WE Bike NYC 2019 Annual Report
The year 2019 was WE Bike NYC’s first full year as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. WE focused on solidifying our Board structure while keeping our programs going at a similar level to previous years. WE strengthened our ties with the local community with a number of new partnerships.
WE Ride
In 2019 WE led 15 WE Bike NYC rides, and organized meetups for 4 rides led by other local groups. Together WE rode over 200 miles. 12 of our volunteers led or swept rides this year. 150+ riders participated in our rides. These numbers are very similar to our totals from 2018. Our longest ride of the year was our 34 mile “Intro to Route 9W”, which we did in partnership with Nightcap Brooklyn.
WE have an ongoing partnership with Citi Bike that allows us to offer free bikes to riders who don’t have their own bike. This year, 6 of our rides were Citi Bike-friendly, and 19 riders took advantage of our Citi Bike keys.
WE Learn
WE organized 5 workshops this year: on distance riding, riding over the age of 50, bike touring, Citi Bike, and bike law. Our “Baby Boomers Bike Too” workshop was a new concept for this year. Over 50 people attended our workshops this year.
Additionally, Recycle-a-Bicycle hosted a fix-a-flat workshop for our volunteers.
WE Socialize
WE kept up our tradition of having a Happy Hour on the third Thursday of every month, and rotated between boroughs and neighborhoods. In addition to our regular Happy Hours, WE also hosted a birthday party celebrating our 7th birthday and new nonprofit status, as well as an end of season party with a white elephant gift exchange. At one of our Happy Hours we also made jewelry from bike parts. Over 155 people came to our social events.
WE Partner
This year we cultivated new partnerships with Nightcap Brooklyn, Hostelling International and New York Botanical Garden. WE also joined NYC Bike Family, a coalition of groups working to respond to the rise in cyclist fatalities. We continued our partnerships with Citi Bike, Recycle-a-Bicycle, Transportation Alternatives, Vaccaro & White, Women’s Ride on Queens Boulevard, Sun + Air, 718 Cyclery and REI.
WE Recruit
Our volunteers led 2 new volunteer training sessions, during which we trained 7 new volunteers. WE updated our training manual with further instruction regarding our gender policy.
WE Reach Out
Our online community is growing. In 2019 we surpassed 5000 “likes” on our Facebook page, and 2000 members in our Facebook forum, the Female Bike Forum. Our monthly newsletter goes out to over 2000 individuals. WE also added a new feature to our newsletter called Meet a WE Biker.
WE hosted a table at the spring Brooklyn Bike Jumble.
WE Advocate
With the rising number of cyclist fatalities this year, WE got involved in taking action by making signs for and attending Transportation Alternatives’ Die-In. WE signed on to support the Biking Master Plan and demanded that the city take action to prevent future deaths.
WE Parents on Two Wheels
Our Moms on Wheels program has a thriving online community. The Moms on Wheels Facebook forum has over 500 members and provides helpful advice and support for parents who want to bike with their kids.
WE Lead
WE joined the Lyft/DOT Equity Advisory Board to guide Citi Bike’s expansion in an equitable way.
WE have started attending NYC Progressive Caucus meetings.
WE received a number of interview requests this year, and were interviewed by Gothamist/WNYC, NY Curbed, People for Bikes, Nonprofit Tangent podcast, and journalism students at NYU, Columbia, The New School and the New York Film Academy. An interview with one of our leaders (Diane Jones Randall) was featured in the exhibition Cycling in the City at the Museum of the City of New York. WE Bike NYC is increasingly well known and WE are seen as an authoritative source on biking in NYC.
New press:
Quotes from Riders
Qinglian Zhang: “The community brings me confidence to explore the areas that I wouldn’t be able to do on my own, and I really appreciate that WE leaders always test the route and provide participants a safe route and with cautious biking manners. I am so glad to be part of the WE Bike family, and cannot wait for the upcoming training.”
Maudene Nelson: “I love WE Bike NYC because I see myself in all the members and participants. I go back to when images and opportunities didn’t reflect the spectrum of real women. WE Bike is welcoming, encouraging, and inspiring. I love being around women who are mechanically adept, funny, generous, sharing, and fierce. Riding with WE Bike NYC is the whole package – camaraderie and burning calories! I’ve loved greeting WE Bike NYC at Bike Jumble, Bike Fetish, Summer Streets, expos, pop-ups, doughnut shops, and other events. You offer just about everything. You are one of the treasures of New York.”
Cristina Milleur: “It was good to reconnect with the folks of WE Bike – when you ride on the streets in your everyday life you so often go it alone, but it helped to join together with like minded people to rally and hold vigil. Every cyclist’s life is important to protect, the systems in place are failing us, and coming together made our voices louder to get that message heard.”
Financial Statement
As an all-volunteer nonprofit, WE Bike NYC organizes all of our programs on a shoestring budget. Here are our numbers from 2019:
Total funds raised: $1,743
Total expenses: $1,893
Imagine what we could do with a larger budget! To support the work of WE Bike NYC, visit http://webikenyc.org/support-us.
WE Bike NYC Board of Directors:
- Casey Ashenhurst
- Diane Jones Randall
- Gigi Agius
- Becky Hahn
- Kristina Sepulveda
- Chantal Hardy
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