[funetical]

After my accident several months ago and the accident I saw while on vacation I’ve decided to start donating some money to a cycling related charity/awareness group.

I am not very knowledgeable of all the various charities/awareness groups out there so I would like some advice on which ones you give to, and why,or if you don’t currently give which charities/groups are you familiar with.

I'd appreciate any help I can get on this one guys.

 

[Industry_Hack]

Find a local one that donates bikes and helmets to kids. Hopefully, the teach them safe riding skills as well. Donating your time as well as your money is doubly effective.

 

[jsoiseth]

After my accident several months ago and the accident I saw while on vacation I’ve decided to start donating some money to a cycling related charity/awareness group.

I am not very knowledgeable of all the various charities/awareness groups out there so I would like some advice on which ones you give to, and why,or if you don’t currently give which charities/groups are you familiar with.

I'd appreciate any help I can get on this one guys.

Last year we gave to Bolder Options. www.bolderoptions.org

 

[shawnrohrbach]

Bikes Not Bombs, I think in Boston.

 

[hammerinwheels]

Cycles 4 Hope Northern California

 

[paultech6]

Iam a contibutor to Livestrong Organization .The achievements of Lance Armstrong have given me a goal to reach.
Paul

 

[SteveM]

The people who manage and maintain the Schuylkill River Trail in southeast Pennsylvania: Schuylkill River Heritage Area

 

[aweesan]

Outdoor Outreach - Outdoor Outreach: Coming Into A World of Possibility from the Outside
San Diego County Bicycle Coalition - www.www.sdcbc.org
San Diego Mountain Biking Association - SDMBA - San Diego Mountain Biking Association
--- I am assuming you are local to San Diego as I saw your message and just jumped on to respond without checking. I'm involved in each of these and try to work on events that can combine the three as well.

 

[chefshoes]

dunno if u collect non-us but Discover Adventure, leading operator of charity challenges in UK and Overseas - Home does charity rides world-wide.. mine was london - paris

 

[Cycleborg]

Dear Funetical,

To me it comes down to making a choice about charities that directly support cycling or charities that are supported by cycling (e.g. Cancer research via Armstrong) .

As I live in Melbourne Australia I can't offer much regards the US scene however the idea of this charity in the US
3 Feet Please-Saving cyclists' lives

has now been picked up by a foundation set up here to research cycling saftey following the death of a well know Australian cyclist in Germany (The world is certainly getting smaller)
a meter matters

Another option is to see if any Universities in your area engage in road saftey research and donate towards any studies they do regarding cyclist safety

Cheers from Downunder
Cy(cle)borg

 

[rola643]

Virginia Bicycling Federation | Advocacy, Safety, & Education

 

[shiboleth]

The Austin Cycling Association is best known for sponsoring various types of rides, but they also host and encourage adult training for LCI and the funds they derive from their events go to helmets and bike rodeos for kids.
The Lance Armstrong Foundation fights cancer and celebrates survivors and surviving.
The Texas Bicycle Coalition? tries to influence and lobby the state government and on occasion has made a show of force so awesome that even anti-bike legislators were impressed.
In my dreams there exists a Tour de Texas foundation which sponsors an eight day ride around Texas in early March that goes through the Chisos and Guadalupe mountains, the rolling hills of the North plains and finally ends up coming into Austin and riding four laps on Congress avenue. This causes tens of thousands of tourist to flock to our beautiful Winter venues and we all get rich and buy a kid a helmet.

 

[Industry_Hack]

Even though there is an American Cancer Society fund in my mum's name, that's one charity that I'm likely to avoid. It's my opinion that corporate greed stands between cancer patients and their treatment, as well as a cure.

I cannot support that. That's why I feel that if you only have $1 to give, at least give it somewhere where it can make a real difference.

 

[Oneway]

pmc.org
Pan-Mass Challenge (Massachusetts) The nation's biggest endurance sports fund-raiser; 4,300 cyclists raised $35 million for Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute last year. Nine different rides, including the original two-day Sturbridge to Provincetown route. Dates: Aug. 7-8, 2010.

Biking Bis - Bicycle Touring and More :: Charitybicyclerides

 

[AtlantaOutfitters]

As president of SORBA Atlanta, I'm going to plug trail advocacy.

SORBA and IMBA.

Any mountain biker should be a member and help contribute to the advocacy, trail building and maintenance of the trails we ride. We are struggling lately to get people to understand that the trails don't just happen -- that volunteers who could be spending time riding, with family, or doing something else are spending time and resources to help make trails better.

SORBA is the southeastern division of IMBA, the International Mountain Bike Association. If you live outside the SE, find your local IMBA affiliate club and get involved!

IMBA - International Mountain Bicycling Association
SORBA.org

 

[Oldbutslow]

Bicycle Colorado (Colorado of course). The mission of Bicycle Colorado is to

encourage and promote bicycling, increase safety, improve conditions,

and provide a voice for cyclists in Colorado.

 

[kendog55]

BACA or Bicycle Advocates of Central Arkansas is a good one as is the Arkansas Bicycle Club. Both have given a lot of support to our local ride for our Boys & Girls Club, cancer research, MS, & diabetes! Also each of the things mentioned have their own charities or fundraisers!

Thanks for asking & for caring!

 

[Texasbikeguy]

Hola,
Back in 99' a group of us did a charity ride from Wichita Falls to Branson Missouri. Prior to doing the ride, we mapped out the route and planned it around hitting churches and similar organizations at the END of each ride. Months prior we accepted pledges of money for each mile as well as generally accepting donations at each stop after explaining the 'mission trip fund raiser' and why we were doing it. We were sponsored by a home church to lend credibility to our cause. Now as far as you are concerned, if I were going to undetake such an endeavour, I would simply do a ride that raised money for things like Bicycle advocacy groups and to fund things like PSA's that tell the public that bicycles are actual vehicles and have the same rights as a vehicle. It helps to organize these things as a group of people and to use all faith based or community action groups/Cycling organizations to further lend credibility to your cause. I also suggest using youtube, facebook, and local media to garner intrested riders.

Cheers.

 

[funetical]

Thanks for all the help guys! I'll be putting a list of everyone's suggestions together and posting it after everyone has put there say in.

 

[Bern]

I'm agree with Hack on being careful where you donate money. Some years ago when living in another state, I phoned the State Attorney Generals' office for a booklet listing every charity registered in the state under the banner of non-profit. Also listed was a summary of their financials. It was a huge disappointment to learn that the majority spent most of the funds, 70 percent or so, on fund raising. The reason for this seems to be that many charities are merely an office with some administrative staff and contract with fund raising firms to handle the publicity or event logistics. Do the homework. Just because something is a worthy cause does not automatically mean a worthy organization. There are many fine organizations doing good work with our money.