Advocacy Advance Grants

Purpose and Overview
Types of Grants
Application Process
Evaluation Process
Advocacy Advance Partnership
Past Grant Recipients

Purpose and Overview

Purpose
State and local policies and plans ultimately determine how federal transportation funds are spent. By working with state and local agency staff, elected officials, and advocates, we aim to maximize the investment of funds for biking and walking in states, MPOs, and cities where program choices are being made on how to spend safety, air quality, bridge, and local highway funding.

Grants Overview
Thanks to remarkable support from SRAM, with additional support from Planet Bike, Advocacy Advance is pleased to provide $125,000 in grants to Alliance member organizations in 2011. Advocacy Advance will provide necessary resources, technical assistance, coaching, and training to supplement the grants.

Types of Grants

Model Grants

Model grants provide multi-year support to state and local advocacy organizations with efforts to significantly increase federal investment at state, regional, and/or local levels for biking and walking infrastructure and programs. Click here for a detailed outline, including guidelines, criteria and other requirements.

Rapid Response Grants

Rapid Response Grants help state and local organizations take advantage of unexpected opportunities to win, increase, or preserve funding for biking and walking. Click here for a detailed outline, including guidelines, criteria and other requirements.

Capacity Building Grants

Capacity Building Grants support the development and professionalization of state and local advocacy organizations to increase rates of biking and walking. Click here for a detailed outline, including guidelines, criteria and other requirements.

Application Process

To minimize time invested on proposals, the application is administered in two phases: inquiry and full proposal. The inquiry phase is a simple application to provide a basic overview of your proposal. The Alliance staff will review all inquiries and invite the most promising inquiries to submit a full proposal. An organization may only receive one grant per year.

Inquiry Proposal:
In a single e-mail, send the following form to Brighid@PeoplePoweredMovement.org

Click here for the Model Grants inquiry proposal form.
Click here for the Rapid Response Grants inquiry proposal form.
Click here for the Capacity Building Grants inquiry proposal form.

Full Proposal:
The Alliance will provide organizations invited to submit a full proposal with the application, which includes a budget and work plan template.

Application Timeline
There is one grant cycle in 2011. Early submission of applications is encouraged.

Application cycle opens: March 18
Applicant Question & Answer Call (Model Grants): March 29*
Applicant Questions & Answer Call (Capacity Building Grant): April 7*
Deadline for Inquiry Application: April 25
Inquiry Applicant Notification: May 18
Deadline for Full Proposal: June 20
Applicant Notification: July 22

There is no deadline or formal grant cycle for Rapid Response grants. Submit the proposal form and we will respond to your request with in two weeks. Funding, if approved, will be within one month.

*Q&A Calls

Click here for a recording of the Model Grants Q&A Call
Click here for a recording of the Capacity Building Grants Q&A Call
Click here for a Frequently Asked Questions sheet about the 2011 Advocacy Advance Grants

If you have questions, need help with your application, or need feedback, you are strongly encouraged to contact Brighid O’Keane, Advocacy Advance Program Manager, at (202) 621-5442 or Brighid@PeoplePoweredMovement.org anytime during the application process.

Evaluation Process

Please bear in mind that each review process is very competitive, and we are only able to fund a very small number of the applications we receive in the inquiry phase.

Inquiry Proposal Evaluation:
Model and Capacity Building Grant inquiries will be prescreened by Alliance and League staff. Selected organizations will be invited to submit a full application.

Full Proposal:
The Advocacy Advance Grant Selection Committee will evaluate full proposals based upon the criteria for each grant. Grant Committee members are volunteers comprised of advisors and partner organizations.

Grant Review Committee Members

Sandy Fry, Capital Region Council of Governments
Zoe Kircos, Bikes Belong
Tim May, Enterprise Community Partners
Dick Mark, Philanthropic Advisor / Buttonwood Partnership
Eloisa Raynault, American Public Health Association
Martha Roskowski, Go Boulder
Sarah Strunk, Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities / Active Living by Design

Conflict of Interest Statement
Those serving on the Advocacy Advance Grant Selection Committee will recuse themselves where there is a direct conflict of interest. Any applicant(s) who intentionally attempt to lobby or influence individual members of the committee risk their proposals being removed from evaluation.

We Do Not Fund:

Organizations whose primary purpose is not advocacy
Events whose primary purpose is not advocacy
Campaigns for political candidates

Rapid Response Grants will be reviewed and determined by Alliance and League staff.

Advocacy Advance Partnership

Advocacy Advance is a partnership of the Alliance for Biking & Walking and the League of American Bicyclists to support local and state advocacy efforts. Leadership funding by SRAM has enabled the Advocacy Advance Program. This program provides technical assistance, research, training, and coaching for grassroots bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations.