Building the People Powered Movement
Alliance Sponsorship OpportunitiesPosted: 11/11/2010
Why sponsor the Alliance? Because…
Your sponsorship is the catalyst for change across North America and gives your company repeated exposure in dozens of major markets. Your support builds brand loyalty among countless advocates and the hundreds of thousands of bicyclists and pedestrians they represent from coast to coast. Download our Sponsorship Invitation and select a level that fits your budget and meets your marketing needs. Contact Jeff Miller at (202) 445-4415 or jeff@PeoplePoweredMovement to discuss your sponsorship — or work with us to create your own customized opportunity.
The Alliance plays a powerful and important role in supporting organizations on the ground that work for safety, accessibility, and expansion of walking and cycling. Their positive energy motivates, not only our company, but also the many travelers who ride and walk with us. - Gregg Marston, VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations
- Jay Ferm, Planet Bike
- Jenn Orgolini, Sustainability Director, New Belgium Brewing Company
- Elysa Hammond, Director of Environmental Stewardship, Clif Bar Members Home PagePosted: 04/01/2009
The Alliance for Biking & Walking has over 180 member organizations throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico. We provide the following services to our members:
ResourcesOur Online Resource Library provides over 1000 resources to Alliance members. Resources include template bylaws, workplans, budgets, and fundraising letters. You'll also find sample PSAs, annual reports, membership brochures, and a wealth of research on biking and walking issues. Search by keyword or category to find what you need. Trainings and RetreatsWe host between four and six Winning Campaigns trainings a year and a biannual Leadership Retreat in different North American cities. Our trainings are geared specifically for leaders of biking and walking advocacy organizations and are great opportunities for networking and resource sharing. Mutual Aid Conference CallsOur Mutual Aid series brings over 20 free educational conference calls a year to advocacy leaders. Call topics include capacity building for bike/ped advocacy organizations and topics of specific interest to biking and walking groups. Calls are facilitated by an Alliance staff member, last one hour, and typically draw between 10 and 30 Alliance leaders. Coaching and ConsultingAlliance members have access to on-call coaching and consulting services from qualified Alliance staff. Need help with a campaign? Want advice on growing your organization's membership? Need help navigating a tricky board situation? Contact our staff for assistance. Special consulting services such as strategic planning and meeting facilitation are also available to members at special rates. BenchmarkingThe Alliance Benchmarking Project collects, analyzes, and reports on bicycling and walking data for the 50 U.S. states and at least the 50 most-populous U.S. cities. The project provides vital data for advocates, planners, and researchers to evaluate progress and measure results of efforts to increase biking and walking. Job BoardAlliance members can post their job opportunities for free on the Alliance Job Board. We highlight our job board in our monthly e-newsletter, Streetside. PublicationsAlliance publications are geared towards helping grassroots bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations thrive. Alliance members receive discounts on all Alliance publications. GrantsAdvocacy Advance Grants are available to Alliance member organizations through a competitive application process twice a year. Grants fund start-up organizations, capacity building, and innovative programs to increase biking and walking. Action CenterAlliance members are kept plugged into national issues affecting bicycling and walking through our Action Center. From federal legislation like the Transportation Bill and Economic Stimulus Bill to Safe Routes to School, the Alliance plugs grassroots advocates into the national issues that matter most to them. DiscountsAlliance members receive discounts on the following
And Contact an Alliance staff member for more details on these discounts. Welcome MembersPosted: 05/19/2008
And be sure to check out our upcoming events, recent member news, and latest job postings below:WelcomePosted: 09/18/2007 The Alliance for Biking and Walking, formerly known as Thunderhead Alliance, is the coalition of grassroots advocacy organizations working together to promote bicycling and walking in North American communities. Alliance organizations come together to help each other grow their organizations and become more effective by sharing best practices and innovations. Welcome to the Bike & Ped Advocacy Resource Library!Posted: 01/18/2007 Here you will find the latest resources for bicycle and pedestrian advocates. Over 500 resources in this library include sample documents and publications from Alliance member organizations, research and data on bicycling and walking issues, educational resources, public service announcements, models for organizing successful events, and more. Feel free to browse the categories for resources of interest, or enter key words into the search tool to find exactly what you need. Can’t find what you’re looking for? Submit a request for a resource by clicking the button at the top of each page. You can also submit resources you would like to share with other bicycle and pedestrian advocacy leaders. Most of these documents and resources are password protected for the benefit of our member organizations and supporters. If you would like your non-profit state or local bicycle and/pedestrian advocacy organization to become an Alliance member organization, or if you would like to become one of our valued supporters, please Signalized Intersection Enhancements that Benefit Pedestrians (America Walks)Posted: 02/02/2012 America Walks’ guide to signals walks through some ways to increase the visibility of pedestrians and to alter roadways to be safer for pedestrians to cross. It includes descriptions and pictures of each method discussed. (PDF). America Walks Signalized Intersection Enhancements that Benefit Pedestrians Attend the National Women Cycling ForumPosted: 02/02/2012
It was a day or two into the 2010 Alliance Leadership Retreat when Alexis Lantz stood up during lunch. The Planning and Policy Director from Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition had a proposal that energized every female leader in the room: The convening of a Women’s Caucus (pictured above). That gathering at the Leadership Retreat was short, informal — and incredibly inspiring. There was so much to talk about: issues we face as women within our own organizations and the broader movement; how we increase the number of women in bicycle advocacy and boost female mode share out on the streets; how we stay better connected in the time between retreats and summits, building community and sharing ideas to deal with collective challenges and opportunities. The Women’s Caucus carved out just a tiny window within the tight schedule of dozens of other sessions, but, at least speaking for myself, it was the most powerful and memorable moment from the entire weekend. With little time to develop specific next steps, we had to keep the outcome simple. The main consensus: Let’s keep the conversation going. We knew we weren’t the only ones talking about these issues. Shortly before the Leadership Retreat, in mid-2010, the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals conducted a Women Cycling Survey — and participation was through the roof. More than 11,000 women in the U.S. shared all sorts of information about why they bike, what would make them bike more and a wealth of other opinions and experiences. The insight gained from the (non-scientific) survey was not only revelatory; it was also an incredible spark for a lively discussion at conferences and online. Clearly, women want to talk about bicycling. And our voices are getting more numerous and more prominent. According to the Alliance 2012 Benchmarking Report, women are still vastly outnumbered by men, accounting for just 24 percent of bike trips in 2009. But that trend is shifting. A growing number of women from all backgrounds and communities are beginning to ride and getting more involved in the bicycle movement. As female leaders and cyclists, we’re eager to learn from our peers, share our experiences and explore ideas to engage more women. So, like we said at the Leadership Retreat, let’s continue the conversation. Attend the first-ever National Women Cycling Forum on March 20, 2012 from 2-4 p.m. at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, DC. Hosted by the Alliance and APBP, this forum will provide insight from a diverse panel of women in bicycle advocacy, engineering, government and industry. It will foster collective discussion about best practices, creative ideas and potential next steps in addressing the pervasive gender cycling gap at a national and local level. And it will invite input on the Women Cycling Project—a joint effort of the Alliance and APBP to create a new, interactive, online presence for women cyclists and advocates. This event will be held in conjunction with the 2012 National Bike Summit—and your presence at this annual event has never been more important. Congress is making important and long-term decisions about the next federal transportation bill and women’s voices and stories are essential to preserving billions in funding for bicycling projects and programs across the country. We’re on the brink of losing the hard-fought progress of the past 20 years and we need a HUGE turn-out at this year’s summit. (Register by February 20 to save $100.) When you make your DC travel plans, make sure you arrive in time for the National Women Cycling Forum on Tuesday, March 20 from 2 to 4 p.m. This event is open to all interested attendees—both women and men. Sign up for the Forum here, so you’ll get all the details in coming weeks, including the line-up of panelists. And, please, start sharing the link as widely as possible! Plus, mark your calendars for a Women Cycling Social on Wednesday, March 21 from 6 - 8 p.m. at Busboys and Poets, a very cool venue just a few blocks from the Summit hotel. Stay tuned for details. Interested in sponsorship opportunities? Have additional questions? Contact Carolyn@PeoplePoweredMovement.org. Streetside Issue 35 ~ February 2012Posted: 02/01/2012
 Click here to read this issue. House Bill Erases Two Decades of Progress on Bike-PedPosted: 02/01/2012 It’s so much worse than we thought. Yesterday, the House released its transportation bill, the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act. We expected the bill to be bad news for biking and walking, but we didn’t think it would go so far as to reverse all progress we’ve made over the past 20 years. (Check out the Top 10 Reasons the House Bill is Bad for Bicycling and Walking from Andy Clarke, president of the League of American Bicyclists, on the right.) If your member of Congress is on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, please take action TODAY. With a vote coming in the T&I committee TOMORROW, tell your Representative to preserve biking and walking. Click here to contact your Representative through the League’s Action Center. House leadership is exerting pressure to completely cut bicycling and walking out of transportation. Lawmakers seem to have gone through the bill, line-by-line, to gut programs that make streets safer. The American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act:
There’s still a chance to save biking and walking. Tomorrow, in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Representatives Tom Petri (R-WI) and Timothy Johnson (R-IL) plan to stand up to leadership by offering an amendment that restores dedicated funding for Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School. Petri and Johnson can only be successful if everyone with a stake in safe sidewalks, crosswalks, and bikeways contacts his or her Representative today. This is as urgent as it gets. Even if we win this amendment, there will be a long road ahead. But if we lose here, we risk losing decades of progress. If members of the Transportation Committee are going to stand up to House leadership by supporting biking and walking, they need to know their constituents are behind them. Please contact Congress TODAY and ask your Representative to preserve dedicated funding for biking and walking. If you have a Representative on the T&I committee, please forward this action alert to your members and supporters. Pass it along to all your local partners — particularly high-level contacts like mayors, school board members, and business leaders — and ask them to weigh in, too. And thank you for all you do to advance biking and walking! Transforming Transportation Panel: Make Cycling EasyPosted: 02/01/2012
Bram van Ooijen, a presenter from China, referenced a recent poll of residents in his province. When asked why they didn’t ride a bicycle anymore, an overwhelming number responded that it just wasn’t safe. China’s car infrastructure has grown exponentially over past decades, taking a nation that relied mostly on the bicycle for transportation to a nation that relies on single car use instead. Some roads in China are as wide as 80 meters and bike lanes are few and far between. But when they made bike lanes part of the new bus infrastructure, and found the money to build greenways around the city, people used them — and people loved them. In South Africa, it’s a similar story. In Cape Town, panelist Brett Herron explained, the challenge is to integrate not just cycling and cars, but people as well. In a city and a country that has been deeply divided along racial and socioeconomic lines, it’s key to build a cycling infrastructure that can help to bridge that divide. Luckily, in Cape Town, and South Africa in general, there’s is a law that cycling provisions must be included in new development plans. Because of this, Cape Town has included bike parking and storage facilities at many bus and train stations, and has added elaborate storage facilities (including showers) to all municipal buildings, as well. Herron’s work within the city government has really paid off—Cape Town now boasts almost 2 percent bicycle mode share. The panelists agreed: If the infrastructure is there, if it’s easy for people to use, then they will cycle. Van Ooijen’s project in China made sure to incorporate the public bike share system with the existing public transportation system. Bike stations are located at BRT stations and can be paid for using the same card as BRT. It’s easy to use the public bikes within a multi-modal commute, and landscaped paths and greenways make it enjoyable to bike that last leg of the journey. Community participation and ownership of the system is essential to making it work and keeping it working for years to come, as well. Working with the city government has helped to grow the projects in China immensely, especially now that the projects are being completed. City officials are bringing their peers to their town to show off their new greenways and bike paths. For example, Tom Goderfrooij of Dutch Cycling Embassy, reported that, in the Netherlands, 27 percent of all trips taken are taken by bike. To get to that enviable mode share they slowly upscaled projects and made biking appealing and easy for all levels of society. They created a cycling culture that was not counter to using cars, but supported the mix of both. Goderfrooji’s key point: The best solution is to create an intuitive mix of cars, biking, and walking so that it’s easy and safe for everyone to get around. Overall, the panel expressed that the key for moving cycling forward is to involve people, showcase the benefits of the system, and find champions in government. Learn from the examples of cities that are doing it well, and adapt their strategies to your own needs.
Resource Packet for Navigating Nonprofit Financials (Association of Small Foundations)Posted: 01/31/2012 31 January 2012. Guide for organizations that gives characteristics of financially healthy nonprofits and an overview and samples of nonprofit financial statements. (pdf) Navigating Nonprofit Financials 2 web.pdf Navigating Nonprofit Financials (Association of Small Foundations)Posted: 01/31/2012 31 January 2012. Presentation from the ASF National Conference to help nonprofit organizations understand different types of financial reports including budgets, audits, and cash flow statements. (pdf) Navigating Nonprofit Financials 1 web.pdf How To Be An Effective Advocate (Alliance for Justice)Posted: 01/31/2012 31 January 2012. This guide will help teach you the basics of advocacy, how you can get started, and tips for communicating with your elected officials. (pdf) How to be an effective advocate.pdf What is Advocacy? Definitions and Examples (Alliance for Justice)Posted: 01/31/2012 31 January 2012. This fact sheet offers a look at how advocacy is defined, what kinds of activities comprise advocacy work, and what kinds of advocacy projects several tax-exempt groups are currently leading. (pdf) New Report Highlights Biking and Walking in Rural AmericaPosted: 01/31/2012
“It’s a widespread assumption in popular media and politics that people in small towns and rural areas do not walk or bike for transportation purposes,” says Tracy Hadden Loh, co-author of the report and research manager at RTC. “This report demonstrates that, in fact, rates for walking and bicycling in rural areas are close to, and sometimes higher than, the national average.”
The report couldn’t come at a more pivotal moment. Congress is moving on the next federal transportation bill and the current House bill guts all funding for biking and walking projects and programs. This report proves that short-changing biking and walking by eliminating programs like Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School affects all communities across the U.S. “Small communities need safe and convenient walking and bicycling facilities just as much as big cities,” says Kevin Mills, report co-author and RTC’s VP of Policy and Trail Development. “To meet this need, Transportation Enhancements has provided twice the funding per capita in rural America than in big cities. This includes rehabilitating walkable main streets in small town that have been bypassed by interstates.” According to RTC: “In coming years, active transportation can play an even bigger role in making small town America more attractive for young families and business investment — improving economic vitality, traffic safety and overall health in smaller communities in every region of the country.” Read the full report and check out the interactive map here. |
Invest in biking and walking advocacy where it matters most... on the ground!
Working with Your Members of Congress --Call on February 08
Advocacy Advance Capacity Building Grants Q&A Call --Call on February 16
Advocacy Advance Capacity Building Grants Q&A Call --Call on February 17
02/02/2012 - Attend the National Women Cycling Forum
02/01/2012 - House Bill Erases Two Decades of Progress on Bike-Ped
02/01/2012 - Transforming Transportation Panel: Make Cycling Easy
01/31/2012 - New Report Highlights Biking and Walking in Rural America
The Alliance for Biking & Walking is the North American coalition of more than 190 bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations in 48 states and four Canadian provinces. Alliance organizations represent more than 106,000 dues-paying members and interact with countless more residents in their communities. With the assistance of the Alliance and its network of leaders and experts, advocates have the tools to transform their communities into great places to bike and walk.
We support the Alliance because they are capacity builders. They nurture, network and coach their member organizations to ever-higher levels of effectiveness.
The Alliance does a remarkable job bringing cohesion to the nonprofit world of sustainable transportation. Their vision focuses the energy and passion of groups around the country, strengthening individual effort by creating a collective whole.
Because the vast majority of Americans want their communities to be more walkable and bike friendly, CLIF BAR proudly supports the grassroots work of the Alliance. Aligning with our own values, the Alliance promote more vibrant communities, a cleaner environment and healthier, more active people. 
In addition to the big Transportation Research Board meeting last week, there was another engaging gathering on bicycle and pedestrian issues — the 
A new report from the 
Some key findings in the report include:
