Unfortunately, tomorrow I won't be able to attend our most exciting meeting ever. However, I want to add to the discussion about funding.
Since the last meeting I have watched 3 webinars that I encourage everyone to watch because they provide great funding training as well as an overview of successful programs:
Building a SRTS Bike Brigade: Tips on Getting Started and Spreading the Success:http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/events-and-training/srts-webinars/bbrigade
Leaving No Stone Unturned: Tips and Tricks for Funding Your SRTS Program: http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/events-and-training/srts-webinars/funding-tips
Bike Sharing in the United States: State of the Practice and Guide to Implementation:http://www.walkinginfo.org/training/pbic/lc_webinar_04-26-2012.cfm
Some of the important lessons I gleaned from watching these webinars were that these programs are funded from multiple sources, not just grants. Grants are not necessarily considered until a program has established enough support. Grants writing is often farmed out to supportive organizations that have grant writers on staff.
What the Bicycle Board requires is a *strategic funding team/committee* as a prerequisite to grant-writing. Each objective has its own peculiarities and granularities. A grant request without a realistic plan and budget for an organization's objective is almost guaranteed not to be accepted. But objectives like a SRTS bike brigade are messy because they first require strong support from the target audience, and without this support it is futile to seek funding sources. So a strategic team would examine each objective and recognize what conditions are required to exist before the doors can be opened for funding, and then target a spectrum of funding sources based on the requirements. There is a significant difference between funding a SRTS program and funding a bike sharing program. With a small SRTS program, funding from foundations, organizations, PTA efforts, and a few supportive local businesses would probably suffice (see list below), but with a bicycle sharing program the funding requirements would be more acute, and therefor require a broader range of support and funding. Page 14 of the pdf presentation http://www.walkinginfo.org/training/pbic/collateral/04_26_12_Bike_Share_Webinar_Slides.pdf provides an overview of these funding sources on the Bike Sharing page. Here is a list of funding sources and strategies from "Leaving no stone overturned" which discusses walking programs, but the same logic can be applied to bicycling programs:
Parent Teacher Associations (PTA) Business sponsorship School District Foundation Hospital Foundation (good advocacy for them) Public Health (city or county) - if not grants may provide in-kind support (printing, mailing) State Department of Health grants. Local Health Department could help write the grants SRTS has a mini-grant program of about $1,000 Blue Cross/Blue Shield Health Foundation (lots of money) Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (reverse child obesity) Appalachian Stewardship Foundation (Added by Jonathan Rosenbaum)
After a smaller grant record has been established and your program is growing, funding could be sought from these foundations: Kaiser Pemanente W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Complex grants for a much larger program: Federal SRTS Funding (Need highly experienced grant writers. Could partner with City Planning or Public planning)
Get media involvement because it establishes the programs reputation with foundations: Local Celebrities Policy Makers
Questions that should be constantly revisited throughout the program: Where are you now? Where do you want to go? How will you get there?
Grant related questions: Does your project fit in with a foundations mission? What is a typical grant size they give?
What should be in your grant application? Realistic budget, include in-kind or partner support. Reasons why you will you succeed. Foundations want to be good stewards and have success and good stories to tell. Letter of support to show how previous funding led to current request.
What happens when your organization actually gets a grant? Always give recognition and media spotlight to foundations that have provided grants. Share the success with your partner. Establish a method to measure your success. Show enthusiasm for all grants regardless of size.
I didn't discuss everything, but I hope you will watch these webinars especially, "Leaving No Stone Unturned" and "Bike Sharing in the United States". I think you will agree with me that a strategic funding team would make the funding process more obvious, easier and less time intensive for everyone involved.
-Jonathan