Donations

About the Taylor Howard Youth Paddling Fund 

In 2016, FPTA's vision was founded to be a resource for partner-based youth education and established the FPTA Legacy Fund. Since then, every year FPTA awards grants that support sending children to paddling camps across Florida. Not only are we building future paddlers, we are teaching these kids how to be good stewards of Florida waters. 

In 2023, the FPTA Board of Directors renamed the Legacy Fund to the Taylor Howard Youth Paddling Fund. Taylor Howard, a Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail (FL CT) paddler began the FL CT in 2017 when she was 10 years old, with her father, younger brother, and sister. Taylor completed more than half the CT before she lost her life in a car accident. The Taylor Howard Youth Paddling Fund reflects the spirit and passion of youth paddling that FPTA originally envisioned and that Taylor Howard fully embraced.

About the CT Fund

Your donation supports volunteer efforts and maintenance of the Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail (the CT).

Beginning at Big Lagoon State Park near Pensacola, extending around the Florida peninsula and Keys, and ending at Fort Clinch State Park near the Georgia border, the Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail (commonly referred to as The CT) is a 1,515-mile sea kayaking paradise. The trail includes every Florida coastal habitat type, from barrier island dune systems to salt marsh to mangroves. Numerous historical sites and points of interest are accessible by kayak along with colorful fishing communities and urban centers.

Volunteer Trail Keepers help maintain primitive campsites and 'adopt' stretches of this long-distance trail. We always need more assistance so please consider signing on as a Trail Keeper to help keep this iconic trail a treasure for all paddlers to enjoy. If you want to be part of our fun and dedicated team of Trail Keeper volunteers, click here.

About the General Fund

The Florida Paddling Trails Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization formed in 2007 under the guidance of the Department of Environmental Protection's Office of Greenways & Trails to be the steward for the 1,515-mile Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail that surrounds the state. In 2009, that stewardship was expanded to all of Florida's water trails. Your donations help support our mission and the costs associated with this website.