NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Contact: Caeli Quinn, Executive Director, Climate Ride, 406.871.5477, [email protected]
CLIMATE RIDE GRANTS MORE THAN $500K TO 60 GREEN ORGANIZATIONS; ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR NEW EVENTS IN 2014
Climate Ride Expands Green Grant Program by 25% over 2012 to $511,559;
New 4-Day Ride Event Added in Midwest from Grand Rapids to Chicago – Sept 6-9, 2014
MISSOULA, MT – January 9, 2014: Climate Ride, the national charitable organization for sustainable solutions, has announced that it has granted $511,559 to 60 nonprofit beneficiary organizations. The funds were raised during two cycling events in 2013 – Climate Ride California last May and Climate Ride NYC-DC last September. In all, 320 cyclists pedaled more than 100,000 miles to raise funds for and awareness of sustainability, bicycle advocacy, renewable energy, and climate change solutions.
“We’re very proud to exceed the threshold of $500,000 in grants this year which represents a 25% increase over last year’s grants. Climate Ride is on the move,” said Caeli Quinn, Executive Director of Climate Ride. “This showcases how fast the Climate Ride organization is growing and demonstrates that these issues are paramount to the American public. After so many unprecedented weather events, the hottest year on record, and pronounced impacts on human life, we’re working to elevate this cause. Climate Ride has truly become a hub of the sustainability movement, and a place where anyone interested in fighting for our planet and healthy communities can support the best environmental, health, sustainability, and active transportation organizations. By participating in Climate Ride, you have the chance to challenge yourself and give to the cause. Together, we can give powerfully.”
The grants were awarded in December 2013 to 60 national and local organizations, and range from $252 to $48,745. The grant amounts vary because participants are allowed to direct their specific fundraising dollars to a list of pre-approved nonprofits. In 2011, Climate Ride announced a significant innovation to its beneficiary structure, which allowed participants to direct their event fundraising to organizations of their choice, as long as the organization meets the beneficiary requirements set forth by the Climate Ride Board of Directors. The change allowed 60 organizations related to sustainability, renewable energy, climate and bicycle advocacy to receive funding from Climate Ride events in 2012 and 2013.
Nonprofits that received the 2013 grants included: 1% for the Planet, 350.org, Acterra, Active Transportation Alliance, Adventure Cycling Association, Alliance for Biking and Walking, Alliance for Climate Education, B Lab, Better Future Project, Bike New York, Boston Cyclists Union, California Straw Building Association, Carbon War Room, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Citizens Climate Lobby, Clean Air – Cool Planet, Climate Counts, Climate Protection Campaign, Climate Ride Growth Fund, Cycles of Change, Earthjustice, East Bay Bicycle Coalition, Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental Working Group, Green America, Greenbelt Alliance, Grist, I Challenge Myself, Institute for Sustainable Communities, Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, Interfaith Power and Light, League of American Bicyclists, League to Save Lake Tahoe (Keep Tahoe Blue), Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, Marin County Bicycle Coalition, Marine Applied Research and Exploration (MARE), National Parks Conservation Association, Natural Resources Defense Council, New Jersey Bike and Walk Coalition, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, Renewable Energy Long Island, San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, Save Our Snow Foundation, School For Field Studies, Sierra Club California, Sierra Club Florida, Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, Solar Living Institute, Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition, The Earth Institute at Columbia University, The Nature Conservancy, TransForm, Transportation Alternatives, US Green Building Council – National Capital Region, Walk San Francisco, Washington Area Bicyclist Association, Will Steger Foundation, Windustry, and World Bicycle Relief.
New Events to Debut in 2014 Climate Ride is expanding its events next year to include a new cycling event in the Midwest, a 5-day hiking adventure in Glacier National Park, and Independent Climate Challenges, where participants can design their own rides, hikes or other sporting or lifestyle events and raise funds and awareness for the Climate Ride cause and beneficiaries. The organization is also adding new beneficiaries throughout the U.S.
In 2014, Climate is adding its third annual ride event spanning three states: Climate Ride Midwest 2014. This new 4-day ride brings the excitement and impact of Climate Ride to the Midwest for the first time. The ride begins in the hip, bike-friendly city of Grand Rapids, and meanders through Michigan’s Northern woods and picturesque farmlands, to the scenic sandy beaches of the Great Lakes in Indiana, and into the heart of Chicago. The inaugural Midwest ride will debut from September 6 -9, 2014.
Climate Hike Glacier, August 24-28, 2014, is a charitable hiking challenge that explores the wildest national park in the United States, and the ecosystem most threatened by environmental degradation and climate change. By fundraising and participating in Climate Hike, participants will raise awareness of our generation’s greatest threat – and seeing first-hand just what is at stake. Note: Climate Hike Glacier 2014 is currently sold out. There is a wait-list.
Independent Climate Challenges is a new program for 2014 that allows participants to participate in non-Climate Ride organized events or create their own events, while still raising money for and awareness of their favorite green organizations. Participants get their own homepage, fundraising support and more to help them achieve their goals, and make a significant impact on their chosen beneficiaries. More information can be found at http://www.climateride.org/events/independent-climate-challenge.
Other Climate Ride Events
From May 17-20, 2014, the epic Climate Ride California will return for its fifth year, with the new Wine Country route. 200 Climate Riders will pedal more than 250 miles in 4 days on a new route from San Francisco, through the Wine Country, and across the Central Valley to California’s State Capitol in Sacramento. The new California ride begins in San Francisco and heads north across the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin, passing through Petaluma before entering the Russian River Wine Country. The route continues through Healdsburg and the Alexander Valley before descending into the famed Napa Valley, and onward across the Central Valley through Davis to finish at a rally at California’s State Capitol in Sacramento.
Then, from September 20-24, 2014, Climate Ride returns to the East Coast with its sixth-annual Climate Ride NYC-DC 2014 event from the heart of New York City to the steps of the US Capitol in Washington, DC. Registration is open to 200 cyclists who will raise money for the green organization of their choice, and then set out on a 5-day, 300-mile journey and ‘green conference on wheels’ through four states and the District of Columbia to take their message of a sustainable future to Washington.
More information about these events can be found at www.climateride.org.
About Climate Ride
Climate Ride was founded to inspire and empower citizens to work toward a new energy future. Climate Ride events raise money for a collection of innovative organizations including 350.org, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Green America, Climate Counts, 1% for the Planet, San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, Washington Area Bicyclist Association, and Transportation Alternatives. For more information, or to support a participant, visit www.climateride.org.