For two decades, Sunflower Foundation has helped create a culture of trails in Kansas with support that went beyond trail-building grants to also include providing education, technical assistance and networking opportunities for trail champions across the state.
While the foundation has cherished this role, the time has come for a dynamic nonprofit with the sole focus of advancing trails in Kansas to take this work to the next level. Kansas Trails, Inc. (KTI), which has launched as the first statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting, supporting and empowering the state’s trail community, fits that mold.
Sunflower Foundation supported efforts to jumpstart the statewide trail entity by providing a $250,000 grant that helped cover startup costs associated with developing and launching the new nonprofit. Grant funds came from a one-time, unrestricted gift of $4 million that the foundation received from billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott and has been strategically used to expand on its philanthropic work.
This new statewide trail organization has the potential to be a “gamechanger” for Kansas trails, said Elizabeth Burger, Sunflower’s senior vice president of programs and strategy.
“Providing startup funds for Kansas Trails, Inc., was a perfect fit for our mission to serve as a catalyst, and we are pleased to be involved in every step of its development,” Burger said. “We hope every Kansas trail champion will participate in and benefit from the vision setting and tangible services that KTI will offer to communities and nonprofits of every size in every county.”
In announcing the launch of the new organization, KTI stated it is “designed to serve every trail organization, city, steward and volunteer in Kansas” and will strive to provide “trail maps, expert resources, technical assistance, advocacy and support to help ensure Kansas trails are accessible, sustainable and thriving.”
KTI will provide the essential wraparound support that allows trail grants from other organizations, such as Sunflower Foundation, to be more successful.
Meanwhile, knowing that trails are an integral part of a healthy community, the foundation will continue working to identify innovative trail funding strategies to meet the evolving needs of the state. Access to trails not only provides health and wellness benefits, but also economic development opportunities, alternative transportation, improved quality of life, heritage preservation, and community pride and identity. Sunflower Trails has proven to be one of the foundation’s most effective strategies in reaching small, rural communities.
“We see the creation of KTI as complementary to our Sunflower Trails program, and we look forward to future collaborations to help communities build, maintain, promote and optimize trails for the benefit of all,” said Kelli Mark, the foundation’s director of Healthy Communities who oversees the Sunflower Trails program.
As the foundation works to identify what’s next for Sunflower Trails, it invites anyone who cares about trails, health and community development to join its virtual listening tour Talkin’ Trails with Sunflower and help shape the future of trail investments in Kansas. These free, informal, drop-in Zoom sessions are scheduled for noon to 1 p.m. on the first and third Tuesdays of each month through October, with the next session on Aug. 5. No registration is required, and there is no formal agenda. Just click the link below to join the conversation and tell us your trail ideas, challenges and stories!
