Trailblazers Outdoor Recreation Access Program

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Executive Summary

Trailblazers Outdoor Recreation Access Program is a nonprofit that gives families and young people from low-income households a chance to explore the outdoors, with free guided hikes, paddling days and camping weekends, a gear library and rides to the trailhead.

The outdoors is good for health and spirits, and many families have never gone because they lack gear, a ride or someone to show them how. A borrowed pack, a safe ride and a friendly, trained leader can change that.

With this grant we will serve about 200 participants in Year 1 from 3 trailheads. Our leaders carry first aid training and a safety plan, and we cancel trips in unsafe weather. We do not promise any experience beyond what we describe. We promise a safe trip, fitted gear and a warm welcome.

Our Year 1 budget is about $163,000, growing to about $204,000 by Year 5 as we add sites, coaches and participants. Each year's budget is planned to balance, with a small surplus each year. We have 5 staff in Year 1 (an Executive Director, an Outdoor Program Coordinator and three part-time trip leaders) and 9 by Year 5.

We are asking the Open Trails Foundation for $45,000 for the Outdoor Program Coordinator and gear library additions. Our other income and startup support cover the rest. These numbers are estimates based on the assumptions listed at the end of this proposal, and we do not promise any result beyond what we describe.

Company Description

Trailblazers Outdoor Recreation Access Program is a nonprofit organization in Colorado. We are a registered charity with a volunteer board of directors, a written conflict-of-interest policy and a yearly budget the board reviews.

Our mission. Everyone should be able to experience the outdoors, whatever their income or whether they have ever been.

What we do.
- Run free guided hikes, paddling days and camping weekends for families and youth.
- Lend tents, packs, boots and other gear from a gear library.
- Provide rides to trailheads and parks for those without a car.
- Teach outdoor safety, navigation and leave-no-trace skills.
- Train and pay part-time trip leaders certified in first aid.
- Host a yearly outdoor festival for the community.

Our values. Respect for every participant, honesty with families and partners, safety first and a place for everyone who wants to belong.

What we do not do. We are not a guide service for hire and we do not take participants into conditions beyond a leader's training. Trips are cancelled for unsafe weather. We do not promise any experience or result beyond what we describe. We follow the rules of our partner sites and our insurer.

How we got here. A group of hikers, park rangers and parents began leading free weekend hikes for neighbors who had never been to the nearby park. Families kept coming and asked to borrow gear. We kept simple records of who came and what they said. This proposal asks for support to move from weekend hikes to a steady program with paid, trained staff and the materials to match.

Problem & Opportunity

The outdoors is good for health and spirits, and many families have never been because they lack gear, a ride or someone to show them how.

Cost. Boots, packs, tents and park fees can cost hundreds of dollars before a first trip.

Access. Many parks are far from our neighborhoods and have no public transportation. Trail maps and rules can feel unfamiliar.

Safety and trust. Families want to know that leaders are trained, trips are planned for safety and no one will be left behind.

Missed benefits. Families who never get outdoors miss the exercise, calm and connection to nature, and young people may never see themselves in these spaces.

What we hear.
- A mother says her children have never seen a mountain.
- A ranger says she wishes more families from the city came to the park.
- A teenager says the night sky was the best thing he has ever seen.
- A grandfather says he has not been in the woods since he was a boy.

We do not claim that a program can solve every challenge. We believe that a borrowed pack, a safe ride and a friendly leader can open the outdoors to anyone.

Products & Services

Trailblazers Outdoor Recreation Access Program gives families and young people from low-income households a safe, welcoming place to explore and enjoy the outdoors.

How the program works.
1. Trips. Guided half-day and full-day hikes, paddling days and an overnight camping weekend each season.
2. Groups. Groups of up to twelve with two leaders, matched to the experience of the group.
3. Gear library. Participants borrow boots, packs, tents and rain gear, fitted for them.
4. Rides. A program van or partner carpool provides rides to trailheads.
5. Skills. Each trip includes a short lesson in safety, navigation and care for the land.
6. Leaders. Leaders hold first aid training, lead with a safety plan and cancel trips in unsafe weather.
7. Festival. A yearly outdoor festival gives neighbors a taste of every activity.

What a typical session looks like. Participants arrive and check in with a staff member, settle in together, work on the day's activity in small groups and finish with a short talk about what went well. Staff praise effort, correct mistakes kindly and make sure no one is left out.

Staff. Our trip leaders hold current first aid training, pass a background check, complete our safety training and are paid a stipend.

Access and fairness. Programs are free. Programs are free. We welcome people of every age, ability and experience, and we choose routes to match.

Market Analysis

Who we serve. Families, young people and adults from low-income households who live near our partner parks and want to get outdoors. Eligibility is based on income guidelines our board sets, and no one is turned away for lack of experience or gear.

How we estimate need. We cannot count every young person who could benefit, so we plan from what we can see. In our weekend hikes we filled every trip and kept a waiting list. Rangers and neighborhood leaders told us that many more families want to go than we can take. For Year 1 we plan to serve about 200 participants at 3 trailheads. By Year 5, with more staff and sites, we plan to serve about 440.

Where participants come from.
- Neighborhood groups, schools and libraries.
- Park rangers and state parks staff.
- Churches and community centers.
- Families who tell a friend.

Who else benefits. Families gain health and time together. Parks gain visitors who care about them. Neighborhoods gain a shared experience.

What the numbers mean. Every number here is a family on a trail they had never seen. We keep our early counts modest and honest so we can do the work well.

Competitive Landscape

What young people can find today, and how we are different.

1. Outdoor clubs. Strong and often costly, and not set up to lend gear or give rides. We partner with them.

2. Park programs. Excellent, with limited trips and no transportation. We add capacity.

3. Outfitters and guides. Expert and priced beyond our families. We offer a free alternative.

4. Youth outdoor programs. Valuable for young people and not for whole families.

5. Going alone. Free, and unsafe for beginners.

What makes us different.
- Free to every participant.
- A gear library with fitted equipment.
- Rides to trailheads.
- Trained leaders with a safety plan.
- Trips for whole families.

Why this gap matters. Existing programs do good work, and most serve people who can already pay or who live close to them. The people we serve are the ones left over: they live in the wrong neighborhood, have the wrong schedule or have no one to ask. We are built to reach them.

We have spoken with park rangers, outdoor clubs and other community programs to make sure we are filling a gap and not duplicating services. Their letters of support are in the attachments.

Marketing & Sales Strategy

How young people and partners will find us.

Reaching young people.
- Neighborhood groups, schools and libraries. We will share a one-page sign-up form in English and Spanish.
- Parks. We will work with rangers to post flyers and share trip schedules.
- Families. We will hold a short information night before each season.
- Churches and centers. We will talk with leaders who know families.
- Word of mouth. Many families will find us through a friend.
- A simple website and a phone line with a text option.

Reaching staff and sponsors.
- Invite hikers, paddlers, rangers and retired teachers through outdoor clubs and parks.
- Offer an orientation, a background check and training in safety, privacy and respectful practice.
- Give partners a short report each quarter with counts of participants and what they said.

How we decide who joins. We use a simple sign-up form and enroll participants in the order received, with priority for those with the greatest need and for people new to the program. We keep a waiting list when the program is full.

What we watch. Sign-ups, attendance, trips completed, gear borrowed and how many participants return for a second season.

Operations Plan

How the program will be carried out.

Timeline for Year 1:
- Months 1 and 2 (July and August): Hire the staff, buy equipment and materials, finalize the waiver, consent form and privacy policy with our attorney and sign site agreements.
- Month 3 (September): Begin the first season of trips from three trailheads.
- Months 4 to 10: Lead trips each weekend in good weather, with an overnight each season and gear fittings before each trip.
- Months 11 and 12: Hold the festival, survey participants, report to funders and plan Year 2.

Space. Trips start at partner trailheads and parks, and we store gear in a donated warehouse.

Safety and privacy.
- Trip leaders carry first aid kits and communication devices, check the weather and cancel when conditions are unsafe.
- Every participant signs a waiver, and leaders know each person's health information that they choose to share.
- Every staff member and volunteer passes a background check and completes safety training.
- Staff work in pairs or in view of others whenever participants are minors or in a vulnerable situation.
- We keep an emergency plan at every site, and participants complete an emergency contact form.
- We keep records private, share them only with a participant's permission or as the law requires and follow a written policy.

Equipment. We buy about $16,000 of equipment once at the start: gear library: tents, packs, boots and rain gear ($12,000), first aid kits, communication devices and safety equipment ($2,000), equipment trailer ($2,000). Later years replace or add a few items.

Staffing. In Year 1 I serve as Executive Director. The Outdoor Program Coordinator, paid $40,000 a year, plans trips, gear and partners. Three part-time trip leaders, each paid a stipend of $9,000 a year, guide groups. We add leaders as we add trailheads.

Management & Organization

Ben Whitaker, Executive Director. I lead the organization, report to the board and am responsible for budgets, partnerships and reporting. I came to this work as a park ranger who watched families from the city stand at the edge of the woods without knowing how to begin. I will complete the safety training we require of our leaders so I understand the program from the inside. (Replace this paragraph with your own background.)

Staff. The Outdoor Program Coordinator plans trips, gear and partners, and part-time trip leaders guide groups. Each passes a background check. These positions are part of our grant request.

Board of directors. Our volunteer board includes a park ranger, an outdoor educator, a parent, a banker who serves as treasurer, an attorney and a neighborhood leader. The board meets every other month, approves our budget and reviews our safety plan. No board member is paid, and members with a conflict of interest step out of related decisions.

Advisory partners. A state parks staff member, a wilderness first aid instructor and a community health worker give guidance twice a year.

Staffing and pay in this plan: Executive Director, paid $46,000 a year; outdoor Program Coordinator, paid $40,000 a year; trip Leader (part-time stipend), paid $9,000 a year.

Milestones Narrative

Our goals, how we will measure them and when we plan to reach them.

Year 1 outcomes (July 2027 through June 2028):
- Serve about 200 participants at 3 trailheads.
- Run at least two full seasons and a summer session.
- Have at least 85 percent of participants attend most sessions.
- Have at least 80 percent of participants return for a second season.
- Receive positive feedback from at least 90 percent of families who answer our short survey.

What we count and how.
- Participants enrolled, sessions and games attended, from our records.
- Skills learned and goals met, from the coach's checklist.
- Equipment issued and returned, from our log.
- Participant and family feedback, from a short, confidential form.
We report what we find, including what did not work, and use it to improve.

Growth over five years.
- Year 2: About 260 participants at 3 trailheads.
- Year 3: About 320 participants at 4 trailheads.
- Year 4: About 380 participants at 5 trailheads.
- Year 5: About 440 participants at 6 trailheads.

Learning along the way. At the end of each quarter, the director and the board review the numbers and decide whether we are on track. If we are behind, we will adjust our outreach, our sites or our schedule before asking for more money.

After the grant. By Year 5, grants make up about 42 percent of our budget, down from about 67 percent in Year 1, as partners and donors give more. We will keep building those relationships every year.

Funding Request

What we are asking for, and how the money will be used. Our request: $45,000 from the Open Trails Foundation for the Outdoor Program Coordinator and gear library additions, for July 2027 through June 2028.

The request is spread across these budget lines:
- Personnel: Outdoor Program Coordinator salary, $40,000.
- Supplies: Gear library additions and repair, $5,000 (other funds add $2,000).

Other money in the program. This request is about 41% of our Year 1 grant income. Other grants and the income lines below pay for everything it does not cover.

Year 1 budget: about $163,000, planned to balance with a small surplus (about $6,800 after the yearly wear on equipment). Year 1 money coming in: Grant Revenue $109,000; state Parks Partnership $26,000; outdoor Industry Sponsors $20,000; individual Donors $8,000. Year 1 costs: executive Director $46,000; outdoor Program Coordinator $40,000; trip Leader (part-time stipend) $9,000; gear Library Maintenance and Replacement about $6,000; transportation and Van Costs about $12,000; permits and Park Fees about $4,000; food for Trips about $6,000; leader Training and Certification about $4,000; administration and Insurance about $8,000; about $6,000 a year for the wear on equipment.

One-time startup costs. Startup costs of $25,800 are paid once from startup money, not from the yearly budget: $12,000 for gear library: tents, packs, boots and rain gear; $2,000 for first aid kits, communication devices and safety equipment; $2,000 for equipment trailer; $2,500 for attorney review of the waiver and privacy policy; $1,800 for banners, bilingual flyers and a simple website; $2,500 for wilderness first aid certification and background checks for leaders; $3,000 for first insurance payment.

How we got our startup number. The Funding Need Calculator in this plan adds the startup costs ($25,800), the cash the program uses before it balances (about $0) and a cash cushion of about $38,300, which is about three months of Year 1 costs. In all, that comes to $64,500. We start with $8,000 from our founding board and $59,000 in startup support from a community foundation and an outdoor retailer, $67,000 in all, which covers that amount with room to spare.

The next five years. Our budget grows from about $163,000 in Year 1 to about $204,000 in Year 5. Grants are planned at $109,000, $96,000, $92,500, $89,000 and $86,000 in Years 1 to 5. Other income grows: state Parks Partnership from $26,000 to $50,000; outdoor Industry Sponsors from $20,000 to $44,000; individual Donors from $8,000 to $24,000. Our surplus is planned at about $6,800 in Year 1, about $7,400 in Year 2, about $8,200 in Year 3, about $9,000 in Year 4 and about $10,100 in Year 5. We grow from 3 trailheads to 6 by Year 5, adding a part-time coach for each new site.

Savings. We plan to keep several months of costs in savings. The lowest year-end balance in the plan is about $54,500, at the end of Year 1. Some grant payments and partner payments arrive after we bill, so we plan for about $6,520 owed to us at the end of Year 1.

Cost per participant. In Year 1, our total costs are about $781 per participant served, which includes setting up the program. By Year 5, with more participant served and a trained team in place, that falls to about $441 per participant.

After the grant. State parks partnership funding, corporate sponsors and individual donors grow every year, so grants become a smaller share of our budget. Participants and families share their stories, and businesses can sponsor a team or a season by name. We will look for partnerships with schools and the city that want a safe, free outdoor recreation option for every child.

Risks and how we will handle them:
- An injury. Certified coaches, proper equipment, groups matched by age and skill, a written emergency plan and insurance.
- A site is no longer available. We keep agreements with more than one site and a plan for bad weather.
- A coach leaves. We keep a list of trained backup coaches and share lesson plans.
- Low attendance. We adjust sites, times and rides based on family feedback.
- A privacy problem. We follow a written policy, use secure systems and train every staff member and volunteer.
- A grant ends. We keep savings and grow partner and donor support each year.

If you are just starting. A new organization can begin before it has its own 501(c)(3) status through a fiscal sponsor: an established nonprofit that receives grants for you and passes them to your program, usually for a fee (commonly around 5% to 10% of the grant, sometimes more; ask before you agree). Another way is to start smaller: one neighborhood, a handful of participants and a small team, tracked carefully. Strong results from a small start make larger grants easier to win.

Appendix Notes

Documents to attach with this proposal:

- Your IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter, or your fiscal sponsor agreement.
- Your most recent financial statements and your current year budget.
- A list of your board members and what each one does.
- Signed letters of support from partner schools, agencies and sites.
- Your site agreements and your insurance certificate.
- Your consent, waiver and privacy policy.
- Your safety plan and background check policy.
- Your program outline and schedule.
- Quotes for equipment and materials.
- Resumes for your Executive Director and key staff.
If you don't have any of this yet, no worries - let's continue.

The assumptions behind our numbers (change them in the Financials section to match your own):
- Grant Revenue: $109,000 in Year 1, growing to $86,000 in Year 5.
- State Parks Partnership: $26,000 in Year 1, growing to $50,000 in Year 5.
- Outdoor Industry Sponsors: $20,000 in Year 1, growing to $44,000 in Year 5.
- Individual Donors: $8,000 in Year 1, growing to $24,000 in Year 5.
- Pay (a full year, per person, including payroll taxes and workers' compensation): executive Director $46,000; outdoor Program Coordinator $40,000; trip Leader (part-time stipend) $9,000.
- Other yearly costs in Year 1: gear Library Maintenance and Replacement $6,000; transportation and Van Costs $12,000; permits and Park Fees $4,000; food for Trips $6,000; leader Training and Certification $4,000; administration and Insurance $8,000. These grow between 4% and 5% a year.
- Equipment: $16,000 at the start, then $3,000 to $4,000 a year.
- Startup costs: $25,800, paid once from $67,000 in startup money.
- Participants served: about 200 in Year 1, growing to about 440 in Year 5. Sites: 3 in Year 1, growing to 6 by Year 5. Trips run on weekends in good weather, with an overnight each season.
- About 4% of each year's income is still owed to us at year end.
- Tax: none, as a nonprofit.
- Every dollar amount is an estimate. Replace them with your own quotes and real budget.

Startup Costs