CONTRIBUTE TO BICYCLING MONTEREY— plus FAQs about contributing

Contributions in any amount are appreciated. For FAQs, scroll down.

To contribute with a debit or credit card, or PayPal balance

Click donate button below.



 

To contribute by check

Refer to FAQ #10 below.

Thank you!

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F A Q s 

Feel free to phone anytime if you have other questions.
  1. “May I view the total amount of money contributed, and who has contributed?” 
    YES. See the Financial Contributors page (click here).
  2. “Can my contribution be listed as from Anonymous?” 
    YES. When making your contribution, simply indicate that preference.
  3. “Will you send me a written acknowledgement of my contribution?”

    YES, if you include a postal or email address with your contribution. It is a pleasure to send a written acknowledgement to contributors.
  4. “May I make a contribution in memory of someone?”
    YES. When making your contribution, simply indicate “in memory of” and the person’s name.
  5. “May I specify how I’d like my contribution to be used?”
YES. To do that, include a note indicating which Bicycling Monterey project you’d like your contribution to help with, or give us a call.

Another option is to include a note “use where most needed.” We will then apply your contribution toward supplies for any of Bicycling Monterey’s current projects, or toward Bicycling Monterey’s ongoing general operating expenses.

6. “May I set up an automatic monthly, or yearly, contribution?”
YES. PayPal has an option for doing that. And on our contributors page, we refer to any automatic monthly contributor as a Pedal Pusher. 
7. “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.
8. “Is Bicycling Monterey a business?”
NO. Since founded in May 2009— and still the case in May 2023—Bicycling Monterey’s founder, a full-time resident of Monterey County since 1981, has done the work of this website and all other Bicycling Monterey projects entirely as an unpaid volunteer. See a related comment from a Santa Cruz County bike advocacy leader. 
9. “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.

10. “May I contribute by check?” 
YES. Make check payable to Bicycling Monterey’s founder,  Mari Lynch, or payable as follows: “Mari Lynch OR Bicycling Monterey.”

Mail check to:
Mari Lynch
Founder, Bicycling Monterey
PO Box 3041
Monterey, CA 93942-3041

11. 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 / 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.)

Why contribute to Bicycling Monterey?

  • See what people say about the Bicycling Monterey site and projects. 
  • Bicycling Monterey represents Monterey County as a local partner of the California Bicycle Coalition. As another Monterey Bay region CalBike partner, Bike Santa Cruz County, commented on social media on 2/14/22: “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.” Yes, we do all the Bicycling Monterey work on a shoestring budget; the total of all financial contributions over the first 14 years was $17,132.00 or $3.35 per day. 
  • As Bicycling Monterey’s 15th year begins, in May 2023, there is not yet an official bicycle coalition for Monterey County, or for the Monterey Bay Tri-County Region. Bicycling Monterey serves as an Information Hub for Biking Monterey County and also provides a 35-section directory of Monterey County Bicycling Resources / Bike Community Leaders.
  • Bicycling Monterey’s more than 700 posts and pages also provide resources and inspiration for people who bike anywhere! The riding skills and safety section, the Spanish resources compilation, and much more are used by people around the state, nation, and beyond.
  • For a brief history of Bicycling Monterey’s first decade, click here.

Thank you, financial contributors!

For other ways to support this work (e.g., volunteering time or contributing project supplies), please phone us anytime.
Feel free to phone anytime with your questions or comments.

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In case you’re curious, here’s an archived note about crowdfunding and the 2016 rewards program:

  • 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. Contributing via Go Fund Me incurred a platform fee of 5%, in addition to a transaction fee (2.9% plus 30 cents). 
  • 2016 rewards program: An optional rewards-for-contributors program ran 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. If you’re curious who they were, see https://bikemonterey.org/about/financial-donations/fundraising-project-contributors-of-gift-certificates-or-other-rewards.