Establishing a national network of local organizations dedicated to protecting the future of open lands for horses and equine-related activities

Grant Information
Requested	10,000
Granted	3000.00
Categories	Environment , Education , Community
Location	United States
Grant Cycle	2015

Organization Info
501c3 Organization	Equine Land Conservation Resource
Organization Website	http://elcr.org

Grant Description
Description	We feel that the future of the horse tradition in America depends on the strategic building of a nationwide network of local organizations learning from one another and united by a shared commitment and approach – a strategy of forging alliances among local horse organizations and acting as a united voice on behalf of the horse – both in response to crisis and proactively shaping public support and local policies that strengthen the horse community. This grant will directly benefit local communities by targeting and supporting local conservation and equine related organizations working to save and protect local horse lands. Goals to be Funded: The ultimately goal of our strategic plan is to build and nurture a national network of local equine-related organizations dedicated to protecting the future of open lands for horses and equine-related activities in order to ensure the future of America’s equine culture, heritage and industry. We are specifically requesting support for Phase 1 of the strategic plan. A copy of our 2016-2018 Strategic Plan is provided in Attachment A. Phase 1 Task: •Identify local equine-related organizations working in the following areas: land protection, planning and zoning, publicly owned and accessible equestrian facilities, trails and trail networks and raising public awareness of the importance of horses to communities •Develop a database of these organizations to serve as the base for building a national network of local organizations working to conserve land for equine related activities •Develop a professional survey and needs assessment of these organizations which will be used to inform ELCR’s program activities Benefits of the Funded Program: •Bring together individuals, organizations and businesses engaged in horse-related activities, locally and nationally to ensure the future of horses in America •An increased number of local equine organizations dedicated to working toward protecting the future of horses in their communities •Establishment of a grassroots network of local horse advocacy organizations affiliated with and supported by ELCR is established and growing •More local equestrian groups are practicing collaboration and creating coalitions around issues of protecting our equine heritage, industry and culture •More acres conserved for horse activity through the work of local Network members. •Increased access for equine activity on public and private land at the local level •Interests of the horse community are visibly included in issue debates and are reflected in more local policies and project Summary of the Project Request Budget Components National Database Research , Design and Development $20,000 Network Survey Design $5,000 Administrative Support $9,000 Total Project Costs $34,000
Used for	The funding will help support the first phase of building a national network of local conservation and equine organizations working on equine land conservation issues in their communities. The first phase is identifying these local organizations and creating a database in order to survey the needs of these organizations to inform the work of ELCR over the next several years. ELCR will publish a report on the survey findings.
Benefits	The funding will help ELCR to fulfill its strategic plan to build and nurture a national network of local equine-related organizations dedicated to protecting the future of open lands for horses and equine- related activities in order to ensure the future of America’s equine culture, heritage and industry.