Outride has announced $462,000 in matching community grants to 44 youth cycling organizations across the United States. Including the spring commitments, Outride has grown its investment to over $1.5 million dollars and expanded its support to include 173 community cycling projects across the US.
To further grow and diversify youth cycling, Outride prioritizes support for programs that increase access to cycling within BIPOC, LGBTQIA, and economically marginalized communities. The Outride Fund provides matching funds to projects that engage youth in cycling in myriad ways, from earn-a-bike programs, bicycle co ops and community bike shops, to bike parks, pump tracks, and skills parks that are proximate to schools.
Outride Fund grants are helping to bring the benefits of cycling to even more young people, while also helping to grow investment in youth cycling. “It’s amazing to see the range of programs being offered and we’re excited to catalyze support and cultivate connections within and among cycling community members,” said Outride’s Executive Director, Skye DeLano. “We know that bicycling provides so many benefits – physical, mental, connection to outdoors – we are excited to partner with these programs and support community efforts to get- and keep even more kids riding.”
Outride’s spring research report demonstrates the power of bicycling to engage students, build new skills, and spark interest in continuing to ride beyond the classroom, all while supporting youth physical and mental health.
Snapshot of Programs:
- OutCycling Fearless Flyers is a non-profit in NYC with a mission to support LGBTQ+ youth (16-25) to combat isolation by combining wellness and health with physical activity.
- Minneapolis Public Schools offers a Project Bike Tech (PBT) program to teach their students the skills to work as a professional bicycle mechanic. PBT provides a stepping stone to cycling industry careers including engineering, fabrication, marketing, filmmaking, graphic art, sales, and writing for publications.
- The Center of Southwest Culture is led by native New Mexicans who are Indigenous, Mexicano, Chicano, or Mestizo. Student participants learn first-hand the inner workings of their bicycle and the rules and laws of cycling on roads, which instills a sense of responsibility when riding in public spaces.
- Community Bike Works, located in the LeHigh Valley of PA, teaches students teamwork, perseverance, and other life skills through bike repair and community. They see the satisfaction of turning a broken bike into a functional one and earn refurbished bikes and new helmets.
- WashCo Bikes offers Oregon students summer camps with a range of arts, sports, games and crafts but with the added focus on bicycling safety, skills, and repair woven in through fun activities.
- California Field School in Oakland, CA offers FreeWheel, a bike club for girls and gender non-conforming young people to explore cycling advocacy as they ride through the Bay Area.
Outride Fund grants are unrestricted (maximum $15,000) supporting everything from staffing and operational costs to direct program fees, scholarships, and equipment. Once awarded, program partners have a year to meet their goal. Since 2019, the Outride Fund has continued to grow its investment, nearly doubling the dollars matched in its two annual grant cycles. Yet, interest continues to outpace resources. In the last year, Outride has seen a 200% increase in applications, 4x the funds available. “We are grateful to our community of philanthropic partners who have and are committed to growing funding over time,” says DeLano.
Outride welcomes collaboration and participation with all companies and industry partners, individual donors, and foundations who share the goal of advancing inclusive and community-driven youth cycling programs.
To get involved, learn more, and donate, visit outridebike.org.
Summer 2022 Outride Fund Partners:
- Eureka Springs Youth Mountain Bike Team, Eureka Springs Greenhorn Mountain Bike Training Trail, Eureka Springs, AR
- Flagstaff Youth Riders Inc. (FLYRS), Bike Park at Puente de Hózhó Elementary, Flagstaff, AZ
- Waterside Workshops, Street Level Cycles, Berkeley, CA
- California Field School, Freewheel, Oakland, CA
- East Bay Bicycle Coalition (Bike East Bay), Bike East Bay Education Program, Oakland, CA
- SAGE Trail Alliance, Community Trail Engagement, Ojai, CA
- Free Bikes 4 Kidz (FB4K) San Diego, Free Bikes 4 Kidz, San Diego County, CA
- San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, FREE Bike Education 4 Kidz, San Diego County, CA
- San Diego VeloYouth (Quality of Life Connections), San Diego VeloYouth (SDVY), San Diego County, CA
- High Desert DEVO, Inc., High Desert DEVO Program Expansion, Cortez, CO
- Vail Health Hospital, Increasing Youth Access to Mountain Biking in the Eagle River Valley Measuring & Improving Health and Behavioral Health Outcomes in Underserved Communities, Eagle River Valley, CO
- Project Bike Tech – RCS, Rehoboth Christian School – Bike Tech in Schools, Four Corners Region, CO & NM
- Tallahassee Composite, NICA – Tallahassee Thunder Composite Team, Tallahassee, FL
- The Center for Recreation Education Arts Technology Enterprise, Inc., CREATE Youth Cycling Program, Milledgeville, GA
- The Equiticity Racial Equity Movement, BikeForce: E-Bike Technologies Workforce Development Program / One Lawndale Bicycle Team, Chicago, IL
- Southeast CDC, Baltimore Bike Experience Youth Bicycle Workshop, Baltimore, MD
- Community Unity, Ride Thru It, Millersville, MD
- Free Bikes 4 Kidz (FB4K) Maryland, FB4K Maryland Continued Expansion, Statewide, MD
- Big Sky Youth Empowerment, BYEP Mountain Bike Project, Bozeman, MT
- The Pedal Factory, Rowan County Youth Mountain Biking, Salisbury, NC
- Center of Southwest Culture, Story Riders, Albuquerque, NM
- Project Bike Tech, Piedra Vista – Bike Tech in Schools, Farmington, NM
- Bicycle Harvest/FB4K New Mexico, Free Bikes 4 Kidz New Mexico, Santa Fe, NM
- National Interscholastic Cycling Association – New Mexico Interscholastic Cycling League, New Mexico NICA, Statewide, NM
- Ride Up Grades, Ride Up Grades Summer Camp & Ride Up Grades Sponsor-Shift, Brooklyn, NY
- OutCycling Fearless Flyers, OutCycling Fearless Flyers Program, New York, NY
- Humble Sons Bike Company, Bales Park Trails, Broken Arrow, OK
- Bike Club OKC (Cycles for Life), Bike Club OKC Program Expansion, Oklahoma City, OK
- Free Bikes 4 Kidz Portland, fb4kportland.org, Portland, OR
- WashCoBikes.org, Saddle Up Summer Bicycle Day Camp, Washington County, OR
- Community Bike Works, Youth Bike Mentoring across the Lehigh Valley, Allentown, PA
- Little Bellas: Mentoring on Mountain Bikes, Little Bellas – Philadelphia Chapter Access Initiative,
Philadelphia, PA - She is Focused_Community, Philly Focused & Fit, Philadelphia, PA
- More Kids On Bikes, The Reservoir MTB Skills Park, Phoenixville, PA
- Minneapolis Public Schools, Project Bike Tech in Minneapolis Public Schools, Minneapolis, MN
- Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, The Red Shed Bike Program, Providence, RI
- Momentum Bike Clubs, Momentum is Expanding, Greenville, SC
- Desert Downs BMX TMO Association, Desert Downs Bike Park, El Paso, TX
- Earn-A-Bike, Earn-A-Bike@School, San Antonio, TX
- Charlottesville Community Bikes, Free Kids’ Bike Program, Charlottesville, VA
- Greater Richmond Fit4Kids, Fit4Kids Safe Routes to School, Richmond, VA
- TrailsforYouth.Org, TYO Trailblazers – Expanding and Exploring New Horizons, Springfield, VA
- Richmond Elementary School PTO, Mountain Bike Learning Center, Richmond, VT
- Adventure for All, Gravel & Giving and Experience the Adirondacks, Multiple States
