HOW TO CONTRIBUTE TO BICYCLING MONTEREY— plus FAQs
HOW CAN I CONTRIBUTE BY DEBIT CARD, CREDIT CARD, or PayPal balance?
Contribute via Bicycling Monterey’s Donate page at PayPal.com. Either click here or click the Donate button in our sidebar. ➡️
Note: It is not necessary to have a PayPal account. For people who do have a PayPal account, another option is to donate at https://PayPal.Me/BicyclingMonterey.
Bicycllng Monterey is a grassroots volunteer effort, with all the founder‘s time donated for 15 years as a labor of love for the county, country, and planet. Total financial contributions received over Bicycling Monterey’s first 15 years was $20,019 (averaging less than $4/day). See what people say about the Bicycling Monterey site and projects. Imagine how much more could be accomplished with more financial support! Your contribution in any amount is appreciated. More FAQs below.
HOW CAN I CONTRIBUTE BY CHECK?
Make your check “pay to the order of”: Mari Lynch
In “memo” section, note: For Bicycling Monterey
Mail check to:
Mari Lynch
Founder, Bicycling Monterey
PO Box 3041
Monterey, CA 93942-3041
FAQs
May I view the total amount of money contributed to date, and who has contributed?
YES. See the Financial Contributors page (click here). And further acknowledged there as Pedal Pushers are automatic monthly contributors of $10 or more.
Can my contribution be listed as from Anonymous?
YES. When making your contribution, simply indicate that preference.
Will the amount of my individual contribution be displayed?
NO. Your individual contribution amount is simply included in the total contributions figure on Bicycling Monterey’s Financial Contributors page.
Will you send me a written acknowledgement of my contribution?
YES, if a postal or email address is included with your contribution. It is a pleasure to send written acknowledgements!
May I make a contribution in memory of someone?
YES. When making your contribution, simply indicate “in memory of” and the person’s name.
May I specify how I’d like my contribution to be used?
YES. If contributing via PayPal, Bicycling Monterey’s “Use this donation for” drop-down offers options, i.e., “Website and Public Outreach,” “Education,” “Advocacy,” and “General Operating Expenses.” If contributing via check (or PayPal), you may include a note.
If you don’t specify a preference, your contribution will be used where most needed—toward one of Bicycling Monterey’s current projects, or for general operating expenses. You’re also welcome to phone us.
Aren’t there already plenty of financial contributions?
The total of all financial contributions received over Bicycling Monterey’s first 15 years was $20,019 (averaging $1,335/year, $111/month, and less than $4/day). And that’s gross contributions, before expenses. For updates, see current total.
Why is Bicycling Monterey a worthy recipient of contributions?
- See what people say about the Bicycling Monterey website and projects.
- As of May 1, 2024 there is not yet an official bicycle coalition for Monterey County, or for the Monterey Bay Tri-County Region. Bicycling Monterey helps fill that gap by serving as Information Hub for Biking Monterey County. Bicycling Monterey represents Monterey County as a local partner of the California Bicycle Coalition / CalBike. As another Monterey Bay region CalBike partner, Bike Santa Cruz County, commented on social media: “Our friend, Mari, operates @BikeMonterey on a literal shoestring budget. Please support the work Bicycling Monterey does to support cycling and encourage climate consciousness across the country and beyond.” See that and other comments from Santa Cruz County bike advocacy leaders.
- For a brief history of Bicycling Monterey’s first decade, click here.
- Bicycling Monterey’s resource compilations include a 35-section directory of Monterey County Bicycling Resources / Bike Community Leaders.
- Are you outside Monterey County? Bicycling Monterey’s nearly 800 posts and pages also provide resources and inspiration for people who bike elsewhere! The riding skills and safety section, the Spanish resources compilation, and much more are used by people around the state, nation, and beyond.
- Not least of all, contributors appreciate that we keep careful records of all financial contributions, just as we do our records of contributions of project supplies.
Is there a poster I can share to help encourage people to contribute to Bicycling Monterey?
YES. Download this PDF: Bicycling Monterey – 8.5 x 11 poster with QR code. A QR code is helpful on a physical poster for people who are out and about, so they can scan the code and don’t need to type a URL into their phone. We encourage you to print that poster and share it on community bulletin boards, etc.
Is my contribution to Bicycling Monterey tax-deductible?
NO, not at this time. Among our current projects is advocating for bike-friendly legislation, and—just as is the case with the California Bicycle Coalition—contributions are not tax-deductible. (Contributions to the California Bicycle Coalition are not tax-deductible because they help support legislative lobbying efforts. People who only want to make a contribution if it is tax-deductible may wish to contribute to CalBike’s California Mobility Fund.)
Hasn’t Bicycling Monterey been supported by government grants or taxpayer funds, e.g., Measure X?
NO. For fifteen years (1 May 2009 – 1 May 2024), all Bicycling Monterey work has been accomplished without receiving any local, state, or federal government grants or funds.
You may be curious to know that Bicycling Monterey has been described as being the work of a social entrepreneur. What’s that? As defined by the Ashoka Foundation (“Everyone a Changemaker“): “Rather than leaving societal needs to the government or business sectors, social entrepreneurs find what is not working and solve the problem by changing the system, spreading the solution, and persuading entire societies to move in different directions.”
Bicycling Monterey is among bike advocates worldwide encouraging societies to move in the direction of more people biking!
Does Bicycling Monterey receive money from businesses and organizations for promotion on bikemonterey.org?
NO. For fifteen years (1 May 2009 – 1 May 2024), all information has been provided as a public service. We have not accepted money in exchange for promotion, including that there have been no pay-per-clicks on the Bicycling Monterey site. We also have not charged any fees for businesses and organizations participating in Bicycling Monterey projects, e.g., HER Helmet Thursdays. While businesses are not excluded from making a financial contribution, fewer than a dozen have chosen to do so over the first 15 years.
Is Bicycling Monterey a business?
NO. For fifteen years (1 May 2009 – 1 May 2024),the work of Bicycling Monterey’s founder on this website and on all other Bicycling Monterey projects has been done entirely as an unpaid volunteer.
Why was the original domain name marilynch.com/blog?
As Kera Abraham reported in the Monterey County Weekly in May 2011:
“What started as Dehmler’s [Bicycling Monterey founder Mari Lynch Dehmler’s] personal blog two years ago quickly evolved into an umbrella website for all things two-wheeled in Monterey County.” To learn more, click here.
(Contributions to the California Bicycle Coalition / CalBike are not tax-deductible because they help support legislative lobbying efforts. People who only want to make a contribution if it is tax deductible have the option of donating to CalBike’s California Mobility Fund.)
If you have other questions, please feel free to phone us anytime.
Thank you, financial contributors!
For other ways to support this work (e.g., volunteering time or contributing project supplies), please phone us anytime.
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An archived note about the 2016 rewards program and crowdfunding:
On December 22, 2015, ten women launched a crowdfunding effort, “Volunteer & Service Fundraiser for Mari Lynch Dehmler, Bicycling Monterey Site & Projects, organized by Laurel Thomsen” at https://gofundme.com/bikemonterey. An optional rewards-for-contributors program was added to the GFM campaign from Feb 26-Dec 31, 2016. After 2016 the rewards program wasn’t continued, simply because it required far too many additional volunteer hours of Mari to be worthwhile. (Nonetheless, the businesses that provided rewards in an effort to help were appreciated; they were: https://bikemonterey.org/about/financial-donations/fundraising-project-contributors-of-gift-certificates-or-other-rewards.) Contributing via Go Fund Me incurred a platform fee of 5%, in addition to a transaction fee (2.9% plus 30 cents), and we chose to discontinue the Go Fund Me campaign.