For over 50 years, Bike East Bay has been mobilizing by bike to build thriving communities that are joyful, safe, and inclusive. Look around the East Bay today, and you can see the tangible results of this enduring commitment—but these victories were not won by a single person or by Bike East Bay alone. They are the direct result of our collective movement, whose power comes from our deep connections, our diversity, and our unwavering belief that streets should prioritize people over cars.
Bike East Bay is part of what we call the bike ecosystem: a collection of people and organizations all working together to create a people-powered force for change. We have a small but mighty staff of 12, but our super power lies in our larger network, which acts as a force multiplier. This network includes everyone from our bike education instructors and bike valet attendants to local advocates and community partners to bike shops. It’s the combined energy of this ecosystem that allows us to accomplish so much more than we could alone.
EMPOWERING LOCAL LEADERSHIP
Bike East Bay can’t be everywhere all the time, nor should we be. Our capacity as one organization is limited, and more importantly, we believe the most effective change happens when we center the expertise of the people who live and ride in their neighborhood every day.
Our Green Mobility Ambassadors program is designed to train and empower local champions, giving them the tools and knowledge they need to advocate in their communities. The more voices speaking out in support of safe and connected infrastructure, the more cities and elected officials must listen.
FISCAL SPONSORSHIP
Building a nonprofit is time-consuming and challenging. We support community-based groups by serving as their fiscal sponsor, which removes overwhelming and costly administrative burdens and enables them to accept donations and apply for grants under our 501(c)(3). Bike Walk Alameda recently decided to dissolve its own nonprofit to be fiscally sponsored by Bike East Bay. This model multiplies our collective impact by freeing local leaders to build community and fight for people-first infrastructure.
COLLABORATIVE FUNDING
In the nonprofit world, funding can sometimes feel competitive. We recognize that there are only so many resources available, but we aim to lift up and support community partners in the fight with us. Our strategy is to expand the pie, so there’s more funding available for everyone. A key example of this is our successful advocacy with the Alameda County Transportation Commission, where we fought to add funding for education programming in equity priority communities. This funding now goes directly to our partners Waterside Workshops, Cycles of Change, Spokeland, and Red, Bike and Green who run critical programs in their communities.
FROM GRASSROOTS TO GRASSTOPS
Not only is building and fostering this broad grassroots movement vital to achieving our goals, we must also work effectively at the grasstops level. Bike East Bay has spent over 50 years building essential relationships with city staff, elected officials, and decision-makers across the region. This is where we focus on coalition building, advocating for regional bikeways, advancing state legislation, and shaping local policy.
This grasstops work allows us to bring our knowledge—developed over decades of advocacy—to the table, connecting local advocates with City staff to foster projects and facilitate community-based solutions. We don’t have a secret formula for every scenario, but we know what is often effective and are committed to sharing that knowledge and best practices across the ecosystem.
BUILDING A BIKE CULTURE
To truly shift transportation habits and create a thriving bike culture in the East Bay, we need groups addressing all aspects of the rider’s experience and welcoming more people on bikes.
Partners like Red, Bike and Green host weekly rides for the Black and African community. Bike Concord runs the Bike Kitchen and free bike repair tent where they fix up people’s bikes. Albany Strollers & Rollers offers bike valet parking at community events, and Spokeland pairs folks with professional mechanics to learn to repair and build bicycles. We know that to get more folks on bikes, we need groups that address the social, educational, and cultural barriers alongside the infrastructure challenges.
STRONGER TOGETHER
Our movement is like a bike wheel; every person and organization is a spoke, supporting each other and making the whole stronger. Over the last 50 years, we’ve gained incredible momentum as we roll forward, welcoming more advocates, local groups, and community partners into our mission.
Our projects today reflect the strength of our ecosystem. We don’t have to fight quite as hard for the half mile stretch of bike lane in many cities, and are able to shift some of our focus and energy to major regional connectors, like San Pablo Ave, the East Bay Greenway, and the Bay Bridge. These are campaigns we only dreamed about in 1972.
It’s through our collective voices in this growing movement that we’re seeing positive change take shape in and by our communities. You are these voices, you are building the thriving communities where people come first.