties in the Greater Philadelphia region (PA and NJ). The program will distribute at least $100,000; PEC may distribute more based on availability of funds.

Priority will be given to projects led by and engaging under-represented and marginalized groups; projects that promote equity and serve historically disinvested communities; and organizations with a budget of less than $250,000.

The Circuit Trails Coalition Community Grant Program intends to fund projects that make the Circuit Trails more inclusive by making them safer, more welcoming, more enticing, and more comfortable spaces for under-represented and marginalized groups. This includes but is not limited to Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color; Asian American and Pacific Islanders; disabled people/people with disabilities; immigrants; people with limited financial resources; and queer, trans, non-binary, and gender expansive people.

The Circuit Trails Coalition is guided by the Equity of Access to Trails report—the product of research conducted in fall 2020 within four focus areas: Camden, NJ; Trenton, NJ; Cobbs Creek, PA; and Norristown, PA—each an underserved community with a Circuit Trail running through it.

The study revealed that many people living near a multi-use trail do not know the trail is there. Residents expressed strong interest in being outside and in nature, but many study participants did not feel safe or invited to use public spaces near them.

When asked what would get them outdoors to use a trail, respondents had similar answers:

• Programming and a sense of welcome
• Outreach
• Physical infrastructure, like better access to a trail and signage
• An increased sense of safety, but not an increased police presence
• Greening, like gardens and nature

The Circuit Trails Coalition welcomes project ideas that address these general themes. 

Current Community Grant Program grantee partners who are funded through December 2024 are welcome to apply for Round 2. Current grantee partners who are funded through December 2025 are not eligible for Round 2.

Applications are due on Monday, September 30, 2024 by 5 p.m. For selected applicants, the project implementation period is January 2025 – December 2025.

The Circuit Trails Coalition welcomes you to learn more about the grant program at a virtual informational webinar on Wednesday, August 28, 2024 from 2 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Register for the free webinar here.

For more information and details on how to apply, please visit https://pennsylvaniaenvironmentalcouncil.submittable.com/submit/302833/2025-circuit-trails-coalition-community-grant-program.