National RTAP is pleased to release three new products for the rural and tribal transit community: the How to Find Almost Anything Toolkit  , the    Grant Writing Made Easy   technical brief, and an online Directory of Trainers . 

How to Find Anything is an online toolkit designed to connect rural and tribal transit operators, state program managers, and other industry stakeholders to free and low-cost information on a variety of topics. From training materials to technical assistance to peer networks and beyond, this toolkit will help rural and tribal transit stakeholders save resources by providing a simple-to-use guide to finding various kinds of relevant information. Navigate through sections on Peer and Technical Assistance, Information and Best Practices, Online Forums, Conferences, Technology Tools and more. The toolkit also includes a step-by-step guide to searching online for transit-related information. National RTAP Director Patti Monahan says that “Our new toolkit won’t be much help if you misplace your car keys, but it’s packed with tips and resources for finding information on any transit topic. Click on the Toolkits tab on our new website to access the first of National RTAP’s online toolkits.”

Grant Writing Made Easy: How to Write a Successful Grant Application is National RTAP’s newest technical brief. The grant writing process can be a daunting task, but it is imperative to write a compelling and competitive application in order to acquire funding on the first attempt. This tech brief addresses how to plan and write a successful grant proposal. It provides tips on searching for grant opportunities, covers the essentials of submitting and following-up on your application, and provides a list of helpful resources. 

The third product released is the Directory of Trainers , an online source for finding and hiring trainers across the country. The list includes trainers who teach a variety of topics and are active at the local, regional, or national levels. Trainers voluntarily submitted their information to info@nationalrtap.org, and entries are posted on an ongoing basis. If you or a trainer in your organization is interested in being listed in the directory, email info@nationalrtap.org with contact information, region covered, and training topics taught.

National RTAP is a program of the Federal Transit Administration administered by the Neponset Valley Transportation Management Association and serves as the national arm for the Rural Transit Assistance Program.  The mission of National RTAP is to improve mobility in all rural, small urban and tribal communities across the country through technical assistance.  Since its inception in 1987 National RTAP has developed and distributed training materials, provided technical assistance, generated reports, published best practices, conducted research and offered Peer Assistance with the goal of improved mobility for the millions of Americans living in communities with populations under 50,000.