World Trails Network - Hub for the Americas
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
The World Trails Network - Hub for the Americas (WTN Americas) promotes a connected trail network across the Americas to support healthy communities, environmental stewardship, and cross-cultural collaboration. The organization sponsors trail work, training, fellowships, and related programs that build the capacity of trail organizations and partners throughout the region.
- Income
- $175,892
- Spending
- $178,180
- Reserves
- 1 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 98%
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Weak: 33 out of 100. Higher than 5% of charities in its peer group (recreation and sports, under $250k).
Reserves
10 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 1.0 months of spending.
Debt
5 of 20It owes 62% of what it owns.
Living within its means
8 of 15Spending exceeded income by 1% of income.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
This organization files the short tax form, which does not ask about boards, policies or audits. That is normal for a small charity and is not a mark against it.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (4)
- $33,029 spent. The CEPF-funded Ecuador project strengthened biodiversity conservation and sustainable local economies through the development of long-distance trails, ecotourism initiatives, and community-based governance in Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) in Ecuador. The project advanced an integrated approach combining technical planning, institutional coordination, local capacity building, and field implementation to support ecological connectivity and sustainable public-use models. In 2025, the project delivered virtual and in-person trainings for communities, local organizations, guides, and institutional partners, helping build long-term local capacity in trail management and ecotourism development. Accomplishments included development of technical assessments, investment plans, trail management and safety guidelines, and standardized methodological tools to support conservation-focused implementation adapted to local conditions. The project also strengthened governance through formal agreements and institutional endorsement letters supporting the future development of a National System of Trails and Connectivity in Ecuador. Additional activities included strategic communications, support for sustainable tourism opportunities linked to territorial identity and conservation, and implementation of monitoring, transparency, and grievance mechanisms to support adaptive management and accountability. Despite delays associated with restructuring processes within Ecuadorian government agencies, the project remained on schedule through adaptive management and continued coordination with institutional and community partners. This project extends into 2026.
- $1,591 spent. The 2025 Costa Rica Field School supported trail stewardship and community collaboration along the Sendero Pacifico (Pacific Slope Trail), a developing community-to-community trail network connecting the Monteverde Cloud Forest with the Gulf of Nicoya mangroves in Costa Rica. Program activities included support for trail maintenance in three trail communities, assistance with a regional community assembly focused on trail development and governance, and support for local ecotourism initiatives, including small community grants for trail maintenance, regional coordination, and local ecotourism development. The program also sponsored a Trails Fellow, a professional trail builder who provided two weeks of field-based training and workshops for communities along the route, helping strengthen local trail-management capacity and sustainable tourism development.
- $96,600 spent. WTN Americas coordinated a major professional trail restoration initiative on the Old Bridle Path in Franconia Notch State Park as part of the Partnership to Restore Franconia Ridge Loop. Working with Peter S. Jensen & Associates and the Trails Fixing Collective, the organization oversaw 1,099 hours of professional trail reconstruction focused on correcting erosion, improving drainage, and increasing long-term trail sustainability on a heavily used mountain route. Accomplishments included installation of 101 stone steps, 55 feet of stone cribbing, armored drainage structures, seep-crossing stabilization, benched tread construction, grade reversals, corridor restoration, and closure of informal social trails. The project improved hydrological stability, reduced trail widening and erosion, enhanced visitor safety, and strengthened climate and storm resilience on a major access route serving tens of thousands of annual visitors to Franconia Ridge.
- $41,788 spent. The Alpine Stewardship Center (ASC), coordinated by WTN Americas in the White Mountain National Forest, integrates alpine stewardship, recreation ecology, trail management, and international exchange through field-based education and conservation programs. ASC includes the Franconia Ridge Summit Steward Program, in partnership with the White Mountain National Forest. Professional stewards provided visitor education, alpine monitoring, trail protection, and stewardship outreach from June through September 2025 on one of the most heavily visited alpine trail systems in the United States. ASC also includes the White Mountain Environmental Field School (WMEFS), a five-week semester program. Students received training in recreation ecology, visitor-use monitoring, GPS mapping, photo-point monitoring, trail maintenance, and environmental stewardship while earning academic credit through Binghamton University. In 2025, ASC also hosted International Trails Fellows from Brazil and Ecuador through a professional exchange program focused on trail management, alpine stewardship, and biodiversity conservation.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since December 2017.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.