Building the People Powered Movement
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.
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
We support the Alliance because they are capacity builders. They nurture, network and coach their member organizations to ever-higher levels of effectiveness.
- Jay Ferm, Planet Bike
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.
- Jenn Orgolini, Sustainability Director, New Belgium Brewing Company
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.
- Elysa Hammond, Director of Environmental Stewardship, Clif Bar
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:
Our 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.
We 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.
Our 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.
Alliance 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.
The 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.
Alliance members can post their job opportunities for free on the Alliance Job Board. We highlight our job board in our monthly e-newsletter, Streetside.
Alliance publications are geared towards helping grassroots bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations thrive. Alliance members receive discounts on all Alliance publications.
Advocacy 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.
Alliance 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.
Alliance members receive discounts on the following
And
Contact an Alliance staff member for more details on these discounts.
Bike & Ped Advocacy Resource LibraryLooking for the recordings of Mutual Aid Calls or the materials from the recent training you attended? 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.PublicationsAlliance’s publications assist our members with their work including the newly released Fundraising Ride Guide and Benchmarking Report. Reduced prices are available for members. |
Starting An OrganizationTo help our organizations Just forming, we share some related resources that will help you on this new journey:HelpAlliance is working to develop a more comprehensive help system for our members and supporters. You will currently find details for using our Alliance listserve as well as general help information. |
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.
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
This worksheet from a 2007 edition of the Grassroots Fundraising Journal walks you through how to set and meet fundraising goals in a strategic and structured manner. (PDF)
Fundraising Planning Worksheet
The state of California has nearly 37 million residents — and scores of League Cycling Instructors. But how many of those certified bike educators are women? Melissa Balmer of Women on Bikes SoCal in Long Beach did some digging and discovered, in Southern California, there are just 20 female LCIs. This week, her organization launched an effort to change that.
Launched in November 2012 with the aim to encourage, engage and empower women to bicycle, Women on Bikes SoCal is a collaboration of Bikeable Communities, Bikestation, Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal of Long Beach and the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. Though still in its early stages, WoBSoCal charged out of the gate with a bold agenda and innovative inaugural campaign: Let’s double the number of women and girls riding bikes by 2017. On Monday, they launched Phase 1 of their efforts by announcing the first-ever women-only LCI certification training.
Backed by scholarships, 12 women will be chosen for the program and, in return, will donate 25 hours of bike safety training to their communities. With a target training date of June 2012, Chris Quint, whose traffic video Cyclists’ Eye View is included with all training materials provided to LCI’s by the League of American Bicyclists, will serve as the lead trainer for the program, with the support of three female LCI’s.
So how does training women to teach increase female bicycling mode share? As the Alliance’s 2012 Benchmarking Report highlights, women accounted for only 24 of bike trips in 2009. And, according to Andrea White-Kjoss, founder and COO of BIkestation, empowering female instructors is key to closing the bicycling gender gap. “Bicycling is intensely personal, and it follows that, though there is overlap, the needs and desires of bicyclists differ by gender,” White-Kjoss said. “Women trainers have a distinct connection to what it takes to cycle as a woman — and they will create a curriculum that addresses the needs of women cyclists and will teach in ways that resonate with other women. It’s called targeted marketing, and it works.”
Jen Klausner, Executive Director of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, agreed. “As an LCI, a coach, and a longtime observer of the gender gap among bicyclists, I’m proud to be part of this very beginning of a program with great promise,” she said. “This is an unprecedented opportunity for women interested in the growing bicycle culture to really be on the forefront of social change, by earning the certification and then contributing to a regional campaign aimed at getting more women on bikes.”
Stay tuned to Women on Bikes SoCal for updates. And check out the latest edition of their e-magazine, which features Klausner and Alexis Lantz of the LACBC (pictured).
And, if you haven’t already, sign up for the first-ever National Women Cycling Forum on March 20, 2012, here in Washington, DC.
Now, more than ever, building and cultivating relationships with members of Congress is critical to protecting and advancing bicycle and pedestrian issues on a federal level. On February 8, 2012, the Alliance hosted a Mutual Aid Call on this topic with insight from Tyler Frisbee, legislative assistant to Congressman Earl Blumenauer; Gerik Kransky, Advocacy Director for the Bicycle Transportation Alliance in Oregon and Ed Barsotti, Executive Director of the League of Illinois Bicyclists. (PDF) (MP3)
This phenomenal 2010 resource from the Bicycle Transportation Alliance in Oregon includes information on influencing policymakers and bringing awareness of active transportation issues to your community, state and country. Instructions are included on how to establish influence with policymakers by providing information, and encouraging public pressure through specific methods such as calling, writing and testifying before elected officials. Additionally, a campaign planning worksheet is included to help get you started. (PDF)
It’s time to ask both chambers of Congress to save our streets.
The current Senate transportation bill dilutes walking and biking programs. To improve the bill, we’re asking senators to vote for the Cardin-Cochran amendment on the floor to guarantee local governments a voice in transportation decisions, allowing them to build sidewalks, crosswalks, and bikeways that keep people safe.
In the House, we are asking representatives to oppose the House transportation bill. Despite the fact that walking and bicycling infrastructure is a low-cost investment that creates more jobs per dollar than any other kind of highway spending, the House bill eliminates dedicated funding for walking and biking.
Please contact your Representative and Senators today and ask them to save our streets. Click here to send a message to your members of Congress NOW.
As written, the Senate’s transportation bill removes dedicated funding for walking and biking and allows state DOTs to opt-out of safe street programs. The Cardin-Cochran amendment would improve the bill by ensuring that local governments can apply directly for funds to build walking and biking infrastructure.
Tell your senators:
On the other side of Congress, the House is considering a transportation bill (HR 7) that reverses 20 years of progress in making streets safer for people. Despite the fact that walking and biking make up 12% of trips but receive only 1.5% of federal funding, the House bill eliminates dedicated funding for walking and biking. It’s time to defeat this bill.
Tell your representative:
Congress needs to know that that finding effective, efficient transportation solutions to keep people safe on the streets should be a national priority. Please contact your representative and senators today. For more information and updates, bookmark America BIkes’ website.
Thank you for all that you do to keep the streets safe!
On February 8, 2012, the Alliance hosted a Federal Policy Webinar with the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals. This is the presentation from Caron Whitaker, campaign director for America Bikes, outlining the content and timelines for the federal transportation bill in the House and Senate.
Presentation from America Bikes
Last week, volunteers working with the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition announced that the social network giant Facebook agreed to provide the funding for bike trails around its new office park in Silicon Valley.
Many of Facebook’s employees are young and transplanted from areas with excellent cycling. Nearly 47 percent of the employees use alternative transportation to get to work. Yet, when Facebook moved into the new space in Palo Alto, the company didn’t realize the difficulties in biking to the campus. Newer cyclists, they realized, might be intimidated by the need to cross highways and ride in traffic.
Andrew Boone (in the video on the right), a member of the SVBC, and a team of fellow volunteers met with Facebook regularly to encourage them to make changes. Their strategy? To show Facebook that improving the infrastructure was good for both the community and the company. It would solve their future parking issues, as well as make it safer for people to bike or walk to work.
What made the partnership even sweeter was Facebook’s idea to help fundraise to complete a bike path near the campus and winding through Silicon Valley. “Facebook plans to help advocate for other companies spending money on bike paths,” Boone said. This support could prove beneficial when the small volunteer team goes to other companies to ask for their support.
But the work is not done. Boone hopes their strategy to understand Facebook’s wants and needs and find solutions that make both groups happy will work with the city council as the council moves forward in building the new bike lanes. Using basic principles of advocacy, the small team of volunteers were able to educate the social networking company and inspire people to join their team.
Boone and his team would not have been able to move this far forward if not for the support of the SVBC. Corrine Winter, President and Executive Director of the SVBC, says her favorite part of the process was “empowering local advocates to make a significant difference in the community.”
That support, and the ability to lend a stronger voice and far reaching network, will help to move this campaign forward in the next few months.
Put together by the American Association of State Highways and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), this study discusses the role that the Recovery Act has played in expanding and improving Transportation Enhancements. The study also confirms that more than 17 million jobs were created by TE projects. (PDF)
Economic Impact Analysis of Transportation Investments
WalkBoston’s guide details why it’s important to encourage walking. Aimed at businesses, it includes why it’s good for employees, businesses, employers, and communities. (PDF)
A successful campaign to increase walking and biking sometimes take years, but the right amount of perseverance, skill and timing can lead to a quick win. That’s exactly what happened for Neighborhood Greenways in Seattle.
The group advocates for a citywide network of low-traffic streets that limit cut-through cars and are safe for biking and walking. Only a few months after forming, the group celebrated its first victory, in no small part thanks to the tips they learned at the Alliance’s Winning Campaigns Training in Seattle.
“At your Winning Campaigns Workshop I made some great contacts and did some good strategic thinking about developing a complete citywide network of neighborhood greenways,” said Cathy Tuttle, one of the groups leaders who attended the training last June. “Making a citywide network is something I’ve been thinking about for years. Winning Campaigns helped me think about our own people powered movement in a smarter, stronger, more strategic way.”
The campaign included a well-placed Op-Ed in The Seattle Times that called on members of the City Council to support greenways, while letting Seattleites know that greenways will create a safe place to walk and bike, without forcing people out of their cars.
At a January Neighborhood Greenways Meeting, City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw announced plans to fund several miles of greenways in 2012. Not only has the campaign resulted in a tangible win on the ground, it has also lead to new groups in neighborhoods advocating for more greenways. “Quite frankly what I’m dealing with now is how to manage success,” said Tuttle. “Local greenway groups are springing up all over the region!”
Looking to jump start your next campaign? The Alliance is hosting three more Winning Campaigns Trainings this year in Boston, Houston and Kansas City. Learn more about the trainings and register to attend here.
PHOTO: Exploratory tour of a potential bike boulevard in Seattle courtesy of Neighborhood Greenways.
As we continue our efforts to preserve critical funding for biking and walking in the next federal transportation bill, it’s vitally important that policymakers and the press have the right information when it comes to the benefits and of active transportation. On that note: Andy Clarke has a great post over on the League of American Bicyclists blog debunking some off-base weekend remarks from House Speaker John Boehner.
The executive director of the League points out that: “Speaker John Boehner’s weekend claim that 25% of the highway dollars are ‘siphoned off for non-economic projects – such as beautification and bikepaths’ came as a bit of a shock. The nation’s bicyclists must have gotten a big raise over the holidays, because last November Boehner and his buddy Eric Cantor were claiming only ten percent of highway funds were ‘diverted’ this way. Neither figure is anywhere close to the truth, of course.”
And just one graph (right) from the Alliance’s 2012 Benchmarking Report proves it.
In fact, people who bike and walk make up nearly 12 percent of trips and 14 percent of roadway fatalities but get less than 2 percent — 2 percent! — of federal transportation dollars. If you haven’t already, download the 2012 Benchmarking Report and make sure your local policymakers understand the tremendous impact that tiny sliver of federal funding has on your community.
Read the full blog for Andy here. And stay tuned for future posts fact-checking policymakers statements and providing you the talking points you need to preserve funding for biking and walking during this critical time.
The struggle has only just begun.
On Thursday, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee narrowly voted against preserving the small amount of essential federal funds that make it safer for people who walk and bike across the country. During the contentious vote, 27 committee members supported the bipartisan Petri-Johnson-Lipinski amendment, coming just two votes shy of a victory.
The good news: Thanks to incredible efforts of many local advocacy leaders to engage grassroots members in action, we gained bipartisan support for the amendment and showed Congress that we mean business.
The amendment was introduced with support from both sides of the aisle: Representatives Tom Petri (R-WI), Tim Johnson (R-IL), and Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) and all committee Democrats voted in favor of the bill. These three Republican Representatives deserve special commendation, because they chose to champion safety for all road users despite extreme pressure from their House leadership to essentially throw school children, pedestrians and cyclists off the bridge to the future.
And we definitely got the House leadership’s attention. The amendment sparked heated remarks from both sides, including an impassioned defense of Safe Routes to School by Representative DeFazio (D-OR).
But there is still a long climb ahead.
Elimination of funds for biking and walking isn’t the only reason the House bill is terrible policy. The House bill puts public transit in jeopardy by diverting transit funds, an issue that has raised the alarm at Transportation for America and the American Public Transportation Association. A coalition of environmental organizations strongly objects to the bill’s environmentally backwards provisions, as well.
The Alliance joins our partners at America Bikes in thanking the tens of thousands of bicycling and pedestrian advocates from across the country who contacted their representatives on the T&I Committee in support of the Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School programs. The amendment also drew support from more than 60 national, state, and local organizations that recognize the importance of federal support for local infrastructure and safety projects. Several Alliance organizations engaged their membership on this effort, and we appreciate their leadership.
As the House bill moves through committee to the floor and the Senate makes progress on its transportation bill, the Alliance is working with America Bikes to engage our organizations in key states that will help ensure influential Representatives and Senators are on our side and can support needed action to protect funding for walking and biking. Please stay tuned for specific emails to engage your organization in this focused strategy and be sure to contact me at Jeff@PeoplePoweredMovement.org with any questions or concerns.
And be sure to register for two important events this Wednesday, February 8:
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
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.
Click here to read this issue.
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!
In addition to the big Transportation Research Board meeting last week, there was another engaging gathering on bicycle and pedestrian issues — the Transforming Transportation conference hosted by EMBARQ. I attended the panel on ‘Bicycling: How to Achieve Greater Mode Share?’ which featured an international panel from the Netherlands, Cape Town, and China. While the three projects were vastly different in location, the underlying theme was the same: People want to use cycling as a mode of transport and want it to be made easy for them to do so.
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.
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
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
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
Invest in biking and walking advocacy where it matters most... on the ground!
Advocacy Advance Capacity Building Grants Q&A Call --Call on February 16
Advocacy Advance Capacity Building Grants Q&A Call --Call on February 17
Framing our Message for the Public, Press and Policymakers --Call on February 22
02/10/2012 - Advocates Launch Effort to “Double Number of Women and Girls Riding Bikes”
02/09/2012 - Save Our Streets: Oppose the House Bill, Support the Senate Amendment
02/08/2012 - With a Little Help from Advocates, Facebook “Likes” Bike Trails
02/07/2012 - Seattle Advocates Use Winning Campaigns Training to Win Bike Boulevards
