SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. (BRAIN) — Bell Helmets is bringing back its trail grant program, Bell Built, in 2015, but unlike the two previous years where it selected three trails, this year the helmet company will provide a $100,000 grant to a single mountain bike project in the U.S.
Since the Bell Built program's inception in 2013, Bell Helmets and IMBA have received nearly 200 grant applications from IMBA chapters, clubs and land management agencies. IMBA Trail Solutions built and designed the six trail projects over and the last two years and will continue to do so in 2015 with help from local volunteers.
"We started Bell Built three years ago with a hope that it would become an annual grant program that opens new places to ride," said Azul Couzens, director of marketing for Bell Helmets. "To see the positive reaction and impact the six trails have had so far within their communities is incredible. We're so excited for our third year and can't wait to build a new advanced and technical trail."
Bell and IMBA will choose three projects from each region (East, West and Central). The winner will be selected based on three voting periods before reaching the finals, where the top project from each region will go up against each other in the final voting period.
Bell Helmets and IMBA are accepting proposals until March 6. The nine finalists will be named the week after the deadline. Voting will take place in three regional phases, starting in April with the west and central regions, before ending in May with the east region. The final project will be voted on and announced in June and trail design and construction starts soon after.
For more details and the grant application, go to imba.com/grants/bell-built.
