One Street News

January 2010

Vol. 3, Issue 1

  1. New Belgium Supports Social Bike Business Program
  2. Help Fund One Street’s Next Steps
  3. Resources Highlights – Learn to Ride
  4. Hot Topics – Starting a New Organization
  5. Supporter Spotlight – Team Estrogen
    6.  

New Belgium Supports Social Bike Business Program 

Hopefully all of you saw our press release about this, but just in case you missed it, here is a condensed version.

Earlier this month, the New Belgium Brewing Company invested in One Street’s international Social Bike Business program to ensure it serves the Southwest of the United States. This program creates jobs through locally manufactured transportation bicycles for disadvantaged people. The program is already underway in Prague, Budapest and Los Angeles.  

The New Belgium Brewing Company prides itself on its sustainable operations through use of wind power, building with green materials, reuse of resources and recycling. Their parking lot is designed for bicycles. And their grant making program is one of only a few outside of the bike industry that specifically favors programs for increasing bicycling.

One Street’s Social Bike Business program tackles poverty by providing affordable, quality transportation bicycles through locally-run bicycle community centers and bike shops that serve disadvantaged neighborhoods. One Street has developed the replicable program elements and helps local leaders raise the funds needed to open their bicycle community center. At their center, locals can take part in certification job training courses that also pertain to other business careers including business management, customer service and bicycle manufacture. Through running their own bike business, or simply buying their own bike, people can save on transportation costs, increase their quality of life and create additional business opportunities. 

Help Fund One Street’s Next Steps

By: Sue Knaup, Executive Director

2010 will be our first full year as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which means we can finally charge right at our goals for serving local leaders with their bicycle advocacy needs. Our VISTA volunteer will arrive in July to help build our Social Bike Business program, full-time for a full year. We are so pleased by this opportunity and I can hardly wait to have this talented person in our office. But all of this means that we need your help more than ever before to ensure we have the capacity to fulfill the requests of all the local leaders who come to us for help with their bicycle campaigns and organization development.

 

One Street relies on the generous annual contributions of our supporters and sponsors in order to provide our services to leaders of organizations working to increase bicycling. Your contribution will also help us build our focused programs such as our Social Bike Business program and replicable models for organization development and bicycling campaigns.

 

It’s easy to donate to One Street either by check or credit card. Just click on the "Donate now" button in the upper right of this page and choose whether you’d like to donate by check or credit card. You’ll also find a form that shows you the benefits you will receive at certain levels. But we appreciate any amount you can send to help us assist even more local leaders with their bicycle efforts.  

Resources Highlights – Learn to Ride 

As we prepare for the start of the Prescott College course, The Bicycle: Vehicle for a Small Planet, we’ve been on the lookout for resources that will help the students become the best ambassadors for bicycling. They’ll learn how to teach others how to repair bikes. They’ll learn how to make the case for bicycling to government officials. And of course, they’ll learn how to teach others how to ride a bicycle.

Bike New York’s Learn to Ride slide show, recently posted to our Bicyclist & Driver Education page, is the simplest, most straight forward resource we have found for easing a new rider into the joy of bicycling. You’ll see kids as the subjects, but we’ve found that these techniques work for new riders of all ages.  

Hot Topics – Starting a New Organization

One of the most common requests for help we receive is from leaders of new organizations struggling with unexpected threats. Usually these calls come several months after the organization’s birth, after the fireworks of a new venture have died out and the hard work has begun. Each of these new organizations presents a unique set of issues to its founders, just like each newborn. And just like new parents, these courageous new leaders find that the fast-food versions of how-to guides for starting a new organization offer little help for explaining why their baby has engaged in self-destructive behavior.

 

At One Street, we specialize in analyzing organization behaviors no matter how old the organizations are. But because new organizations do not have the strength or capacity to withstand disruption, we often respond with more urgency to their concerns.

 

Over the years, we’ve found that most organizational emergencies develop from the leaders themselves. Either they do not agree on the organization’s direction or one of them has taken the leadership role in order to engage their own, personal agenda. When an established organization hits this sort of emergency, their long-held reputation in their community is often enough to weather the storm. But when the leaders of a new organization turn on each other, it can mean its death.

 

That is why One Street’s overview on our website for Starting an Organization starts with “People,” followed by “Purpose.” When you start your organization, make sure you invite people to join your leadership team who want to help the organization you describe. And then ensure your whole team helps to formulate and then agrees to the purpose (also called mission) that you set out to achieve together. These precautions will help ensure your baby grows up healthy and strong, ready to focus all of its energy on increasing bicycling for your community. 

Supporter Spotlight – Team Estrogen

Team Estrogen is one of our recent sponsors and we are honored to have them join our team of supporters. They sell clothes for women who want to engage in active sports, especially cycling. That is, they aren’t just selling active gear for currently active women, their whole philosophy is to encourage more women to get active and ride bikes. What a great way to increase bicycling!

 

Take a look at their site to find lots of inspirations for helping the women in your life become more active: http://www.teamestrogen.com/