Open Trail

Open Trail helps over 4,000 children and young people a year to develop self-confidence and to raise their aspirations. The majority of the charity’s work is based around its cycle coaching programme that includes learning to ride, road safety training, bike mechanics and developing local facilities. Additionally the charity runs a hands-on learning programme in its forest school and delivers outdoors education for schools and community groups in their own settings.

Open Trail was gifted 16 acres of woodland which the charity planned to open as a bike park and outdoor community centre. Open Trail’s plan for the site includes green social prescribing programmes to support vulnerable adults in response to increased demand for the charity’s work and a gap in local provision.

The charity could evidence it has a robust monitoring and evaluation framework and a clear focus on equality, diversity and inclusion. The charity’s leadership showed passion and commitment and had worked hard to diversify the organisation’s income sources. Open Trail had not applied to us before, and we were delighted to be able to support its core costs.