This document was adapted from the National Center for Nonprofit Boards “Ten Basic Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards”, 1988 (DOC) (128KB)

This document is a 20-year vision for Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, published in 2007; 6 pages (PDF) (1.45MB) (2.21.2008)

This is the manual from our 2002 Thunderhead Retreat at Camp Ojiketa in MN; 44 pages (PDF) (564KB)

This is the manual from our 2003 Thunderhead Retreat at the Thunderhead Ranch in WY; 58 pages (PDF) (389KB)

Here is the manual from our 2004 Retreat in Victoria, Canada; 42 pages (PDF) (282KB)

This memo contains the results of a 50 state, and District of Columbia, legislation search on 3’ passing laws.  Under each state you will find a citation to the most relevant statute found, text of the statute, notes on wrinkles in the statute, and a link to the law if possible. Courtesy of the League of Illinois Bicyclists. 9 pages (DOC) (84KB)

Here are three quick checklists for getting media attention, writing press releases, and gauging newsworthiness; 2 pages (PDF) (11KB)

The Path to a Livable City is a 40-year plan document created by Livable City in 2002, 52 pages (PDF) (2.9MB)

This article is by Susie Stevens, former Executive Director of Thunderhead Alliance; 2 pages (PDF) (12.7KB)

“The most useful thing I found when I applied was this that walks you through each question, gives you things to consider, etc.” - Brent Hough, Missouri Bicycle Federation. Note: The Form 1023 may have been updated since these tips were created, but we believe this site will still be of help to anyone filling out this paperwork. (URL)

For in-depth info on why 501(c)3 non-profit organizations can and should engage in lobbying and similar campaigns, visit the Alliance for Justice: 

This article by Kim Klein and Stephanie Roth from the Grassroots Fundraising Journal will give you some ideas for how to raise $2,500 (or more) in 10 days (or less); 2 pages (PDF) (52KB)

This 1999 paper by Todd Litman of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute investigates electric vehicle benefits and costs; 25 pages (PDF) (76KB)

Enhancing America’sCommunities: A Guide to Transportation Enhancements is a publication of the National Transportation Enhancements Clearinghouse that gives an overview of the federal Transportation Enhancements funding program; 40 pages(PDF) (2.68MB)

This 2004 report from the Endocrine Society gives an overview of the obesity epidemic as well as obesity demographics, cost burden to society and health industry, and other information on obesity in the U.S.; 117 pages (PDF) (1.25MB)

This 2006 report from the Center for Housing Policy examines the combined financial burden of housing and transportation costs and the correlations between the two;32 pages (PDF) (4.38MB)

The National Center for Transit Research at University of South Florida has released this white paper.  Well worth the read, it easily justifies the placement of bikes on buses, and will be a handy paper to present if asked by your local transit authority if bikes on buses “really work”.  96 pages (PDF) (1.84MB)

CDC’s Active Community Environments Initiative (ACES) promotes walking, bicycling, and the development of accessible recreation facilities.  Check out the Active Community Environment Working Papers at the bottom of the page. (URL)

This document contains information for prospective advertisers and ad rates for Bicycle Indiana Resource Guide, a publication of the Indiana Bicycle Coalition. (PDF) (125KB)

This document contains information for prospective advertisers and ad rates for Bicyclin, the newsletter of the Indiana Bicycle Coalition. (PDF) (148KB)

Earn extra money with your organization’s newsletter by selling ad space to local businesses!  Check out the ad rates from the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition’s Tube Times. (PDF) (199KB)

These notes are from a Thunderhead Mutual Aid Conference call on Advanced Membership. Topics discussed include: Best Practice- Increasing Renewal Rates and Average Donations; Best Practice-Signing up Members at Events; and Innovation: Wholesaling memberships to bike shops; 3 pages (DOC) (38KB)

This is a partial list of benefits of bike lanes to drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians.  Prepared by Matthew Zoll, Chair, Tucson-Pima County Bicycle Advisory Committee.  Courtesy of Prescott Alternative Transportation; 1 page (PDF) (51KB)

Earn extra money with your organization’s newsletter by selling ad space to local businesses!  Check out the ad rates from the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin’s Wisconsin Bicyclist.(URL)

An overview of advertising rates and guidelines for the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin’s annual Wisconsin Ride Guide - a printed guide to bicycling events throughout the state. (PDF) (49KB)

This job was posted to Thunderhead’s job page on 1.31.08 (DOC) (37KB)

Here’s a great overview of the “Advocacy Power Pyramid” summarized by Marjorie Holderer of the Alabama Bicycle Coalition (based on work done by Charlie Gandy from the National Center for Bicycling and Walking); 1 page (DOC) (22KB) (2.21.2008)

This is a seven-minute long video which covers all the basics of bicycle riding, from proper helmet and bicycle fit to the proper way to ride in traffic. From the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; 7 minutes, 24 seconds (URL)

America Bikes is a collaborative effort of leaders of the bicycle community to advocate for positive outcomes for bicycling in the next federal transportation funding bill.  Their website will keep you updated on the bicycle community’s agenda for the next federal transportation bill. (URL)

This policy guide, America Bikes America Benefits: TEA-21 reauthorization priorities from the bicycle community, was published by America Bikes in 2003 and contains some bicycling statistics along with America Bikes agenda for this federal transportation bill; 20 pages (PDF) (3MB)

The 2001 SFBC Annual Report; 2 pages (PDF) (758KB)

The 2004 Annual Report from the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition; 4 pages (PDF) (719KB)

The 2005 Annual Report of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition; 2 pages (PDF) (1.95MB)

The 2005 Annual Report of Thunderhead Alliance; 8 pages (PDF) (4.96MB)

The 2006 Annual Report of Thunderhead Alliance; 8 pages (PDF) (2.25MB)

The October 2004-September 2005 Annual Report of the Texas Bicycle Coalition; 36 pages (PDF) (5.57MB)

This 2006 Prescott Alternative Transportation Appeal letter brought in $5,200, cost about $1,000, and went out to about 3,000 people and businesses in the Prescott, AZ area. (DOC) (75KB)

This sample form is for a free classroom bicycle safety presentation by the Bicycle Coalition of Maine as part of their Safe Routes to School program; 1 page (PDF) (9.99KB)

This sample articles of incorporation are from the Bicycle Coalition of Maine. (DOC) (29KB)

From the North Carolina Department of Transportation; 2 pages (PDF) (87KB)

This article asks the leaders of the auto industry what their thoughts are on global warming. (URL)

This colorful flyer teaches kids 4 ways to be a safe bike driver.  The back side contains a message for parents on how to improve safety for their kids; 2 pages (PDF) (425KB)

This colorful flyer teached kids 4 ways to be a safe walker.  The back side contains a message for parents on how to improve safety for their kids; 2 pages (PDF) (562KB)

These notes are from Thunderhead’s Membership Development Mutual Aid conference call on 09-22-2006. Topics discussed include: why do people join organizations?, two great resources; membership dues, membership packages, vehicles for attracting members, and databases.  Dave Snyder was the call’s moderator; Notes by Barry Zalph, Bicycling for Louisville and Michelle Avola of Naples Pathways; 3 pages (DOC) (39KB)

This spreadsheet contains data collected for Thunderhead Alliance’s 2007 Benchmarking Report on bicycling and walking in the U.S. Tabs differentiate between data for the 50 states and the top 50 most-populous cities.  Data collected here includes bicycling and walking modeshare, demongraphics, safety statistics, funding for bicycling and walking, policies and the state and local level, and more. (XLS) (567KB)

Thunderhead Alliance’s first biannual Benchmarking Report on bicycling and walking in the U.S. This report contains a vast amount of data from 50 states and the 50 most-populous cities including bicycling and walking modeshare, safety, demographics, funding for bicycling and walking projects, Safe Routes to School, state and local policies, bike parking, bike/transit integration, and more.  The report also compares data on bicycling and walking to public health data. (PDF) (52.6MB)

Chapter 6 of the 2007 Thunderhead Alliance Benchmarking Report takes a look at Thunderhead organizations in the top 50 most-populous U.S. cities (plus a few more who sent us their information) and state-wide Thunderhead organizations in the U.S. We collected data on things such as revenue sources, number of full-time-equivalent (FTE) staff, memebrship numbers, and media hits.  This chapter is good if you are looking to see what is possible for advocacy organizations in terms of membership and revenue, and to help you set goals for your organizations. (PDF) (5.69MB)

This is a nice overview of the benefits of bike lanes by Prescott Alternative Transportation; 1 page (PDF) (43KB)

Rails to Trails Conservancy’s Benefits of Rail Trails include Health, Transportation/Livability, Conservation/Environment, Economy/Revitalization, and Historic Preservation/Community Identity. (URL)

Online bike crash reporting and analysis from the North Carolina Department of Transportation. (URL)

How many bicycles are sold each year? What types of speciality bikes are most popular?  How many bike shops are there anyways?  Check out these vital statistics on the bicycle industry from the National Bicycle Dealers Association. (URL)

(DOC) (28KB) (2.20.2008)

This set of recommendations from the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals is useful to anyone considering adding new bicycle parking or in creating policies and guidelines for bicycle parking in a community.  This publications includes recommendations for the rack element, the rack area, and the rack site; 8 pages (PDF) (517KB)

This brochure from Active Living Resources is available FREE in both the English and Spanish languages for local printing. You can even localize it with some contact info and a logo on the back page. (URL)

The third installment of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance PSA series “Decide to Ride” looks at how bike commuters inevitably will sometimes ride in the dark and in the rain.  This PSA shows that dark and rain aren’t such a big deal if you have the right mindset and play it safe: 30 seconds (URL)

The sixth installment of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance PSA series “Decide to Ride” reminds cyclists to ride with traffic (not against it); 30 seconds (URL)

This very short public service announcement focuses on the hazards of being “doored.” 15 seconds (URL)

This public service announcement won an Emmy award. It focuses on wrong-way riding, and explains the physics principles behind a head on-collision between a bicyclist and a car; 30 seconds (URL)

A listing of bicycle songs from Bicycle Universe. (URL)

MassBike’s “Bicycling and Health” Fact Sheet has some good stats on how bicycling can impact obesity, calories burned bicycling, and other public health studies that relate to bicycling. (URL)

MassBike’s “Bicycling and the Environment” Fact Sheet has some good stats on how bicycling can impact pollution and gasoline consumption. (URL)

The Colorado Department of Transportation initiated this research to provide baseline information from which planning and funding decisions can be made. (URL)

MassBike has some detailed fact sheets on bicycling in Massachusetts, the environmental and health benefits of bicycling, and national and local bicycle crash/injury statistics on their website here. (URL)

The League of American Bicyclists and Federated Media created this 2007 Bike Month radio PSAs; 30 seconds (MP3)

The League of American Bicyclists and Federated Media created this 2007 Bike Month radio PSAs; 60 seconds (MP3)

New York City’s Transportation Alternative’s 8th Annual Bicycling Report Card. (PDF) (167KB)

New York City’s Transportation Alternative’s 8th Annual Bicycling Report Card. (PDF) (198KB)

Here are some oft-quoted statistics from 2000 including how many people ride bikes, why people ride bikes, bikes sold each year, bikes stolen each year, and some other bicycling facts; 5 pages (DOC) (42KB)

The fourth installment of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance PSA series “Decide to Ride” reminds cyclists to “Pay attention to traffic signs. You are small. The car is big.” 30 seconds (URL)

The first installment of the Bicycle Transportation PSA series “Decide to Ride” asks a simple question: what if you decided to hop on a bike instead of into a car to get to work? The answer, for this character at least, is that it’s so amazing you just might feel like a superhero!; 30 seconds (URL)

This hotly-debated topic is a favorite of folks who would love to see the streets free of bicycles. Check out Texas Bicycle Coalition‘s resource sheet debunking this myth. (PDF) (84KB)

This hotly-debated topic is a favorite of folks who would love to see the streets free of bicycles. St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation steps up to the plate to debunk this myth. Bicyclists Pay Their Way, Oh Yeah!  (Cyclists Pay Their Fair Share) By Dr. Brent Hugh; 2 pages (DOC) (27KB)

This hotly-debated topic is a favorite of folks who would love to see the streets free of bicycles. See the Alabama Bicycle Coalition’s rebuttal/Op-Ed to the myth that bicyclists don’t pay their fair share: Bicyclists, Drivers, and Taxes . Courtesy Morgan Andrulli. (DOC) (24KB)

Check out these maps from the city of Madison including an interactive map to help residents and visitors navigate the Madison area by bike, bus, foot, or boat. (URL)

Thes Texas Bike & Walk to School Day Public Service Announcements (PSAs) were developed by Texas Bicycle Coalition for the use of Texas Bike & Walk to School Day participating schools.  The four PSAs have different focuses including one on health and one for safety and are meant to be read on the radio or on TV. (DOC) (26KB)

A short Bike to Work Commercial from the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin, “If you haven’t seen this video - it brings bicycling to a new level of consciousness!” (MOV)

This document contains advise and examples from fundraising bike rides compiled by Tim Baldwin; 13 pages (DOC) (77.5KB)

Bike rides are extremely popular methods of highlighting your organization, generating community support, and recruiting new members. Here are some tips for planning a bike event from Lucinda Means of the League of Michigan Bicyclists. (PDF) (30.5KB)