2019: Year end challenge
2019 has been an amazing year for Elgin Bike Hub! As an organization and as a community, we have continued to grow and connect. Our success as an organization is the result of the enthusiastic participation of so many community members in our many rides and events and for that we are deeply grateful. This year was our first year as a 501c3 non-profit, having submitted our application in late winter. This step has allowed us to spend some serious time lining up resources to support our mission of making Elgin a healthier, happier, and more equitable community. We leveraged our new non-profit status to receive a $5,000-value in-kind donation of getting set up with Oracle NetSuite, as a comprehensive financial records system. Additionally, we began to carry general liability insurance, and with it instituted a ride participation waiver. Also behind the scenes, the Elgin Bike Hub board of directors, made up of nine community members, has been exploring and refining our vision for what comes next for our work in Elgin.
We have big dreams for the future of Elgin Bike Hub and for the city of Elgin. As we grow into those dreams, we need to grow our shared capacity to make biking, walking, and public transportation safe and practical ways to access all the opportunities of Elgin. We are already deep in planning phases for 2020 programming and are looking forward to some new programs, along with making some familiar rides even better. Another challenge to our community for growing our capacity is to build our donor base. We always look for ways to bring resources to Elgin to share them for the benefit of this wonderful community, and one way to help us get those resources is to show others (i.e. foundations, governments, corporate donors, etc.) the financial buy-in of our community.
So our challenge to you, can you become a sustaining donor for Elgin Bike Hub? Can you commit to giving any amount, monthly or quarterly? $5, $10, or $50 a few times a year goes a long way in our budget and it can help us tell the story of the movement for a healthier, happier, and more equitable Elgin. Join us!
Happy pedaling!
Parker Thompson, EBH Board Chair
