2007 Benchmarking Report - Alliance for Biking & Walking

Bicycling & Walking in the U.S./ Thunderhead Alliance 2007
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THUNDERHEAD ALLIANCE BICYCLE & PEDESTRIAN ADVOCACY
6: Thunderhead Alliance
Bicycle & Pedestrian Advocacy
Growing the Movement
There is no doubt that bicycle and pedestrian advocacy
is on the rise. When Thunderhead Alliance was formed in 1996
as the North American coalition of state and local bicycle and
pedestrian advocacy organizations, there were just 12 members
organizations. Today Thunderhead boasts 128 organizations
representing 49 states and two Canadian provinces. The number
of bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations has steadily
increased through Thunderhead’s comprehensive organizational
development efforts and in response to increasing traffic
congestion, safety risks, a growing obesity epidemic, and a
warming planet. This upward trend in bicycle and pedestrian
advocacy doesn’t seem to be waning anytime soon. As these
issues become more prevalent in mainstream public discourse,
Thunderhead is coaching more new leaders of emerging organizations
and connecting them with peers around the country as
they embark to transform their communities into more vibrant,
healthy and livable places.
Advocacy as an Indicator
The presence and strength of advocacy organizations in
states and cities has been used as an indicator to measure the
state of bicycling and walking. Strong advocacy organizations
are often necessary to local jurisdictions with hopes of passing
and implementing progressive policies for bicycling and walking.
Government officials who are passionate about these issues
often promote emerging advocates, recognizing the need for
increased citizen involvement in the public policy discourse. The
presence and capacity of advocacy organizations are indicators
of the prominence of bicycling and walking in communities, and
are worth comparing to other bicycling and walking indicators.
For this report, Thunderhead Alliance only collected data from
Thunderhead organizations.
Proving Effectiveness
Thunderhead’s coalition of state and local advocacy organizations
is constantly influencing public policy and helping to
create more bikeable and walkable communities. But can this be
proven Proving the impact of advocacy is one of the objectives
of this study. Thunderhead hopes to show a connection between
the capacity of its members and bicycling and walking levels.
Thunderhead leaders can also learn where they are successful
and which areas need greater attention, thus refocusing limited
resources for the greatest impact.
Capacity of Thunderhead Organizations
Measuring the capacity of an advocacy organizations is
not an easy thing. In this attempt, Thunderhead distributed a
survey to Thunderhead Alliance member organizations representing
one of the 50 states or 50 cities in this report. Variables
measured include revenue and revenue sources, membership,
staffing, and media impressions. While these variables are
telling in some cases, they will not accurately reflect the full
capacity of these organizations. Some organizations with strong
leaders and a dedicated base, can and do win great victories
for bicycling and walking with virtually no budget. However, in
Thunderhead’s experience, organizations with sustainable revenue
sources and budgets to employ full-time staff are the most
self-sustaining and are able to accomplish more in the long term.
(cont. page 74)