Questions about contributing? See FAQs.

TO CONTRIBUTE BY DEBIT CARD, CREDIT CARD, or PayPal balance:

Go to Bicycling Monterey’s Donate page at PayPal.com; click here (or click the Donate button in our sidebar). ➡️

Note: It is not necessary to have a PayPal account.

For people who have a PayPal account, another option is to donate at https://PayPal.Me/BicyclingMonterey.

A QR code is also available, as shown on this poster: Bicycling Monterey – 8.5 x 11 poster with QR code. (A QR code is helpful on a physical poster for people who are out and about, so they can scan the code and don’t need to type a URL into their phone. We encourage you to print that poster and share it on community bulletin boards, etc.)

Did you know? For 15 years, since founding Bicycling Monterey in 2009, the founder has donated all her work on the site and projects as an unpaid volunteer. 

TO CONTRIBUTE BY CHECK:

Payee (“Pay to the order of”): Mari Lynch
In “memo” section, note: For Bicycling Monterey

Mail check to:
Mari Lynch
Founder, Bicycling Monterey
PO Box 3041
Monterey, CA 93942-3041

FAQs

May I view the total amount of money contributed, and who has contributed? 

YES. See the Financial Contributors page (click here). Automatic monthly contributors are further acknowledged there as Pedal Pushers. 

Can my contribution be listed as from Anonymous? 

YES. When making your contribution, simply indicate that preference.

 Will the amount of my individual contribution be displayed?

NO. Your individual contribution amount is simply included in the total contributions figure on Bicycling Monterey’s Financial Contributors page.

Will you send me a written acknowledgement of my contribution?

YES, if a postal or email address is included with your contribution. It is a pleasure to send written acknowledgements!

May I make a contribution in memory of someone?

 YES. When making your contribution, simply indicate “in memory of” and the person’s name.

May I specify how I’d like my contribution to be used?

YES. If contributing via PayPal, Bicycling Monterey’s “Use this donation for” drop-down offers options, i.e., “Website and Public Outreach,” “Education,” “Advocacy,” and “General Operating Expenses.” If contributing via check (or PayPal), you may include a note.
If you don’t specify a preference, your contribution will be used where most needed—toward one of Bicycling Monterey’s current projects, or for general operating expenses. You’re also welcome to phone us. 

Aren’t there already plenty of financial contributions?

The total of all financial contributions for 2023 was $2,306. The total for 2009-2023 was $17,132.00 ($3.35 per day). See the current total for 2009-2024. NOTE: Those amounts are total gross contributions—before deducting expenses of the Bicycling Monterey website and projects, and before deducting any PayPal fees.

Why is Bicycling Monterey a worthy recipient of contributions?

• See what people say about the Bicycling Monterey website and projects. 
• As of April 2024 there is not yet an official bicycle coalition for Monterey County, or for the Monterey Bay Tri-County Region. Bicycling Monterey helps fill that gap by serving as Information Hub for Biking Monterey County. Bicycling Monterey represents Monterey County as a local partner of the California Bicycle Coalition / CalBike. As another Monterey Bay region CalBike partner, Bike Santa Cruz County, commented on social media: “Our friend, Mari, operates @BikeMonterey on a literal shoestring budget. Please support the work Bicycling Monterey does to support cycling and encourage climate consciousness across the country and beyond.” See that and other comments from Santa Cruz County bike advocacy leaders.
• For a brief history of Bicycling Monterey’s first decade, click here.
• Bicycling Monterey’s resource compilations include a 35-section directory of Monterey County Bicycling Resources / Bike Community Leaders.
• Are you outside Monterey County? Bicycling Monterey’s nearly 800 posts and pages also provide resources and inspiration for people who bike elsewhere! The riding skills and safety section, the Spanish resources compilation, and much more are used by people around the state, nation, and beyond.
• Not least of all, contributors appreciate that we keep careful records of all financial contributions, just as we do our records of contributions of project supplies.

Is my contribution to Bicycling Monterey tax-deductible?

NO, not at this time. Among our current projects is advocating for bike-friendly legislation, and—just as is the case with the California Bicycle Coalition—contributions are not tax-deductible. (Contributions to the California Bicycle Coalition are not tax-deductible because they help support legislative lobbying efforts. People who only want to make a contribution if it is tax-deductible may wish to contribute to CalBike’s California Mobility Fund.)

Is Bicycling Monterey supported by government grants or taxpayer funds, e.g., Measure X?

NO. For fifteen years (May 2009 – April 2024), all Bicycling Monterey work has been accomplished without receiving any local, state, or federal grants or funds.  

You may be curious to know that Bicycling Monterey has been described as being the work of a social entrepreneur. What’s that? As defined by the Ashoka Foundation (“Everyone a Changemaker“): “Rather than leaving societal needs to the government or business sectors, social entrepreneurs find what is not working and solve the problem by changing the system, spreading the solution, and persuading entire societies to move in different directions.”
Bicycling Monterey is among bike advocates worldwide encouraging societies to move in the direction of more people biking!

Does Bicycling Monterey receive money from businesses and organizations for promotion on bikemonterey.org?

NO. For fifteen years (May 2009 – April 2024), all information has been provided as a public service. This includes that—although businesses are welcome to make a contribution—we have not accepted money in exchange for promotion. We also have not charged any fees for businesses and organizations participating in Bicycling Monterey projects, e.g., HER Helmet Thursdays. And there are no Amazon affiliate links or other pay-per-clicks on the Bicycling Monterey site. 

Is Bicycling Monterey a business?

NO. For fifteen years (May 2009 – April 2024),the work of Bicycling Monterey’s founder on this website and on all other Bicycling Monterey projects has been done entirely as an unpaid volunteer.

Why was the original domain name marilynch.com/blog?

As Kera Abraham reported in the Monterey County Weekly in May 2011:
“What started as Dehmler’s [Bicycling Monterey founder Mari Lynch Dehmler’s] personal blog two years ago quickly evolved into an umbrella website for all things two-wheeled in Monterey County.” To learn more, click here.

(Contributions to the California Bicycle Coalition / CalBike are not tax-deductible because they help support legislative lobbying efforts. People who only want to make a contribution if it is tax deductible have the option of donating to CalBike’s California Mobility Fund.)

If you have other questions, please feel free to phone us anytime.

Thank you, financial contributors!

For other ways to support this work (e.g., volunteering time or contributing project supplies), please phone us anytime.

* * *

An archived note about the 2016 rewards program and crowdfunding:

On December 22, 2015, ten women launched a crowdfunding effort, “Volunteer & Service Fundraiser for Mari Lynch Dehmler, Bicycling Monterey Site & Projects, organized by Laurel Thomsen” at https://gofundme.com/bikemonterey. An optional rewards-for-contributors program was added to the GFM campaign from Feb 26-Dec 31, 2016. After 2016 the rewards program wasn’t continued, simply because it required far too many additional volunteer hours of Mari to be worthwhile. (Nonetheless, the businesses that provided rewards in an effort to help were appreciated; they were: https://bikemonterey.org/about/financial-donations/fundraising-project-contributors-of-gift-certificates-or-other-rewards.) Contributing via Go Fund Me incurred a platform fee of 5%, in addition to a transaction fee (2.9% plus 30 cents), and we chose to discontinue the Go Fund Me campaign.