Bikes Belong is rebranding as PeopleForBikes to bring clarity and simplicity to the organization. The Bikes Belong Coalition and Bikes Belong Foundation will be renamed the PeopleForBikes Coalition and the PeopleForBikes Foundation. Starting Wednesday, the opening day of Interbike, the Bikes Belong brand will no longer be used.
A new PeopleForBikes website, launched concurrently, will take the place of the organization's three existing sites.
PeopleForBikes was a campaign of the Bikes Belong Foundation that started in 2010 to get one million pledges in support of bicycling.?
The name change and restructuring will streamline the organization to a single brand and connect its industry-backed programs to its 750,000 individual members, and increases support for state and local advocacy efforts.
"One strong brand will help PeopleForBikes lead the effort to transform bicycling in America," said Tim Blumenthal, former Bikes Belong president, who will lead the new consolidated PeopleForBikes.
Programs that previously fell under the Bikes Belong brand will now be under the new PeopleForBikes. These projects include the Community Grants Program, the Green Lane Project, and the PeopleForBikes Business Network (the public face of the Leslie Bohm Strategy Center).
Through these programs, the new PeopleForBikes will also provide additional support for state and local advocacy efforts. By reaching riders who have never been engaged with organized bike groups or clubs, PeopleForBikes will continue to bring reinforcements and extra dollars to the movement, the nonprofit said in a press release.?
"This expansion is a key step for bicycling. With a single individual- and industry-facing brand, everyone will know where to turn for reinforcements and funding as they work to achieve better bicycling in their communities," said PeopleForBikes Coalition board chairman Michael Mercuri of SRAM.
Here is what the expansion will mean for various groups:
1) Suppliers and Distributors: Current members of the Bikes Belong Coalition will become members of the PeopleForBikes Coalition at the same dues rate they pay now. The PeopleForBikes Coalition will represent the U.S. bicycling industry and tout the many business benefits of bicycling.
2) Retailers: Retailers can sign up to become a PeopleForBikes Retailer, a free program that includes a kit for collecting customer signups and donations. BikesBelong Coalition retailer members will automatically be made PeopleForBikes Retailers.?
3) Individuals: The expanded PeopleForBikes will provide more ways for individual bike riders to connect with advocacy efforts, both nationally and in their own community.
