Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Apr 1986.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
71 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
28 people listed on the 990; $1.3M paid to officers and key staff.
Ryan Chao’s $318K as President is at the 69th percentile of top reported officer pay among 324 $10–100M environment nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Chao | $318,418 | $308,721 | $299,230 | $304,332 | $292,422 | $253,823 |
| Cynthia Dickerson | $211,807 | $204,743 | $190,625 | $191,224 | $177,409 | $172,701 |
| Kevin Mills | $188,141 | $182,418 | $177,321 | $182,462 | $162,106 | $158,179 |
| Frederick Schaedtler | $185,132 | $178,006 | $155,207 | $146,978 | $119,956 | — |
| Elizabeth Thorstensen | $175,519 | $152,138 | $181,094 | $181,655 | $168,221 | $162,885 |
| Brandi Horton | $179,969 | $174,375 | $167,697 | $177,432 | $150,501 | $122,950 |
| Alisa Borland | $175,164 | $178,325 | $174,963 | $176,029 | $160,661 | $116,824 |
| Marianne Fowler | — | — | — | — | — | $114,824 |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
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Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Advocates for and protects public funding and policies to build and maintain trails for walking and bicycling nationwide.
Questions for Rails to Trails Conservancy
Your first name shows with your question. Rails to Trails Conservancy answers here, for everyone.
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Trail Development
Since its inception, rails-to-trails conservancy has worked to reimagine public corridors and rights of way to create safe ways for people to walk, bike and be active outside-creating equitable, vibrant public spaces that engage, inspire and empower communities from coast to coast.
Public Information/Events
The conservancy serves as the voice of the trails movement, speaking out about the transformative power of trails, encouraging their use and generating demand for trails NATIONWIDE.THE conservancy's flagship initiative, TRAILLINK.COM served millions of visitors in 2023 providing access to more than 5,300 trails representing 41,000 miles…
Trail Policy
As the nation's foremost advocacy organization for trails and active transportation, the conservancy seeks to grow and safeguard public funding for trails, walking and bicycling at every level - federal, state and local - ensuring the investments needed to create a transformative 21ST-CENTURY active transportation system in america and…
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2023 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY23 | End FY23 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $2.3M | $1.7M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $11.8M | $13.2M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $64K | $174K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $16.2M | $20.3M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $1.6M | $6.0M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $14.7M | $14.4M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $457K | $457K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $605K | $327K | $190K | $87K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $4.4M | $3.5M | $248K | $612K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $251K | $204K | $13K | $34K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $544K | $456K | $23K | $65K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $369K | $287K | $30K | $51K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $40K | $25K | $14K | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $42K | $42K | ||
| Lobbying feesLn 11d | $6K | $6K | ||
| Professional fundraising feesLn 11e | $116K | $116K | ||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $51K | $51K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $1.9M | $1.5M | $181K | $216K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $345K | $318K | $16K | $11K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $2.0M | $927K | $164K | $878K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $262K | $173K | $20K | $69K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $523K | $434K | $31K | $58K |
| TravelLn 17 | $402K | $233K | $144K | $25K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $3K | $812 | $2K | |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $50K | $40K | $3K | $7K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $38K | $31K | $2K | $5K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $625K | $299K | $58K | $268K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $568 | $302 | $266 | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $13.0M | $9.2M | $1.2M | $2.5M |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $13.3M | $14.1M | −$842K | $16.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $14.7M | $14.0M | $751K | $16.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 Viewing | $11.7M | $13.0M | −$1.2M | $14.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $14.5M | $12.1M | $2.4M | $14.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $14.6M | $11.0M | $3.6M | $13.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $10.5M | $10.9M | −$425K | $9.5M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $11,711,163 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 18 of 18 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $11,711,163 across 12 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $12,950,447 across 22 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $20,326,477 assets, 18 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $14,358,731 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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