Frequently Asked Questions

The Bikes Belong Coalition’s goal is to put more people on bicycles more often. We do this through federal policy, national partnerships, community grants, and promotion. Read more about what we do. 
The Bikes Belong Foundation works to improve bicycle safety and get more kids riding bikes. Learn more about the foundation.

Bikes Belong has four strategies:

1. We lobby the federal government for bicycle-friendly policies and funding.
2. We award cash grants for community bicycle projects.
3. We form partnerships with national groups that are performing leadership work that improves bicycling.
4. We promote bicycling as a safe, convenient, healthy activity for families and people of all ages.

Learn more about what we do.

Annual manufacturer and supplier dues are 3/40ths of 1% (.00075) of annual U.S. bicycle-related revenue.

Annual retailer dues start at $100 for $300,000 in annual sales and increase with more sales.

Please contact Bruno Maier, Membership & Development Director, at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 303/449-4893 x2.

You can join online. Or contact Bruno Maier, Membership & Development Director, at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 303/449-4893 x2.

Bikes Belong Coalition membership is open to the U.S. bicycle industry. Suppliers, distributors, dealers, and others who are involved in the bicycle business within the United States are eligible for membership. Join today.

You can contribute to the Bikes Belong Foundation, our 501c3 charity organization.

If you are a member of the U.S. bicycle industry, you should join Bikes Belong to help improve bicycling in America. There are many reasons to join Bikes Belong.

Search our grants map for grants in your state. 


Also, learn what we do for you nationally.

Yes. Nonprofit trails groups and public agencies or departments at the local, regional, and national levels may apply for facility grants. We encourage municipalities to partner with bicycle advocacy groups when applying for our funding in order to insure that bicyclists are involved in and supportive of the project. Bikes Belong does not fund individuals.

Each year, Bikes Belong awards $180,000 in cash grants to community bicycle projects. Bikes Belong Coalition does not have an endowment; the grants budget comes from the Employee Pro Purchase Program.

Search our grants map for grants in your state.

Letters can come from bicycle retailers, suppliers, and distributors, as well as big-box and specialty sporting goods stores that sell bikes. Letters should describe the proposed project or program, explain how it will improve revenue for the local bicycle business, and discuss why the shop supports the initiative and the applicant. A letter from a nonprofit organization does not qualify as a support letter from the local bike industry.

Bicycle advocacy organizations must have a mission and activities directly relating to bicycling. They typically work to improve bicycling conditions and affect positive change on a local, regional, state, or national level. Most are incorporated 501c3 nonprofits, and are affiliated with the Alliance for Biking and Walking.

Yes. Nonprofit trails groups and public agencies or departments at the local, regional, and national levels may apply for facility grants. We encourage municipalities to partner with bicycle advocacy groups when applying for our funding in order to insure that bicyclists are involved in and supportive of the project. Bikes Belong does not fund individuals.

The most important part of the grant application is Section B – Purpose of the Grant. Applicants should describe in detail how they will reach the goals outlined in their proposal. The Grants Committee analyzes proposals for impacts on bicycle ridership and other measurable results.

Bikes Belong funds roughly 15–20% of the proposals we receive.

Bikes Belong averages 20 grant awards per year.

Applicants can request up to $10,000. Requests for more than $10,000 will generally be viewed unfavorably unless the applicant has an extremely compelling case that the proposal is of unique and/or national importance.

Use your best judgment, relying on existing census data for population and travel mode, current and future bicycling conditions, and documented examples from similar programs or projects. Whatever logic you use to determine the number, provide us with a description of how you arrived at the projection.

Generally, grantees can expect to receive funding within three weeks of the grant award.

While priority is given to groups that have not received Bikes Belong funding before, past grantees are welcome to reapply. However, because of our limited funds, we rarely award grants to organizations and communities that have received Bikes Belong funding within the past three years. Search our grants database to see what we have funded.

Bikes Belong as a “sole funder” means that there will be no other funding from any other source for the project or program. “Initial funder” means Bikes Belong will the first funder for a project, and that additional revenue for the project or program will be secured by the applicant in the future.

First, make sure you’ve thoroughly read our Grant Seeker’s Guide. If you still have a question, contact: grants@bikesbelong.org.

The market area is the geographic region where your proposal will have a measurable and significant impact. For example, if a proposed path is likely to draw a large number of visitors from surrounding towns, then those towns should be included in the market area.

Most federal money for bicycle paths, trails, routes, and lanes comes from Transportation Enhancements funds. Visit the National Transportation Enhancements Clearinghouse to search a database and learn what projects have been funded in your state.

Most federal money for bicycle facilities and programs comes from federal transportation funds. Learn more.

The 2005 federal transportation law, SAFETEA-LU, authorized $4.5 billion for bicycling and walking. Learn more.

The Bikes Belong Coalition is a 501c6 industry group that represents the bike industry. Members are companies in the U.S. bicycle industry. Join Bikes Belong. 


The Bikes Belong Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit organization (a charity). The foundation accepts donations from other foundations and individuals. Donations are tax-deductible. Donate to the foundation.

Bikes Belong is a 501c6 nonprofit industry group representing the bicycle industry. We work to put more people on bicycles more often.
BikesPAC is the bicycle industry’s political action group, administered by Bikes Belong Coalition. BikesPAC collects individual donations from employees of Bikes Belong member companies and contributes the money to the campaigns of members of Congress who support bicycling. Learn more about BikesPAC.

Only full-time, salaried employees of Bikes Belong member companies can contribute to BikesPAC. In addition, BikesPAC must have a signed participation form from the member company before soliciting any employees for contributions to BikesPAC. Click here for the participation form.

Please complete a participation form and then contact BikesPAC Treasurer Gary Sjoquist at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 952/941-9391 x1288. You can make a contribution yourself and/or allow BikesPAC to solicit your employees for contributions.

You can download our logo from our website.

You can join our mailing list by completing this simple form.

E-mail your full name, e-mail address, and mailing address to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and she will be happy to remove you. Sorry for the inconvenience.

First, check out our press kit for story ideas and other resources.


Also look at our bicycling booklet, which outlines bicycling’s benefits to the economy, communities, health, families, and quality of life.

You’ll find more interesting fodder in our statistics section.

Finally, contact Tim Blumenthal, our Executive Director, for an interview. Call 303/449-4893 x1 or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

The Bikes Belong Coalition is sponsored by members of the U.S. bicycle industry. Suppliers, distributors, dealers, and others who are engaged in the U.S. bicycle business are eligible for membership. Bikes Belong members pay dues in proportion to their overall bicycle-related revenue. Join today.


The Bikes Belong Foundation is supported by individual donations and other foundations. Make a donation.

Contact us for more information.

To start, request a copy of our bicycling booklet. It outlines bicycling’s benefits to the economy, communities, health, families, and quality of life. View it online.

Check out our Action Steps to learn what you can do.

The Alliance for Biking and Walking is the leadership group for state and local advocacy organizations. Visit their website to look for a group in your area or learn how to start a new advocacy organization.

If a proposal is rejected, it is unlikely that Bikes Belong will fund the same idea in the future. However, on a limited basis, Bikes Belong may ask an organization to revise a rejected proposal for the next grant cycle. 
Additionally, Bikes Belong will accept applications for other projects or programs from organizations that have had previous requests denied.

When you submit an application via e-mail, you should receive an automatic response confirming receipt. We typically take three months to process applications and determine grant awards. Please see Deadlines in the grants section of our website for approximate decision times.

While we do not have a specific match requirement for our grants, Bikes Belong looks at leverage and funding partnerships very carefully. We prioritize projects that utilize funding from diverse sources, and we rarely award grants to groups that ask us to provide 50% or more of their project budget.

While we do not place a specific timeframe on grant awards, we are more apt to fund projects in which our funding will be spent within a year of the award.
If, for whatever reason, an applicant is unable to spend the Bikes Belong grant on the specific project outlined in the grant proposal, we ask that funding be returned to us immediately.