Grants

Advocacy Advance Rapid Response Grants

Thanks to support from SRAM and Planet Bike, Advocacy Advance is pleased to provide $60,000 in grants in 2012 to organizations that are a member of the League and Alliance.  Advocacy Advance will provide 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.

There is no deadline or formal grant cycle for Rapid Response Grants. Submit the 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.

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 2011 Advocacy Advance Grants: Bike Delaware, Bike Pittsburgh, the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition and the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. Read the full press release for more on their exciting and innovative projects to build their political influence and boost federal funding for biking and walking projects and programs.

In 2009 and 2010, these one-year grants were awarded twice annually to startup organizations and innovative campaigns to dramatically increase biking and walking. Click here to view past recipients and read about their progress.