Parks & Trails New York recently awarded nine grants to strengthen park and trail groups around the state. One of those nine was the Erie-Cattaraugus Rail Trail, Inc. in the amount of $1,359 for Web site updates and design, production and distribution of membership materials.

The nine Capacity Building Grants awarded this past week by the park and trail advocacy group Parks & Trails New York will provide not-for-profit park and trail organizations with the tools and expertise they need to survive and thrive in these challenging economic times. Funds will be used to increase organizational visibility and generate community support, grow membership, and attract additional volunteers.

"Grassroots groups play a key role in the development and promotion of our state's many parks and trails which make such a significant contribution to the economy of our cities, towns and villages as well as to the health and well-being of their residents," said Robin Dropkin, Executive Director, Parks & Trails New York. "Made possible by a generous private donor, these eight grants are a small investment in strengthening our state's not-for-profit park and trail organizations that will reap big benefits, enabling these groups to leverage more private funding and marshal more volunteer power to better fill the gaps in government spending created by challenging economic times."

Active and engaged park and trail support organizations contribute significantly to New York's parks and trails, raising significant funds and logging hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours.

Parks & Trails New York received 55 applications from organizations located in 30 counties throughout the state. This is the second year that Parks & Trails New York has offered this funding assistance.

Parks & Trails New York is a statewide not-for-profit organization that has nurtured New York's park and trail movements for more than 20 years, helping hundreds of groups and municipalities build, maintain, and promote parks, greenways, and more than 1,200 miles of multi-use trails.

More information on the grant program and Parks & Trails New York can be found on the web site, www.ptny.org or by calling 518-434-1583.