2010 Philanthropy Activities

Summary of DBC philanthropy for 2010

2010 Philanthropy Activities

Diane Richter
Diane Richter

Diane Richter
Davis Bike Club Philanthropy Director

The Davis Bike Club has had a philanthropy director for a very long time, but it isn't a position that most members think about a lot . Until a few years ago, our budget for philanthropy was minimal, and some past directors didn't even spend that. That all changed when Steve Kahn became philanthropy director in the early 2000s; Steve enlarged the scope of our giving by orders of magnitude to include not only bike-oriented charities, but also community-based non-profit groups and charities. When I became philanthropy director this year, I vowed to follow in the direction that Steve had set for the DBC. This report is to let you know where we've donated some of that money all you hard-working volunteers have helped raise by volunteering on our DBC events.

The current budget for philanthropy is $6000. At the beginning of this year, I put out a request for ideas, and received several good ones. We donated money to the Yolo Ag Futures Alliance, and in return got a most interesting presentation at a membership meeting by Marcia Gibbs. We also donated to Davis Community Network, who now hosts our club website. In March, many of us enjoyed a free breakfast at the West Plainfield Fire Station, because of a donation to their annual pancake breakfast fundraiser. The Yolo County Food Bank also received a donation from us in March, and will again in November for their Holiday food drives.

The philanthropy that most members are familiar with is our donations to the fund-raising rides in which members participate and must raise a minimum amount of money for their participation. These are too many to list, but range from the NORCAL AIDS ride to rides for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the American Diabetes Association, Team in Training, and Ride for a Reason. The usual DBC donation is $100 per participating member, and so far this year we have spent over $1100 on these charity rides.

As the year has progressed, other community-based groups have received checks from us; Habitat for Humanity, STEAC, the American Red Cross, and Yolo Hospice are some of them. I've also given a donation to Bike 4th, as they are now the group that helps local homeless folks maintain their bicycles (it used to be Grace in Action). However, we did also purchase lights and locks for the Grace in Action guests.
Donations to memorial funds are not a usual item in the philanthropy budget, but unfortunately we had the occasion to make two such donations this year, to Tuleyome in memory of Anne Schneider, and to the Bruce Winder memorial fund.

So, as of this writing, we've spent just over $4530 in philanthropic donations. The remainder of the budget will be spent by the end of the year, mostly on groups such as the Food Bank and STEAC, and other groups that help those who are down on their luck.

If you have any questions or ideas for future philanthropy donations, let me know. If I can't make it happen this year, I'll pass on your ideas to the next philanthropy director, who will take my place in 2011.

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