| Alliance Guide to Fundraising Part One Available Now | |
Last month, the Alliance released part one of its Guide to Fundraising, an evolving series focused on one of the great challenges of starting and sustaining an organization - finding and retaining sources of funding.
Part one, "Creating and Implementing an Effective Fundraising Plan," details several key aspects of developing a fundraising strategy, such as:
- The process of setting goals and timelines
- Choosing among various funding sources
- Developing a plan that fits each organization's mission, budget and opportunities.
With insights and examples from Alliance members and fundraising experts, the first installment of the series offers an in-depth approach for setting your organization on the path to fundraising success.
Parts two through five of the Guide to Fundraising will discuss such topics as:
- Crafting successful funding proposals
- Finding local funding sources
- Diversifying income streams through contracts and consulting opportunities
- Best practices for leveraging federal funding
To access the Alliance Guide to Fundraising, visit the Alliance Resources Library. If you have successes to share or ideas to contribute to the series, please email Brighid O'Keane at Brighid@PeoplePoweredMovement.org.
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2012 Leadership Retreat: Register TODAY
If you haven't registered for the 2012 Alliance Leadership Retreat, be sure to take advantage of the early bird rate of $425 and register TODAY. This early bird discount ends June 15. Your registration fee includes three nights of lodging, all meals (except Friday evening), peer discussions and workshops, and abundant swag from our sponsors.
This Alliance signature event will take place from September 7-10 in Long Beach, CA, on the Queen Mary. Grassroots leaders from across the continent will come together to share best practices and learn from each other. Join your colleagues at the retreat, and you are sure to walk (or bike) away refreshed, inspired, and ready to take your advocacy efforts to the next level. We'll have a diverse selection of workshops, led by your peer advocates and experts, that address your organization's needs.
For the latest information on the 2012 Leadership Retreat, be sure to visit PeoplePoweredMovement.org/retreat, and if you have questions, contact Jeremy (Jeremy@PeoplePoweredMovement.org). Register today!
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Apply for a Performance Better Bicycling Community Grant by June 25
In celebration of its 30th Anniversary, Performance Bicycle is recognizing the contributions of bicycle advocacy organizations by granting a total of $30,000 in 10 communities. These Better Bicycling Community Grants will support local efforts to make cycling more accessible in communities where there are Performance stores. The grants are awarded and administered in collaboration with the Alliance for Biking & Walking.
An organization may apply for a Performance Grant if it:
- Is located in a community where there is a Performance store
- Is incorporated as a 501(c)(3) organization; grants will not be awarded to individuals
- Proposes a campaign that is winnable with measurable results
- Proposes a campaign that will celebrate and enhance bicycling in a Performance community
Recommended Campaigns Include:
- Introducing Open Streets to your community
- Working with local agencies to update / implement a Bike Plan, Bike Map, etc.
- Training new community advocacy leaders
- Promoting bicycling (e.g. audits, awareness campaigns)
- Developing a bicycling economic impact report for the community / state
- Passing / implementing bicycle-friendly ordinances (e.g. complete streets, safe passing, bike parking requirements, bicycle access to buildings)
- Launching infrastructure campaigns to build bike lanes, trails, and parking
Performance Bicycle will not fund safety events, fundraising rides or races with these grants, but would look forward to talking with you about these types of events and how their store associates can help. Contact your local Performance Bicycle store about local support for these types of activities.
Download an application and submit it to
Brighid@PeoplePoweredMovement.org by 5:00 p.m. (ET) on Monday, June 25. All grant requests must be for $3,000.
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Advocacy Advance Update
 In May, Advocacy Advance staff traveled to Alaska for their latest Action 2020 Workshop, a one-day training that focuses on leveraging a variety of federal funding sources for biking and walking projects. Advocates came to Anchorage from Juneau, Fairbanks, Kodiak, Barrow and the Kenai Peninsula to work through campaigns and devise funding plans.
Read more about the workshop here.
Register for an upcoming Action 2020 Workshop or apply to host one in your city on the Advocacy Advance trainings page.
Two weeks ago, Advocacy Advance awarded a Rapid Response Grant to New Orleans' Bike Easy for plans to leverage funding for bicycle infrastructure. The state has set aside funding to repair and improve the New Orleans "Hospitality Zone," the epicenter of the 2013 Super Bowl, and Bike Easy sees an opportunity to implement on-street bike facilities in important corridors. Read more on the Advocacy Advance blog.
Applications for Rapid Response Grants are accepted on a rolling basis. For more information and to apply, visit the Advocacy Advance grants page.
In addition, Advocacy Advance is hiring a summer intern to assist staff in outreach to member organizations, researching federal transportation funding and compiling best practices and state-level data. Find more information and apply here.
If you have questions about the Advocacy Advance program, contact Brighid O'Keane, Advocacy Advance Program Manager, at brighid@PeoplePoweredMovement.org. |
Save the Date for the Women's Bicycling Summit
The energy was electric at the National Women Cycling Forum.
Hosted by the Alliance and APBP, the first-ever event at the National Bike Summit drew more than 200 participants from across the nation, diverse in their pursuits and backgrounds, but united around one (huge!) goal: to increase the number of women who ride.
To provide insight and inspiration, the Forum featured an impressive panel of female bicycle leaders from a range of different disciplines. In just two hours, we felt the incredible potential for women to expand and increase bicycling in the United States. By getting together, face-to-face, we felt our collective power and our capacity to create change.
But we barely scratched the surface.
On September 13, the League of American Bicyclists and APBP (in partnership with the Alliance) are building on that initial spark with a half-day National Women's Bicycling Summit at the end of Pro Walk / Pro Bike in Long Beach, California. The Summit will provide a unique opportunity for everyday cyclists and bicycle professionals to network, share best practices and develop action steps to close the gender gap. It will feature targeted break-out sessions and facilitated discussions that allow us to delve deeper into specific areas. It will showcase the successes of female leaders in our movement with a keynote address and plenary discussion.
Stay tuned to the Bike League blog for more information in coming weeks. Questions? Interested in sponsorship? Contact Carolyn Szczepanski: Carolyn@bikeleague.org, (202) 621-5452.
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Upcoming Mutual Aid Calls
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Our Mutual Aid conference calls are a great forum to gain insight from your Alliance peers on the specific issues and topics that are important to your organization. All calls begin at 2 p.m. Eastern and run for one hour.
This month:
Transportation advocates across the country are conducting campaigns that shape equitable policies and investments to ensure access and economic opportunity for low-income people and communities of color. Bicycle and pedestrians organizations have the opportunity to work with transit advocates on collaborative, comprehensive efforts to build just, inclusive communities with transportation options for all. Join this call to learn about the partnerships, resources and campaigns of local, state and national leaders working on transportation equity, and gain new ideas for initiating successful campaigns in your state and region.
Panelists
Anita Hairston, Policy Link
Ya-Ting Liu, Transportation Alternatives
Cheryl King, Metropolitan Atlanta Regional Transit Authority
June 20: Lobbying and Elections for 501(c)3s and 501(c)4s
There is often confusion about what constitutes lobbying and to what extent a 501(c)3 organization can participate in political activities. Come learn how much you can do and where the lines are drawn. Join us for a discussion on the regulations governing 501(c)3s and 501(c)4s, and learn the extent to which your organization can get involved in local politics, while also creating new partnerships and increasing your political power.
Panelists
Nayantara Mehta, Alliance for Justice
Marc Caswell, San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
Mark Stine, BikeTexas
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July calls:
- July 11: Get Paid for your Expertise: Consulting to Businesses
- July 25: Successes with Safe Routes to School
What would you like to discuss on a Mutual Aid call? Contact Jeremy (jeremy@PeoplePoweredMovement.org) with your ideas!
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| Federal Policy Webinar June 6 |
 For those of you who were able to call your Senators and Representative in the past few weeks to ask them to weigh in on the transportation bill now in conference, thank you!
If you weren't able to call in and tell Congress to preserve federal funding for biking and walking in the transportation bill, you still have time. Use the call script from Transportation for America's National Call-In Day.
The Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals and the Alliance, together with our friends at America Bikes, will host our next Federal Policy Webinar on Wednesday June 6, 1:00-2:00 PM Eastern (please note that 1:00 is the correct updated time). On this call, we'll discuss updates on the transportation bill now in conference as well as next steps to push elected leaders to preserve federal funding for biking and walking.
Register here!
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| New Belgium 2012 Tour de Fat |
 This summer, Alliance sponsor and all-around bicycle-loving New Belgium Brewing Company is hosting their annual Tour de Fat in a city near you. This cross-country tour includes a variety of events at each stop, including a chance to take the plunge into self-propelled transportation and swap your car for a bike.
Each event on the tour is a celebration of bicycles that includes a carnival, parades, performances, activities and New Belgium libations. Proceeds benefit bike-related and other good causes.
See the tour schedule and locations here, and learn more about the Tour de Fat on Facebook.
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San Francisco Gets 15-mph School Zones:
San Francisco Mayor Lee, Walk San Francisco and the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency announced the completion of a campaign to lower the speed limits around 181 schools. The new 15-mile-per-hour school zone speed limits are making it safer for students to walk to school, and residents in the communities around the schools will enjoy the traffic calming the lower speed limits produce. Read more here.
BikeTexas Raises Funds for Bike Safety:
Only weeks after receiving their Alliance Advocacy Award for Innovation, BikeTexas is at it again. As part of their campaign to promote safe cycling, the organization is providing complimentary bike lights to Texas riders. To raise funds for this outreach, they turned to the new Groupon Grassroots.
In this effort, BikeTexas was able to raise over $1,700 in donations to provide 200 sets of front and back bike lights to Texas riders. These funds will help BikeTexas extend their "Be Safe & Be Bright" campaign to light up more bikes across Texas. Read more here.
Velo-Talk Advocacy Session in Vancouver:
HUB: Your Cycling Connection (formerly Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition) will host the first ever Velo-Talk on June 25, 2012. Space is limited, so register now! In this interactive advocacy workshop, advocates will share successes and challenges and build relationships to continue supporting each other after the conference. The group working sessions and exciting Pecha Kucha stories from around the world will send you home with plenty of energy, information and resources to move cycling forward. See the agenda and register here.
New Reports from Transportation Alternatives:
New York City advocates have already had quite a prolific spring.
Transportation Alternatives released three great new reports about three different neighborhood efforts to promote biking and walking.
- "Bronx Helpers: Pedestrian Safety First Campaign" highlights a three-year community effort to make a Bronx neighborhood better for pedestrian traffic and designate it a Neighborhood Slow Zone.
- "Transportation, Safety and Health" looks at how residents' perceptions of safety in the Bedford-Stuyvesant community impact their use of active transportation.
- In "Slow Down: A Study of Speeding on McGuinness Blvd," staff and volunteers tracked vehicle speeds on a four-lane arterial road in order to promote increased enforcement.
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Overwhelming Support for Biking & Walking:
Last month, America Bikes released results from a Princeton survey that shows overwhelming public support for federal biking and walking funding. Over 80 percent of Americans of all stars and stripes favor maintaining or increasing federal funding for sidewalks and bike infrastructure. The release of the survey results is particularly timely as Congress debates the new federal transportation bill in conference committee. Learn more about what you can do!
Velo-City Global 2012:
Velo-city Global international cycling planning conference will be held in Vancouver, Canada, June 26-29, 2012. Delegates from around the world will participate in four full days of programming
and share best practices for making places more cycling-friendly. With valuable sessions and remarkable keynote speakers, Velo-city will serve to promote cycling as an integral component in creating healthier communities.
Green Lane Project Kicks Off: On May 31 in Chicago, Bikes Belong launched the Green Lane Project, a two-year push to install widespread dedicated bicycling facilities in these six U.S. cities:
- Austin, Texas
- Chicago, Ill.
- Memphis, Tenn.
- Portland, Ore.
- San Francisco, Calif.
- Washington, D.C.
At the event, local transportation and Federal Highway Administration officials introduced the program and initial plans for each of the cities. Read more about it here.
Safe Routes a "Game Changer":
Congratulations to Deb Hubsmith and the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, who received a "Game Changer Award" from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at the Weight of the Nation Conference in May. The award recognizes the role of Deb and the Safe Routes to School National Partnership's in stemming the rise of childhood obesity rates. Over 12,000 schools and 5 million children across the U.S. currently benefit from Safe Routes programs.
Pro Walk/Pro Bike in Long Beach: Be sure to register for Pro Walk/Pro Bike, which will be held September 10-13 in Long Beach, CA. Registration fees will increase after the June 29 early summer registration deadline. The theme of this year's conference is ProWalk/ProBike: ProPlace. Over 1,000 biking and walking professionals from across North America will participate in the conference. The conference schedule is loaded with plenty of presentations and opportunities to network with experts and other participants. Register for Pro Walk/Pro Bike here!
New U.S. Bicycle Routes Approved:
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