RAILS TO TRAILS CONSERVANCY

Financials

From the e-filed returns the IRS publishes as XML (latest three processing years; amended returns replace the original). PDF copies at the IRS.

Officers, directors and key employees

As listed on the 990 for the year ended September 30, 2025, highest compensation first.

Address and contacts

Address (IRS master file)

2445 M ST NW STE 650, WASHINGTON, DC 20037-0005

Principal officer (990 for 2024)

RYAN CHAO, 2445 M ST NW 650, WASHINGTON, DC 20037

Signed the 990

RYAN CHAO, PRESIDENT

Phone

(202) 331-9696

Website

WWW.RAILSTOTRAILS.ORG

Return prepared by

GELMAN ROSENBERG & FREEDMAN

Mission

THE RAILS-TO-TRAILS CONSERVANCY IS THE NATIONS LARGEST TRAILS ORG. WITH A GRASSROOTS COMMUNITY MORE THAN 1 MIL. STRONG DEDICATED TO BUILDING A NATION CONNECTED BY TRAILS, REIMAGINING PUBLIC SPACES TO CREATE SAFE WAYS FOR EVERYONE TO WALK, BIKE & BE ACTIVE OUTDOORS.

Program accomplishments

• TRAIL DEVELOPMENT: SINCE ITS INCEPTION, RTC HAS WORKED TO REIMAGINE PUBLIC CORRIDORS AND RIGHTS OF WAY FOR PEOPLE TO WALK, BIKE AND BE ACTIVE OUTSIDE CREATING VIBRANT PUBLIC SPACES THAT ENGAGE, INSPIRE AND EMPOWER COMMUNITIES FROM COAST TO COAST. THIS WORK EMBODIES BEST PRACTICES AND LEADING-EDGE INITIATIVES TO GUIDE TRAIL DEVELOPMENT IN WAYS THAT PROMOTE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, BRING INNOVATION TO TRAIL DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING, AND PRIORITIZE TRAIL NETWORKS AND THE CONNECTIONS THAT TRAILS CAN DELIVER BETWEEN PEOPLE AND PLACES.THROUGH OUR TRAILNATION PORTFOLIO OF PROJECTS, RTCS CREATING NATIONAL MODELS THAT SHOWCASE THE OUTSIZED BENEFITS THAT CONNECTED TRAILS AND ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION ROUTES CAN DELIVER - LOCALLY, REGIONALLY AND NATIONALLY. THE PORTFOLIO IS FOCUSED ON NINE PLACES ACROSS THE COUNTRY THAT ARE DIVERSE IN THEIR GEOGRAPHY, CULTURE, SIZE, AND SCOPE - SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN, THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, THE INDUSTRIAL HEARTLAND (WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA, WEST VIRGINIA, OHIO AND NEW YORK STATE), GREATER PHILADELPHIA, MARYLAND, WASHINGTON, D.C., MIAMI, NORTHERN NEW JERSEY AND NEW ENGLAND. THE LESSONS FROM TRAIL NATION ARE SHARED AMONG RTC'S TRAIL NATION COLLABORATIVE, A NATIONWIDE PEER LEARNING COMMUNITY THAT BRINGS TOGETHER ADVOCATES, LEADERS, AND PROFESSIONALS FROM ACROSS DISCIPLINES TO ESTABLISH AND ACCELERATE TRAIL NETWORKS ACROSS AMERICA. THE COLLABORATIVE PROVIDES PROVEN TOOLS, METHODS, AND RESOURCES, COMBINED WITH RTC'S EXPERTISE AND NETWORK OF PARTNERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, TO ACCELERATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONNECTED TRAIL SYSTEMS. THE GREAT AMERICAN RAIL TRAIL IS A FLAGSHIP TRAIL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT. IT WILL BE THE NATION'S FIRST CROSS-COUNTRY MULTIUSE TRAIL, STRETCHING MORE THAN 3,700 MILES BETWEEN WASHINGTON, D.C., AND WASHINGTON STATE. THIS TRAIL IS AN ICONIC PIECE OF AMERICAN INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WILL CONNECT THOUSANDS OF MILES OF RAIL-TRAILS AND OTHER MULTIUSE TRAILS, SERVING TENS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE LIVING ALONG THE ROUTE AS WELL AS THOSE WHO VISIT THE TRAIL FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY AND THE WORLD. RTC PROVIDES THE NATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND ON THE GROUND SUPPORT - THE WORK TO ORGANIZE PEOPLE, PLANS, AND IDEAS; TRAIL PLANNING AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT; AND THE ADVOCACY AND MARKETING TO EVENTUALLY COMPLETE THE GREAT AMERICAN RAIL TRAIL. RTC CONTINUES TO SUPPORT TRAIL BUILDERS NATIONWIDE IN SEVERAL WAYS, INCLUDING MANAGING AN EARLY WARNING SYSTEM TO NOTIFY STAKEHOLDERS OF UPCOMING RAILWAY ABANDONMENTS; CREATING STATEWIDE TRAIL INVENTORIES AND DEVELOPMENT PLANS; PROVIDING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND GRANTS FOR LOCAL TRAIL DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT PROJECTS; AND PROVIDING BEST PRACTICES TRAINING AND EDUCATION.
  Expenses $4,888,577 · grants $614,890 · revenue $237,028
• PUBLIC INFORMATION/EVENTS: RTC SERVES AS THE VOICE OF THE TRAIL'S MOVEMENT, SPEAKING OUT ABOUT THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF TRAILS, ENCOURAGING THEIR USE, AND GENERATING DEMAND FOR TRAILS NATIONWIDE. RTC'S FLAGSHIP INITIATIVE, TRAILLINK.COM SERVED MILLIONS OF VISITORS IN 2025 PROVIDING ACCESS TO MORE THAN 5,300 TRAILS REPRESENTING 41,000 MILES THROUGH ITS WEBSITE AND FIVE-STAR RATED APPS. THIS TRAIL CONTENT IS ALSO OFFERED IN A SERIES OF PRINT GUIDEBOOKS. THROUGH STORYTELLING AND DIRECT ENGAGEMENT, RTC SHARES INFORMATION ABOUT TRAILS ACROSS A VARIETY OF PUBLIC CHANNELS THAT COLLECTIVELY REACH MILLIONS OF PEOPLE, INCLUDING ITS MAGAZINE, MONTHLY NEWS, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, NEWS MEDIA AND PUBLICATIONS. RTC ALSO SPEARHEADS TRAIL USE CAMPAIGNS AND EVENTS DESIGNED TO ENGAGE AND INSPIRE THE PUBLIC TO USE TRAILS, INCLUDING OUR CELEBRATE TRAILS DAY EVENT, TRAIL MOMENTS CAMPAIGN AND SHARE THE TRAIL CAMPAIGN.
  Expenses $3,006,630 · grants $45,000 · revenue $712,982
• TRAIL POLICY: AS THE NATION'S FOREMOST ADVOCACY ORGANIZATION FOR TRAILS AND ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION, RTC 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 PROMOTING POLICIES THAT MAKE TRAIL BUILDING POSSIBLE. AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, RTC LEADS EFFORTS TO GROW AND PROTECT THE LEGACY TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES PROGRAM (WHICH INCLUDES THE RECREATIONAL TRAILS PROGRAM) - THE LARGEST SOURCE OF FUNDING FOR TRAIL DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE - AND ADVOCATES FOR INNOVATIONS IN PUBLIC FUNDING INCLUDING CHAMPIONING THE ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT PROGRAM, WHICH ESTABLISHES COMPETITIVE GRANTS THAT WILL STRATEGICALLY INVEST IN PROJECTS THAT CONNECT TRAILS AND ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE. AS THE COUNTRY'S ONLY NATIONAL ORGANIZATION SOLELY COMMITTED TO DEFENDING THE PRESERVATION OF FORMER RAILROAD CORRIDORS FOR CONTINUED PUBLIC USE, RTC HAS HELPED SHAPE THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK AROUND RAIL TRAILS AND CONTINUES TO DEFEND THE FEDERAL RAILBANKING STATUTE IN CONGRESS AND THE COURTS AS AN ESSENTIAL TOOL TO PRESERVE UNUSED RAIL CORRIDORS. RTC ALSO MONITORS LITIGATION ON CASES INVOLVING ENFORCEMENT OF FEDERAL LAWS RELATED TO RAILBANKING.
  Expenses $1,928,995 · grants $77,500
• MEMBER PROGRAMS: IN ADDITION TO THE PROGRAMS PROVIDED THROUGH PUBLIC INFORMATION AND EDUCATION, RTC ALSO DIGITIZES MEMBER AND CONSTITUENT INFORMATION IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE ORGANIZATION'S COMPREHENSIVE GIS DATABASE OF MORE THAN 45,000 MILES OF TRAILS, CREATING A CENTRALIZED RESOURCE THAT ASSISTS THE ORGANIZATION IN IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES FOR LINKING TRAIL SYSTEMS, AND MOBILIZING GRASSROOTS SUPPORT OF TRAIL PROJECTS. OTHER ACTIVITIES INCLUDE DELIVERY OF MEMBER BENEFIT AND SERVICE PROGRAMS.
  Expenses $626,521
• RESEARCH: RTC'S RESEARCH PROGRAM FOCUSES ON CREATING INNOVATIVE TOOLS THAT EMPOWER COMMUNITIES TO ADVANCE TRAIL SYSTEMS IN THEIR CITIES, TOWNS AND REGIONS, WHILE ALSO MONITORING THE BENEFITS TRAILS BRING TO COMMUNITIES, THE IMPACT TRAILS HAVE ON PEOPLE AND PLACES, AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF STATE AND FEDERAL PROGRAMS THAT PROVIDE THE FUNDING AND RESOURCES TO BUILD AND MAINTAIN TRAILS.
  Expenses $131,633

What it must file and when

IRS records say it files Form 990 or 990-EZ. Based on its last return; a smaller organization may file the 990-N. Its accounting year ends in September, so each return is due on the 15th day of the 5th month after that.

IRS record

EIN

52-1437006

Tax-exempt status

501(c)(3): Charitable, religious, educational or scientific organization

Foundation status

Publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(A)(vi))

Donations deductible (Pub 78)

Public charity, 50% deduction limit

Exempt since

1986

Accounting year ends

September

Files

Form 990 or 990-EZ

Category (NTEE)

Environment (C500)

Assets (IRS master file)

$23,044,292

Income (IRS master file)

$15,441,021

Filing history

990-N: the IRS bulk file holds only the latest e-Postcard per organization; earlier years come from archived copies of that file since 2020 and can have gaps (the IRS e-Postcard search lists every one). 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF, 990-T: every e-filed return in the IRS e-file index since 2019; XML for the latest three processing years, amounts from the IRS Statistics of Income extracts before that. PDF copies and determination letters at the IRS (search EIN 52-1437006).

Questions about RAILS TO TRAILS CONSERVANCY

What is the EIN of RAILS TO TRAILS CONSERVANCY?

The employer identification number (EIN) of RAILS TO TRAILS CONSERVANCY is 52-1437006.

Is RAILS TO TRAILS CONSERVANCY tax-exempt?

Yes. The IRS lists it as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) since 1986.

Are donations to RAILS TO TRAILS CONSERVANCY tax-deductible?

Yes. It is listed in IRS Publication 78 (Public charity, 50% deduction limit).

Which annual return does RAILS TO TRAILS CONSERVANCY file?

Form 990 or 990-EZ. Based on its last return; a smaller organization may file the 990-N.

When is the next return of RAILS TO TRAILS CONSERVANCY due?

The return for tax year 2025 (the year ending September 30, 2026) is due February 16, 2027. Form 8868 extends it by six months; the 990-N cannot be extended.

When did RAILS TO TRAILS CONSERVANCY last file with the IRS?

The latest return in the IRS public files is the 990 for the year ended September 2025.

Who is the principal officer of RAILS TO TRAILS CONSERVANCY?

The 990 for the year ended September 30, 2025 names RYAN CHAO.

Who are the officers and directors of RAILS TO TRAILS CONSERVANCY?

The 990 for the year ended September 30, 2025 lists 28 people; 7 received compensation from the organization, the highest $318,418 (RYAN CHAO, PRESIDENT).

How much revenue does RAILS TO TRAILS CONSERVANCY have?

On its 990 for the year ended September 30, 2025 it reported revenue of $13,289,625, expenses of $14,131,877 and total assets of $23,044,292 at year end.

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