Are there sponsorships and grants available for my Nonprofit?
Bike Blending in action at Longfellow Elementary’s Spring Carnival
Our Nonprofit Discount Program grants refund awards of 15% off your purchase of Rock the Bike gear to a limited number of nonprofit or educational applicants per quarter and has a simple application process.
Past Success:
Spring Carnival Longfellow Elementary School
The Fender Blender Universale was a hit at Longfellow’s Carnival. The booth was busy, there was always a line, kids back for seconds and thirds. They enjoyed picking their own ingredients and mixing their smoothie on a bike using their own legs!
The day before the Carnival, my students were involved by prepping the fresh organic strawberries and bananas. Other favorite frozen ingredients were pineapple, blueberries, mangoes, and raspberries…all organic. My class parents helped run the booth. Room 202 community provided school community by offering a healthy drink while getting exercise. It was wonderful to see the kids and adults working out for their delicious drink.
During and after the Carnival, there were so many compliments on the Fender Blender. Two classrooms used the Fender Blender as part of their End of the Year Celebrations. I had parents asking me where did Longfellow get the Blender and wanted one for themselves. A teacher mentioned that she would like to use it for fundraising for a field trip. The PTA is planning to make coffee and mocha shakes for their night time meetings. The Fender Blender was a wonderful addition to our school carnival.
- Helen, Longfellow Elementary School, San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Jewish Federation Biennial Celebration
Hazon debuted our Rock The Bike Fender Blender Universale at the San Francisco Jewish Federation Biennial Celebration with attendence in the thousands: Jewish community professionals, lay-leaders, families & teens.
The bike was such a success that Hazon was highlighted in a J-weekly article: www.jweekly.com/article/full/61482/to-honor-its-past-and-….
We’ve used the FBU at the annual Jewish Environmental Bike Ride, May 6-9th, 2011, and served organic smoothies at the Urban Adamah farm celebration in Berkeley on June 19th.
We’re surprised to see that people are interested in the bike powered blender beyond the ability to pedal – children and adults are mesmerized by the actual mechanics of the Fender Blender.
Hazon has found that a pedal-powered blender helps us to engage with the community meaningfully. It’s a perfect tool for engagement that incorporates two areas of work: alternative transportation and sustainable food systems.
- Whitney, Bay Area Programming Fellow of Hazon, San Francisco, CA.
Requirements:
- Proof of nonprofit status (501c3)
- Paragraph of who your nonprofit is, what your group does, and how you intend to use the bike (if an event, provide us with information about your event)
Restrictions:
- Discount applies to original Rock the Bike gear, not re-sold items like the Mundos or Xtracycles
- Discount does not apply to shipping
- Discount does not apply to custom work
- Discounts for Pedal Power Stage Gear is given on a case-by-case basis
Steps to receive a refund award from Rock The Bike:
1. Please send us an email with the first part of your application, a well-written paragraph or better yet, post a blog entry we can link to, that explains:
+ Your project’s goals
+ Who is the intended audience and pedalers
+ Where in the country and where specifically (school, community farm, etc) it will be used
+ How you heard about Rock The Bike
+ What grants or other sources of funding your organization will apply for to cover the cost of a Fender Blender
+ If and how your group is involved with the local bike community
+ What other activities or devices you would like to pedal power
+ What is the coolest thing you have ever seen or heard of being human powered
2. We’ll let you know within 1 week if you are eligible.
3. If you are eligible, please place your order online or over the phone. We will note on the order how much of an award you are eligible for, but it will not be deducted at this time.
4. Within two months of receiving your Fender Blender, email or mail us the second part of your application (examples above):
+ At least four photographs of the Fender Blender in use at your events / program. Photos should be action shots that show the bike made an impact. Include both people and the gear. Hopefully you can capture a moment of the energy.
+ A well-written update on how the Fender Blender is benefiting the project and any surprises or exciting developments!
5. After we receive the second part of your application, we evaluate it for completeness and award the refund.
* If you do not want us to publish your application or photo, please let us know. This has no effect on our decision.
Other Resources for Nonprofits: In addition to the sponsorships, grants from other organizations and individuals have been successfully pursued to get a Fender Blender for a non-profit or school use. The PG&E Bright Ideas program has been one such donor.
Alternately, you may be able to get a loan to cover the purchase and have it pay itself back – a fantastic use of the product is to sell smoothies. In our experience, it is possible for the Fender Blender to pay for itself by the end of one day!
For example, the 4th annual Bicycle Music Festival, a Nonprofit organization, received food donations from Trader Joe’s for blending supplies and at the end of a 5 hour day with intermittent blending sessions, earned over $350 from smoothie sales. This is enough to purchase a Fender Blender Universale, and an extra pitcher, with some funds left over for cups! This approach has worked for several grass-roots organizations.
