For those that may not be familiar, there is such thing as a bicycle grants. As a matter of fact, there are a number of organizations and programs offering bicycle grants to bicyclers all over the world. And those that know are way ahead of the game. There are bicycle riders that are receiving grants in the hundreds of thousands. Now of course, you have to provide a great purpose for the money. You can’t simply receive money, because you want to buy a new mountain bike. Usually, those awarded grants are working on some sort of cause or improving the quality of life.
People are excited about the bicycle grants, because those participating are choosing an active lifestyle while helping those in need. This type of influence and achievement is gaining the attention of various companies that want to help by providing the necessary funding. Here are some of the organizations/companies that are getting in on the bicycle grants:
Eastman Kodak Company – Kodak has developed a fund called the “Kodak American Greenways Awards”. They are teaming up with the National Geographic Society and The Conservation Fund. Each year, they present grants as high as $2,500. The “seed” grant award is awarded to organizations that focus on improving blueways, greenways, natural areas, and trails.
U.S. Government – The government has developed their only program for bicycle riders, called “The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Recreational Trails Program”. The government’s program is primarily focused on funding trail projects. The benefits of the fund is recreation, which includes bicycling, hiking, in-line skating, snowmobiling, all-terrain vehicle riding, and so forth. The great addition to the fund is that they distribute the funding to all the states. This means that everybody has the opportunity of receiving bicycle grants.
Bikes Belong Coalition – The Bikes Belong Coalition makes putting more people on bicycles their priority. They are advocates for a better environment, recreation, sport, and better health, by way of bicycling. At the same time, they provide funding for advocacy projects and bicycle facilities. Some of the projects they accept are paved lanes, rail-trails, and bike paths. Applications for their grants can be submitted by either a facility category or an advocacy category. Also, Bikes Belong Coalition are not quick to award bicycle grants to those that have been awarded in the past 3 years. This is partially due to their limited amount of funding.