Bicycling Advocates of Howard County - Annual Fundraiser
Howard County Bicycling Community,
BAHC is initiating an annual April fundraiser to cover our annual expenses. Our costs include: membership in League of Amercan Bicyclists, insurance, Web site (domain/hosting), Bike HoCo ride, donations to supporters of HC cycling, and administrative costs. We have a relatively modest goal of raising approximately 1500 dollars per year.
Since our formation in 2008 BAHC has made an effort to support the Howard County bicycling community, some of our achievements have been:
* Established relationships with HC Government and Police: BAHC has provided a single-POC/interface for HC bicyclists who wanted/needed to communicate with County Government on road issues, accidents/near accidents, and other issues relating to cycling
* Established daily road work e-mail communications from HC Public Works/Highways
* Requested installation of ‘Share the Road’ signs on major bike routes
* Organized training for hundreds of new bike riders through our annual Biking 101 class and supporting Princeton triathlon training rides
* Helped organize Howard County rally for annual Bike to Work Day
* Held an Annual Bike HoCo (formerly All Club) Ride and picnic to connect cyclists from differenct Clubs/groups
* Established BAHC web site/listserves/Facebook page to establish an electonic cycling community
* Organized a quarterly Bicycling Advisory Group with HC Government
* Testified at County Council/Zoning Board and Columbia Association on bicycle accessibility issues
* Assisted the Mid Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts (MORE) in creating a new mountain biking skills course at Rockburn Branch Park
* Conducted bicycle road condition surveys; established a road damage/hazard web site (<a href="http://www.seeclickfix.com/md_howard-county">http://www.seeclickfix.com/md_howard-county</a>;)
* In October 2010 held the first HC Bicycling Advocacy Forum > 100 attendees
* Became a 501(c)4 Non-Profit Corporation in February 2010
* In December 2010, made donations to HC Police Department bike team for the annual Police Unity Tour and West Friendship Volunteer Fire Department for their support of the cycling community
Donations are not currently eligible for income tax deduction since BAHC is a 501(c)4 (Civic League type) versus (c)3 (Charitable Type) non-profit corporation. Donations can be made on Paypal – link is available on the BAHC web site: <a href="http://www.BikeHoCo.org">http://www.BikeHoCo.org</a>; or by check to: Bicycling Advocates of Howard County, c/o Jack Guarneri, 10224 Little Brick House Court, Ellicott City, MD 21042.
Jack Guarneri
President, Bicycling Advocates of Howard County