Grants

Capacity Building Grants | Rapid Response Grants | Application Process | Frequently Asked Questions | Grants Committee | Past Grant Recipeints

Scholarships

The Center for Transportation Excellence is gearing up for its biennial Transit Initiatives and Communities Conference this June 23-26 in Atlanta. This is the only national conference devoted to understanding the role of ballot measures in improving transportation choices and investment, and providing advice on how to achieve success at the ballot box. We want to make sure that bicycle and pedestrian advocates are there to strengthen ballot measure campaign efforts and partnerships with transit. Applications for conference scholarships are due April 1. Download application.

Advocacy Advance Grants

Thanks to support from SRAM Cycling Fund and Planet Bike, Advocacy Advance was pleased to award $60,000 in grants in 2012 to organizations that are a member of the League and Alliance.  The Advocacy Advance team provides necessary resources, technical assistance, coaching, and training to supplement the grants.

Types of 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. THE 2012 APPLICATION DEADLINE FOR CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS HAS PASSED.

• 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.

Application Process and Assistance

The 2012 application deadline for Capacity Building Grants has passed. Stay tuned for information abo

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

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Download the FAQ document for Rapid Response Grants here.

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:

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

Full Proposal Evaluation:

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
• Tim Schwantes, Active Living By Design
• Caron Whitaker, America Bikes

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.

Past Advocacy Advance Grant Recipients

Since April 2011, Advocacy Advance has awarded Rapid Response Grants to the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin for its campaign to restore funding for the state’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities Program; the Bicycle Transportation Alliance for it's push for bike share in Portland; and the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota for an urgen bridge campaign. Read more on the Advocacy Advance blog.

Advocacy Advance is pleased to announce the recipients of 2012 Capacity Building Grants. Bike Walk Mississippi will receive $10,000 to hire a second staff person to work with communities to develop action plans to increase bicycle friendliness. BWM will create a toolkit of resources leading to increased infrastructure, policy and programs on the local level while increasing representation on and ownership of Mississippi's statewide Bike/Ped Plan. Living Streets Alliance will receive $15,000 to hire its first full-time executive director to strengthen bicycle and pedestrian advocacy in Tucson. To address the 23 pedestrian fatalities in the region in 2011, LSA's Pedestrian Safety & Comfort Campaign will make walking a safer and more desirable transportation choice through the inclusion of a $25 million county bond package to create "safe neighborhood streets." LSA will also supplement their successful bicycle programs and events with Cyclovia Tucson, the city's open-streets event.

This year we are continuing our support in multi-year Model Grants to Bike Pittsburgh and Atlanta Bicycle Coalition for their campaigns to build political influence and boost federal funding for biking and walking projects and programs.

Since 2009, Advocacy Advance has awarded over $780,000 to support startup, capacity building, and innovation to more than 40 organizations. These campaigns have contributed to dramatic increases in biking and walking around the country. Click here to view past recipients and read about their progress.

View Past Grant Recipients in a larger map