Polaris donates over $100,000 to off-road and snow organizations

Polaris Inc. has donated more than $100,000 to off-road vehicles (ORV), all-terrain vehicles (ATV) and snowmobile organizations across the United States and Canada as a part of its TRAILS GRANTS program.

The TRAILS GRANTS program promotes safe and responsible riding, supports trail preservation, and helps protect the environment and natural resources that are part of the off-road trail systems. Combined with the 14 Spring TRAILS GRANTS recipients announced in April ’23, Polaris has awarded 25 organizations in 19 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces nearly $250,000 through this year’s TRAILS GRANTS program.

“The local riding groups are the backbone of the off-roading and snowmobiling communities,” said Steve Menneto, president of Off-Road, Polaris. “The joy they find in riding and the work they put in so that others may have a similar experience embodies everything special about our industry. The collective impact of these organizations is far-reaching. Polaris is proud to amplify their efforts and celebrate those who are helping to preserve the outdoors for the next generation of riders through our TRAILS GRANTS program.”

These 11 organizations were named Fall 2023 TRAILS GRANTS recipients and received awards of up to $10,000 each:

• Grand Lake Trail Grooming Inc. (Grand Lake, Colo.)
• Lexington Highlanders Snowmobile Club (Lexington Township, Maine)
• Mollyockett Sportsman’s Club (West Paris, Maine)
• Alborn Sno-Devils Inc (Alborn, Minn.)
• Woodtick Wheelers ATV/OHM Club (Hackensack, Minn.)
• Lutsen TrailBreakers Snowmobile Club (Lutsen, Minn.)
• E C Riders Snowmobile Club Inc. (Mora, Minn.)
• Great North Woods Riders ATV Club (Pittsburg, N.H.)
• Sno-Bees Snowmobile Club Inc (Barre, Vermont)
• Sno-Eagles Inc. (Eagle River, Wis.)
• Thompson Valley ORV Club (Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada)

“A part of our Club’s mission is to promote safe ATV riding for youths and adults throughout Cass County and surrounding Minnesota communities,” says Paul Vashro, president, Woodtick Wheelers ATV/OHM Club. “In addition to helping enhance education of safe riding overall, the grant will enable us to purchase a youth ATV that we can use as a part of our Youth ATV Safety Training classes, helping us enhance the hands-on learning experience for students.”

Since the start of the TRAILS GRANTS program in 2006, Polaris has supported more than 370 ATV, off-road and snowmobiling organizations across the U.S. and Canada with more than $3.3 million in donations.

“The severe storms and torrential rains this summer wiped out our trails – over 50% of our trail system was devastated. Polaris was there to help with a generous grant. We would not have been able to start fixing our system this year without it,” says Dianne Matott, president, Great North Woods Riders ATV Club.

Awarded twice annually, TRAILS grants support the efforts of nonprofit organizations and local riding clubs that use the grant for trail development, maintenance projects, safety and responsible riding education initiatives and other projects.