Building momentum with a little help from our friends
By Noel Mickelberry, Development Coordinator
Mini-pies, donated bikes, a hula hoop covered in bike lights and our awesome supporters – who could ask for a better fundraising campaign kick-off? Last Friday, the bike shop was packed with people munching on tasty food, bobbing their heads to sweet soul tunes, and chatting away happily. They had all come out to hear about our new strategic direction and how we plan to make Portland an even better bicycling city.
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
Alison Graves, our Executive Director, gave the 100+ attendees an overview of our new strategic plan and how we are working to create a more inclusive bike economy. She explained how our new plan addresses inequities within the bicycling community, and how strengthening our community partnerships will allow us to empower communities to ride and thrive.
One of our board members, Michael Newton, elaborated: “The fundraiser was a great event not only because it raised a bunch of money for a great cause but because it itself furthered our mission by connecting people and communities via the bicycle.” He went on, “I met more passionate, energetic and impactful people than I have in a long time.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves – we are constantly amazed and honored at the deep community-mindedness and generosity of our supporters.
With two $1,000 generous matching donations from Portland Design Works, and Swanson, Thomas, Coon & Newton, we hit the ground running. We met our $2,000 goal around 8:45 pm, and with another $1,000 anonymous donation and a final rush in the last 10 minutes, we raised a grand total of $3,497. Including our matching donations, we ended the night with $5,497 to kick off our spring fundraising campaign!
A HUGE thank you to our generous sponsors, who provided all the lovely food and libations:
Alberta Co-op
Amalfi’s Restaurant
Asean/Stalkmarket
Bipartisan Café
Lagunitas
And another thank you to all the wonderful volunteers who were taking photos, serving drinks, checking coats, and helping make sure the event was running smoothly. We could not have done it without you!
Thanks to EVERYONE for attending and helping us create a more inclusive and equitable bike economy and culture in Portland!
If you couldn’t make it to the event but would like to contribute to our spring fundraising campaign, click here.
Photo Credit: Shannon McWeeney