DULUTH, Ga., April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fox Factory’s Trail Trust program is contributing over $150,000 to 19 nonprofit organizations during the first quarter of the year to help expand educational and experiential opportunities outdoors, including projects aimed at diverse populations.
Together with nonprofit partners worldwide, Trail Trust aims to promote the conscientious use of land amongst outdoor enthusiasts and protects our shared playgrounds. The program specifically seeks to expand opportunities within the outdoor sporting industry, diversifying the populations that participate in cycling and power sports — because everyone deserves the thrill of adventure.
“This is just the first installment of Trail Trust’s quarterly giving since we officially launched this initiative in November 2021,” said Jackie Martin, Fox’s Chief Purpose and Inclusion Officer. “For this round, we selected organizations we believe will have the biggest impact from the more than 50 applications received. In addition to financial support, we are excited for our employees to volunteer with these organizations and look forward to getting out in the community to do good.”
Trail Trust focuses its support on responsible recreation, trail building and maintenance, and expanding outdoor opportunities to populations which have historically inadequate representation.
Q1 2022 Trail Trust grants are awarded to:
- 775 Offroad & Recovery - Expand training, outreach and trail repair programs for off-road rescue and recovery.
- Birmingham Urban Mountain Pedalers - Build a downhill flow trail at Oak Mountain State Park
- Camp Grier - Acquire trail maintenance tools and supplies for the G5 Trail Collective Old Fort Trail Project.
- Central Colorado Mountain Riders - Repair a heavily utilized motorized section of the Continental Divide Trail and reopen the Porter Gulch trail.
- Champagne Creek Ranch Incorporated - Complete rock trail on Colwell Hill to cater to side by side and 4WD vehicles.
- Clean Dezert - Support desert clean up events across southern California to ensure public lands remain open.
- Cloud City Wheelers - Build a new bike park to expand access to cycling among the Latinx community.
- Ecology Action - Use education, encouragement events and behavior change science to increase access to cycling among under-served communities and school-aged children.
- Havasu Side by Side Trail Association - Enhance trail maintenance and grooming programs in western Arizona.
- IMBA Canada - Create a Club Stewardship program to scale knowledge and enhance opportunities for clubs across Canada to execute trail improvement projects.
- Invest Collegiate Imagine - Construct new 3.2-mile trail for students and community members in Asheville, NC.
- Jersey Off Road Bicycle Association - Build New Jersey’s first accessible trail for adaptive mountain bikers.
- MORE Mid-Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts - Complete Bacon Ridge Bike Playground with jumps, drops and wall rides.
- Oregon Adaptive Sports - Providing equipment to empower people of all abilities to fully engage in mountain biking.
- SAGE Trail Alliance - Work with local NICA (National Interscholastic Cycling Association) teams and community organizations to enhance access to trails among underrepresented populations.
- She Digs – Boulder Mountain Bike Alliance - Support all-women trail building event on the Front Range of the Rockies.
- Stay the Trail Education & Stewardship Alliance - Provide new trailhead and staging areas kiosks to encourage responsible recreation.
- Vermont Mountain Bike Advocate - Upgrade Mud Pond County Park trail to accommodate more adaptive mountain bikers.
- Wild Rivers Coast Mountain Biking Association - Enhance and improve the 8-Ball and Stealth trails to create a better experience for Off-Highway Vehicle Class III riders.
Fox employees are not afraid to get their hands dirty as many locations already participate in local volunteer efforts. A team devoted time in February to work with Clean-Dezert to help clean up trash throughout the region near Ocotillo Wells, Calif.
“This area is important to us as our desert proving grounds and we visit it often for work and play,” said Casey Lund, Fox’s Director of Engineering. “We will pick up trash and debris as a habit when out on tuning trips and testing. Helping in a bigger coordinated effort was great! We had a lot of Fox employees from multiple departments join an impressive effort and were happy to do our part to keep this natural resource safe and accessible.”
Other employees involved with local nonprofits are also excited about these partnerships in their communities.
“I am thrilled to learn that Trail Trust has chosen to support Birmingham Urban Mountain Pedalers (BUMP) with this latest round of grants,” said Scott Vickery, Regional Director of Fox Factory Performance Vehicle Development Group and active member of BUMP. “I know this will have a huge impact on mountain biking in Alabama by enabling us to continue to develop and improve the amazing trail system at Oak Mountain State Park. I’m truly thankful to work for a company like Fox that gives back so much to our local communities.”
“I know this will have a massive impact in Nevada by enabling the 775 Offroad & Recovery volunteers to have the resources and equipment to provide offroad recovery services to all user groups,” said Frank Walden, Fox’s Distribution Manager and volunteer. “In addition, we can expand our efforts to bring awareness and training to the community.”
Trail Trust looks forward to funding more projects and working with more organizations to deliver adventure to all.
How to Apply
Trail Trust program information, eligibility criteria, and the application form can be found at www.trailtrust.com. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and are evaluated quarterly by the Trail Trust review committee.
For specific questions about the Trail Trust initiative, email giving@ridefox.com.
About Trail Trust and Fox Factory
Fox Factory created Trail Trust to provide grants to organizations helping to preserve the places we love to play. The goal is to bring together diverse communities to build, maintain, and expand access to trails. In short, we want to make sure that the thrill of the ride can live on forever. Since launching in November 2021, Trail Trust has contributed more than $600,000 to over 40 nonprofit organizations.
