Missouri Foundation for Bicycling and Walking Annual Report for 2006

The Missouri Bicycle Foundation was formed in 2005 to assist in accomplishing the mission, vision, and objectives of MoBikeFed in all ways consistent with the Foundation's 501(c)3 status.

Missouri Bicycle Foundation

The Foundation assists with education, programming, and outreach.  As a 501(c)3 organization, donations to the Foundation are tax deductible.  The Foundation can accept grants from private foundations, agencies, and government agencies that help us accomplish our goals of making Missouri a better, safer place to walk and bicycle.

The year 2006 was the first complete calendar year for the Foundation, and we have just released the Foundation's first annual report.

Highlights from the report:

• The Foundation has helped lay the groundwork for and organize the recently announced Tour of Missouri. Like the Tour de Georgia and the Tour of California, Missouri's new pro bicycle race has the potential to bring in half a million spectators and over $25 million in economic impact to Missouri.
   
• In 2006 the Foundation has promoted bicycle safety education, particularly the League of American Bicyclists' League Cycling Instruction program. 
   
• The Foundation promotes safe bicycling through web postings, email messages, sample articles that can be printed in bicycle club newsletters, and news releases about particular topics of relevance to bicycle safety and education.
   
• Foundation President Joseph Torrisi has worked hard to promote the idea of school bicycle clubs, through articles, conference presentations, and personal contact with educators from around the state.  Torrisi is co-organizer of the successful Compton-Drew Middle School Dolphin Bicycle Club.
   
• The Foundation has worked to promote Missouri's new Safe Routes to School program, which promotes and encourages school children to safely walk and bicycle to school.
   
• The online Bicycling, Walking, and Running Events calendar is designed to promote bicycling, walking, running, and other events throughout Missouri.  This is the only statewide events calendar for these type of events and it is designed to, as far as possible, bring all of the events statewide and region-wide together into one calendar.  The calendar pages and event entries are currently receiving over 20,000 "hits" per month.  The calendar listed over 800 separate events in 2006, including weekly, monthly, and annual events.
   
• The Foundation works to educate the public about bicycle and pedestrian safety issues.  It issued press releases about specific bicycle and pedestrian safety issues and wrote articles about specific bicycle safety issues for publication in bicycle club newsletters.

Read the full Missouri Bicycle Foundation 2006 Annual Report here.

What's next?

• See the full list of Annual Reports on Bicycling, Walking, Running, and Trails in Missouri from our Federation and Foundation.
   
• Read a series of articles on What MoBikeFed has Done for You over the years.