BRTA Launches Community Beautification Mini-Grants
Sometimes a small investment can make a big difference in how a community looks and feels.
Burke River Trail Association is launching Keeping It Beautiful, a new Community Beautification Mini-Grant program designed to help local people improve visible spaces in the nine communities along the Burke River Trail corridor.
BRTA will award up to six $500 mini-grants this fall for small beautification projects in downtown areas, public parks and other community spaces.
Projects might include flowers, shrubs, native or perennial plantings, mulch, planters, soil improvements or other simple landscaping enhancements.
More Than a Trail
The Burke River Trail is about much more than building a path along the Catawba River.
Our work is also about helping strengthen the communities the trail connects — creating places where people want to walk, gather, visit and spend time.
We have seen firsthand how relatively small projects can have a visible impact. BRTA’s Storybook Trail partnerships have helped communities add new family-friendly destinations in Drexel, Hildebran and Rutherford College. This new program takes that same idea — providing a little help to local people who are ready to make something happen — and applies it to community beautification.
A planter filled with flowers. A neglected bed brought back to life. A park entrance that could use some color. A downtown corner that simply needs someone to care about it.
Those small improvements add up.
Who Can Apply?
The program is intentionally simple.
Applications may come from:
- Town governments or recreation departments
- Community or civic organizations
- Nonprofits
- Garden or downtown groups
- Businesses or business organizations
- Individual residents or small groups of residents
Projects do not have to be located beside a Burke River Trail sign or directly on the trail. We are looking for visible spaces that contribute to the appearance and character of one of our trail communities.
If the applicant does not own or control the property, approval from the town or property owner will be required before funding is awarded.
Keeping It Beautiful
One thing matters just as much as planting the flowers: who will take care of them afterward?
Applicants will be asked to identify the person or group that will continue watering, weeding, mulching and caring for the area after the initial project is complete.
BRTA wants these mini-grants to create improvements that last.
Keep the Application Simple
There is no lengthy grant proposal.
Tell us:
- Where the project is.
- What you would like to do.
- How you would use the $500.
- Who will make it happen.
- Who will keep the area looking good.
Then send us a few photos of the area as it looks today.
No matching funds are required. Volunteer labor, donated materials and additional contributions are certainly welcome.
BRTA anticipates selecting up to six projects, with no more than one project per town during this initial round unless funds remain available.
Important Dates
Applications due: September 25, 2026
Recipients announced by: October 1, 2026
Selected projects will receive a $500 Community Beautification Mini-Grant to help bring their idea to life this fall.
When the work is finished, we simply ask recipients to send us a few photos so we can celebrate the people helping make their communities more beautiful.
Have a Spot in Mind?
Maybe you already know the neglected flower bed.
Maybe there is a corner of your downtown you pass every day and think, someone could really make that look nice.
Maybe you are already the person quietly buying flowers, pulling weeds or taking care of a public space because you love your town.
We would love to hear your idea.
Applications and photos may be submitted to:
Burke River Trail Association
burketrails at gmail
9 TOWNS • 40 MILES • 1 TRAIL
Using trails as a catalyst for stronger communities, economic opportunity and quality of life across Burke County.