Nominate Your Favorite Advocates Today!
 | | Bike Texas received the 2012 Innovation Award |
Since 2009, the Alliance has honored the work of the the outstanding leaders and organizations that make up the biking and walking movement with our annual Advocacy Awards. Through December 18, you can nominate the advocates and organizations that have made a difference in your life. We recognize advocates with five different awards, and you can nominate your favorite candidates in all five categories. Submit your nominations today for: - Advocate of the Year
- Advocacy Organization of the Year
- Winning Campaign of the Year
- Business Advocate of the Year
- Susie Stephens Joyful Enthusiasm Award
Have an organization or person in mind? Great! Submit your nominations for each of the categories. The Alliance will be accepting nominations until December 18, 2012. Winners will be announced at the Advocacy Awards Reception on March 4, 2013, during the National Bike Summit. Click here to nominate the advocates pushing for change in your community! |
| Winning Campaigns 2013: Sign Up Today |  We've got five opportunities in 2013 for you to learn the best techniques for planning and executing successful biking and walking campaigns. Attend the Alliance's signature Winning Campaigns Training, and you learn how to boost the impact of your organization and chalk up new victories for biking and walking in your community.
The Alliance's Winning Campaigns Training is coming to Minneapolis before the spring thaw and following up with trainings in Cleveland and Athens, GA, as the weather warms up.
Register for a training near you, or make the trip to one of these destinations: Sign up TODAY to receive the discounted rate of just $75 for members. See you at a training in 2013!
| | Submit Your Benchmarking Surveys by Dec 14 |  December 14, 2012 is the due date to submit your state or city survey for inclusion in the upcoming 2014 Benchmarking Report. If you have any questions or difficulty completing the survey, contact Andrea Milne at Andrea@PeoplePoweredMovement.org as soon as possible.
You may notice that the surveys look a bit different this time around. The Alliance teamed up with the League for American Bicyclists to combine our requests to states for biking and walking data, asking our contacts to complete one survey instead of two. The combined state survey is now integrated into the LAB's Bicycle Friendly States application, which is an entirely online format, eliminating redundancy and streamlining the data collection process. City surveys have also been improved to an editable PDF form, which automatically collects survey responses into a spreadsheet once submitted - saving time and reducing the risk of data input errors.
Thank you to all of the state and local officials and advocates that help make the Alliance Benchmarking Report a "Bike-Ped State of the Union." This information is not currently collected by any other organization in such a comprehensive way, and it serves as a foundation to advance the People Powered Movement across the country.
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Join Us to Boost Biking and Walking in 2013
It's simple: Take a walk. Ride a bike.
Alliance organizations across North America have been showing decision makers and the public that these two solutions are good for business, good for the environment and good for people. 
Our People Powered Movement continues to grow, and we're stronger now than we have ever been before. More than 200 Alliance member organizations are on the ground pushing for improved policies and infrastructure that promote the culture of active transportation across the continent. The Alliance exists to help state and local advocacy organizations succeed.  When you support the Alliance, you simultaneously boost biking and walking in communities across North America. Additionally, the Alliance works to nurture new advocates and build organizations in communities without a formal advocacy presence. In addition to knowing that your gift amplifies the advocacy efforts of groups across North America, you can also win big! Donate to the Alliance by December 31st, 2012, and you'll be entered into a drawing to win a VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations tour good for any trip in the U.S. (a $2,245 value). Thank you to our members and supporters for being part of the Alliance for Biking & Walking! |
| 2012 VBT Trip Winner Going to Machu Picchu |  Next April, our VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations tour winner David Lamb and his wife will be hiking the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley in Peru.
The couple's first ever VBT trip will include eight days of cross-cultural experiences, breathtaking vistas and hiking through the Andes in the footsteps of the Inca. And, as with all VBT tours, the world travelers don't have to hassle with making reservations for travel, food or accommodations.
"VBT has been great to work with," says David. "They went above and beyond simply applying the value of a U.S. tour to our trip. The customer service for first-time VBT travelers like us has been great."  | | Machu Picchu walking tour, photo courtesy of VBT |
David has pledged to become a lifelong supporter of the Alliance's work. "I'm an avid bicyclist, and I support the Alliance for its mission," says David. "I have also known Jeff Miller for a long time, and I really admire his dedication." "It's not like the lottery," says David. "When you make a gift to the Alliance, you know for sure someone is going to win a vacation like this." Make your gift to the Alliance before December 31st, and you'll be entered into a drawing to win a fabulous VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacation tour good for any trip in the U.S. (worth up to $2,245) - or you can do what David did and apply the value of the trip you win to one of VBT's outstanding bicycling and walking tours abroad. Congratulations again to David, and we know your trip to Peru will be an outstanding, once-in-a-lifetime experience! I hope we'll all get to see some pictures from your trip next spring. |
| Promote Active Transportation: Join the 2013 Climate Ride |  Investments in biking and walking are critical to meeting the transportation and energy challenges of the 21st century. Show your support for the advocates that push those investments by signing up for the 2013 Climate Ride, and ride for the Alliance!
Climate Ride supports sustainability, renewable energy, and bicycle advocacy with two rides each year. Join Climate Riders for the California ride from May 19-23, 2013, or ride from New York City to Washington, DC September 21-25, 2013. Mark your calendar and register today!
To participate in the Climate Ride, you'll pay the registration fee of $75 and then raise $2,400 for organizations committed to work on clean energy, sustainability, climate education and bicycle advocacy.
This year, Climate Ride raised over $300,000 for the environment, green energy and active transportation. Several Alliance member organizations were beneficiaries of the 2012 Climate Ride, and the ride also raised $6,000 for the Alliance for Biking & Walking. When you sign up, don't forget to designate the Alliance and any number of Alliance member organizations as your beneficiaries in 2013!
Daunted by the fundraising requirement? Don't be! The Climate Ride is a fantastic opportunity to hone your fundraising skills and raise valuable dollars for your favorite advocacy organization. And it's a great way for organizations to engage membership and supporters. Read this fundraising tip sheet for organizations and riders - brought to you by the East Bay Bicycle Coalition. Sign up and start planning your 2013 ride now!
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Alliance Mutual Aid Calls
| Our Mutual Aid conference calls are a great forum to gain insight from your Alliance peers on the specific issues and topics that are important to your organization. All calls begin at 2 p.m. Eastern and run for one hour. This past month: - On the November 14 call Responding to Crisis as an Organization, we had a great forum of participants sharing how they and their organizations have responded to crises that arise. In particular, we discussed responding to a crash that injures or kills a bicyclist or pedestrian. Two participants from New York City also discussed their organizations' response to Hurricane Sandy. Click here to listen to the call and read the tip sheet.
This month: Educational programming for people of all ages gives new active transportation and recreation enthusiasts the skills and confidence they need to incorporate biking and walking into their daily routines. It's crucial to get the word out about these opportunities to new audiences, too. Join us on this call to learn about innovative educational programs that encourage youth, adults and families to make biking and walking a part of their lives -- as well as strategies to bring more people to your classes and workshops. Panelists: LeeAnne Fergason, Educational Programs Manager at Bicycle Transportation Alliance Kit Hodge, Deputy Director at San Francisco Bicycle Coalition Dan Allison, Safe Routes to School Coordinator at San Juan USD, Safe Schools Having a good working board-staff relationship makes your organization's direction definitive, operations smooth and programs and initiatives more effective. Come learn from three of your peers who have worked on those relationships from both sides, as executive directors and as board members, and join in the discussion. Panelists: Rob Sadowsky, Executive Director of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance Dan Grunig, Executive Director of Bicycle Colorado Nancy Grant, Executive Director of the Bicycle Coalition of Maine | January calls: TBD What would you like to discuss on a Mutual Aid call? Does your organization have expertise to share with peer organizations and other advocates? Contact Jake@PeoplePoweredMovement.org with your ideas! |
| Good Luck, Jake! |  The Alliance would like to thank Jake Knight for his hard work over the last nine months as our Communications Fellow. Jake's last day at the Alliance will be December 21.
Jake was hired as the Communications Fellow this March, filling a valuable role as we communicate the work of the Alliance and the successes of our member organizations in communities across the continent.
It is a challenging task and Jake not only did it well - he brought his super-friendly positive attitude into full force. It has been genuine pleasure for each of us in the Alliance office to work with Jake every day. He is one of the nicest, funniest, and coolest cats imaginable. He also loves bike and pedestrian advocacy and the people in our movement.
Jake is no stranger to the Alliance - he first served as an intern over two years ago helping organize our 2010 Leadership Retreat in Chattanooga and then participating before finishing his Master's in Public Policy. Many of you have worked with Jake over the year and we hope you have appreciated his work and professionalism as much as we have. If so, we encourage you to share your thanks with Jake at Jake@PeoplePoweredMovement.org. Our best wishes to Jake as he tackles his next adventure! |
| | | | | Safer Streets in St. Louis: Congratulations to Trailnet and their partners in St. Louis, where local legislators recently passed a Safe Streets Ordinance. The new law will make streets more civil and imposes penalties on anyone who threatens another road user, whether walking, biking or driving. Initially, the law was an anti-harassment ordinance, but through the efforts of local advocates, the law evolved to protect bicyclists and pedestrians from threatening and dangerous behavior . Read more from Trailnet.
Disaster Response in New York: After Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on neighborhoods in New York City, local active transportation advocates are stepping in to reconnect communities and distribute supplies to aid in the recovery. With the gaps in the transportation network due to the storm, bicycle and foot traffic have increased dramatically. Transportation Alternatives staff and volunteers have worked at commuter stations across the city to encourage new bike commuters, give directions and help repair bicycles. Read about their work here. The community bike shop Recycle-A-Bicycle has also been open for business, and they are putting people on bikes by selling from their stock and helping to fix bikes that people bring in. Read about Recycle-A-Bicycle's work here. Alaska Advocates Working to Get $2.3 Million for Biking: Bicycle Commuters of Anchorage are working with local advocates and city staff to push $2.3 million in federal funding toward implementing the city's bike plan. After advocates attended the MPO's Technical Advisory Committee meeting and sent in over 100 comments, officials committed to revising the budget to incorporate improvements to the bike infrastructure. Read more on the Alliance blog. Job Opportunities at Alliance Member Organizations: |
Walking Action Network Call Rescheduled: Originally scheduled for November 8, the Walking Action Network call hosted by America Walks and the Alliance has been rescheduled to Thursday, December 13 from 2:00-3:00 PM Eastern. We hope you can make it to discuss Resources to Empower your Local Community with Walking Initiatives. New Partners for Smart Growth 2013 Conference: The 12th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference, will take place from February 7-9, 2013, in Kansas City, Missouri. With 95 sessions -- including plenaries, breakouts, trainings and workshops -- smart growth experts and interested advocates will learn how to make smart growth a success in their communities. Learn more and register here. |
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