Trails foundation seeking grant applicants

WASILLA — Got a trails project that needs a little sprucing up? The Mat-Su Trails and Parks Foundation might just have the green.

“We’re looking for 10 great projects at $10,000 apiece,” said foundation executive director Kim Ryals on Friday.

The foundation has $100,000 in grant money that it’s looking to give away this spring, and Ryals and company are trying to get the word out.

“We partner with different entities that enhance and expand the Valley’s trails network,” Ryals said.

In order to do that, however, the organization needs people to sign up for grants. The spring sign-up period began recently and runs through March 4. After that, qualified applications will be reviewed by the foundation’s board, with finalists invited to complete a more robust grant application.

The first step, however — submitting a letter of intent — is as easy as filling out a form that can be downloaded from the group’s website.

“It’s a very simple form to fill out,” Ryals said.

So far, the foundation has awarded $233,000 worth of grants for local trails projects. That money has gone for everything from helping to install backcountry latrines in Denali State Park to installing single-track trails at Government Peak Recreation Area.

This year, the foundation is giving away $200,000 worth of grants split between spring and fall funding cycles.

Ryals said any nonprofit agency is eligible to apply for the grants, as are state agencies, Alaska Native organizations, religious groups and even local community councils. Pretty much any kind of trails improvement project in the Mat-Su area is fair game to be considered.

“It’s a pretty simple grants process,” she said.

In the past, she said requests have ranged from about 15 to 30 projects — which means qualified projects have pretty good odds of getting funding through the foundation.

“It’s a competitive process, but we’ve got a lot of good funding for a lot of good projects,” she said.

The grants are all part of the group’s stated goal “to facilitate, organize and fund efforts to build and maintain a connected trails and parks system in the Mat-Su.”

Anyone hoping to get a grant through the foundation should first complete a letter of intent, which Ryals said is essential to a project getting consideration.

“I’d say just get those letters in,” she said when asked if she had any advice for prospective project organizers.

For more information on the foundation or to download a letter and review grant eligibility requirements, visit the Mat-Su Trails and Parks Foundation online at matsutrails.org.

Contact Frontiersman editor Matt Tunseth at 352-2268 or email news@frontiersman.com