The light at the end of the tunnel: Why I'm excited about the future of SVBC
As we emerge from the pandemic, it is important to acknowledge that for many, it was an incredibly hard time. It is also key to recognize that for those who did not have the luxury of sheltering in place, there was a very real cost. Black, Indigenous and People of Color were hit much harder by the disease, making each of our experiences different based on our socio-economic status and ethnicity. It will be important to remember this as we in the advocacy world continue to work on making sure our policy solutions are equitable.
With that said, many of us are now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. For those of you who are deeply interested in the inner workings of SVBC, and our plans for the future, read on. (It’s somewhat long.) With much reflection on what we’ve just been through, (and I tell you it was exhausting and frightening to be at the helm of a nonprofit during a pandemic) I’m excited to finally see Covid in the rearview. I’m excited at the prospect of focusing on the future again, what we can do to transform the world for the better through the bicycle. I am excited about the future of SVBC and the bike movement. As the Executive Director of the organization, I want to share with you why.
You! The supporters of SVBC, you, responded to the uncertainty of this time by opening up your wallets and donating. Because of your generosity, along with the Paycheck Protection Program, and significant cost cutting, SVBC is exiting the pandemic well-positioned to come back even stronger. Thank you!
Program Work is Back! The ability to teach classes, host bike rides and get together by bike was limited during the pandemic but it’s back in full force. Agencies and foundations are recognizing the need to invest in retaining some pandemic-inspired bike behavior and as a result, many are supporting our work including:
An ongoing adult education series in multiple languages
A regular series of fun rides to increase bike confidence through everyday riding
Veggielution’s Eastside connect program delivering healthy food by bike
Promoting ebike adoption and ridership through Peninsula Clean Energy’s rebate program
Teaching kids in schools through Safe Routes to Schools programs
And, with the return of concerts and sports, valet bike parking is back!
In combination with all the other organizations/programs like SJ Bike Party, Viva Calle, and community bike shops, it will be hard for the average person to resist throwing a leg over a bike to start riding regularly. We can’t wait to use fun and education to get more folks living life joyfully by bike!
The Advocacy Pivot: Many of you know that for a long time, SVBC has been steadily transitioning to what we call an organizing model. This model is rooted in the recognition that if the bike movement is to build power to make and enable change, we need to better utilize our most powerful asset – you! You, the committed, passionate, powerful pedalers are what can convince policy makers to prioritize, fund, and build safer streets.
Pre-pandemic, we pursued this model through the creation and support of local teams with a goal of 10 teams in 10 priority cities with 10 advocates in each. These teams met in person, staffed by SVBC.
What we, and all of you, learned in the pandemic is that in-person meetings are a huge barrier to participation, including SVBC’s ability to provide staff support on 10 different nights of the week to 10 teams.
So, it turns out an unexpected benefit of the forced move to online everything resulted in more and more people tuning in and getting involved. We created the monthly Biketevist forums followed by regular local team meetings and our participation goals have been surpassed. Each team has an awesome team leader and group of folks who are focused on the ways that they can pressure their city councils to build safer streets. For example, one accomplishment in South San Francisco was the adoption of a Vision Zero goal.
For those of you who haven’t yet participated in a biketevist forum, I guarantee you will walk away fired up to get involved. It is inspiring to listen to regular folks talk about their successes.
If you haven’t joined your local team or gotten involved, contact Diana@bikesiliconvalley.org for Santa Clara County cities and Sandhya@bikesiliconvalley.org for San Mateo County cities. They’ll get you plugged in and introduced to other folks in your city.
Staff Changes: Along with the good comes some bad and in our case, similar to many organizations, we’re facing some staff turnover.
Ehsaneh Sadr who has overseen our development work has taken a job with the Natural Resources Defense Council. While we’re going to miss Ehsaneh dearly, we’re excited to see her take her skills to a more global level to fight climate change. And, fortunately for SVBC, she’ll switch to a volunteer role as a part of the Gratitude Committee, a group of committed SVBC supporters helping to raise the money needed to build the power of the bike movement.
Mui Sam Le who has been a part of our programs team for four years has also decided to move on. Amongst other things, Mui kept the staff grounded which also served as a disguise for her devious streak.
And, Kate Plant, another veteran staff member who started five years ago by overseeing the bike parking program and deftly stepped into other work as needed, will be shifting her focus to explore other professional adventures. Fortunately, we will still benefit from Kate’s skills, cheer and energy as she continues on the LCI Squad.
Strategic Planning: Two years ago, SVBC was prompted to do some soul searching on whether the organization should view the “B” in SVBC narrowly. The Board concluded that while we don’t need to officially change our name, SVBC is welcoming and inclusive of different forms of micromobility – scooters, skateboards, etc. This conversation, coupled with the pandemic made us realize it is time for a more formal strategic planning process.
In September, we will officially launch this process to grapple with questions like:
What should the future of transportation look like and what should we be doing now to get there?
What is the role of a bike coalition (our niche) in advocating for that future and how do we increase power/effectiveness?
An examination of an organizing model, geography, and membership in terms of organizational effectiveness and governance.
And, how can we better center diversity, equity and inclusion in the organization’s work?
Stay tuned as we’ll be asking you all for feedback on some of these questions.
Supporting the Work: Finally, I want to mention a little more detail on the organization’s revenue model. We’re a staff of 12 covering two counties with a budget of a little over $1 million. We have three revenue streams, grants/contracts, corporate sponsorships, and individual donors.
Of those three revenue streams, grants/contracts (which covers about 40% of the pie) is volatile and tends to be the most onerous to acquire and administer. That is why our development strategy is to lessen our dependence upon grants/contracts, which means relying more on corporate sponsorships and you, the individual donor. We know you value the work we do to make the streets safe for you and your loved ones to ride. So, in the coming two years, we’ll be investing more in this strategy, putting better systems in place, and growing the number of supporters donating annually. If we can grow this revenue stream, we can better support a professional staff that works every day to make sure we all feel comfortable living life joyfully by bike.
As we exit the pandemic, there is much to be excited about.
We’re getting folks to ride! Through lots of new program work, SVBC is well positioned to capitalize on the Covid bike boom, helping people to transfer those pandemic-inspired bike habits to everyday riding.
We’re lobbying harder! Because of the online organizing through biketevist forums and local teams, we’ve built up the number of people actively involved and ready to help push for more.
We can raise the money to do more! With an intentional focus on individual donor fundraising, we can solidify our revenue model to be more predictable and sustainable.
I’m excited about the future of this organization at this moment, excited to be leading the organization at this time of opportunity, and look forward to working with you all to grow the bike movement. Thank you for your support and let’s, together, get out there and change the world for the better through the everyday use of the bicycle.
