DocumentsCorrespondenceFeb 28, 2024Pages 27–45
Capital Bike — Grant-in-Aid Supporting Documents (Everyone Rides Grades 4 & 5 / ERG45)
Comprehensive application and financial documents requesting $4,550 to deliver ERG45 bike skills/safety programs to Grade 4 and 5 students in Langford, with supporting budgets and organizational financial statements.
Key facts
- Amount requested for Langford ERG45 program: $4,550 (program budget total $9,100)
- 2023 Langford grant received: $4,425 (delivered ERG45 at multiple schools)
- Program aims: skill-building, active transportation, supports City OCP climate and transportation goals
- Included organizational budget and statement of operations for fiscal years ending Sept 30, 2023 & 2022
Capital Bike — Grant-in-Aid Supporting Documents (Everyone Rides Grades 4 & 5 / ERG45)
December 12, 2023
Finance and Administration Committee
City of Langford
2nd Floor, 877 Goldstream Ave
Langford, BC V9B 2X8
Dear members of the Finance and Administration Committee, Mayor Goodmanson, and Council:
I am writing, first of all, to thank you for your long-standing support of our programs Go By Bike Week Everyone Rides Grades 4 and 5. These free and fun programs have changed the lives of tens of thousands of people over the decades and we are incredibly proud of this legacy that’s been possible through your support.
We are pleased to provide a request that strongly supports the goals and actions within Lanford’s Official Community Plan (OCP). The OCP identifies important sustainability goals in Section 2: Community Sustainability Goals. This request assists the municipality in meeting its goals for Community Health, Personal Health, and Energy, Climate Protection, and Adaption. Further, this request supports the goals under Objective 8, Langford’s Multi-Modal Transportation System. Our proposal also compliments and supports Langford’s capital investments in cycling, such as the Jordie Lunn Bike Park. We elaborate on this under the ‘Benefits to Langford Residents’ section of this proposal.
Our request for support is for our most popular youth cycling skills building programs, which we offer for free to schools in your municipality. Since we began running Everyone Rides Grades 4 and 5 (ERG45) locally in 2020, we have delivered 11 programs to 7 schools in the City of Langford to rave reviews from everyone involved: students, staff, and parents at each school. The ERG45 program brings top-quality cycling training into the classroom and playground and equips kids with the skills to ride safely and confidently.
Since 2020, we have run this program in 89 schools in and around the CRD and have trained over 9,300 students including nearly 1000 in the City of Langford. We want to bring the same opportunities to more kids in Langford and help build a lasting culture of safe biking. In line with Langford’s successful investments in sport cycling and mountain biking, we want to offer skill building to all local kids to promote a healthy, outdoor lifestyle and improve the health of the community. With your support, we can make it happen.
The City of Langford has been a long-time supporter of our work. By leveraging funds from the Community Gaming Grant and supplemented by your Grant-in-Aid, we will be in a financial position to offer this program in your community.
We look forward to our continued partnership and our joint efforts to supporting active, sustainable transportation in 2024!
Sincerely,
Adam Krupper
Executive Director
Capital Bike
ORGANIZATIONAL MANDATE
Capital Bike is a registered charity governed by a volunteer Board of Directors whose mandate is to help more people bike more places, more often, safely and enjoyably. We focus our resources on running free, fun, impactful community events and programs that help get people riding bikes!
The Society runs three main program streams: Go By Bike celebration events, The Locker Bike Valet, and Bike Skills Safety training programs for kids, youth, and adults throughout the region.
Go By Bike Week is a behaviour change program that facilitates, encourages, and incentivises people to take trips that they usually make with an automobile to go with a bike. Bike Valet is a secure bike parking service offered both at events and in downtown Victoria. We park people’s bikes to both deter theft and encourage people to cycle for transportation. In 2023, we parked over 45,000 bikes.
Bike Skills courses help people develop the skills and knowledge required to safely share the road and trails with other users while riding. Our courses combine theoretical and practical training to develop the skills and knowledge surrounding traffic safety required to bike legally and safely. The outcomes for Bike Skills course participants include safe cycling habits and behaviours, increased comfort and confidence biking with traffic, and more trips taken by bike.
SUPPORT REQUESTED AND PROJECT DETAILS
We are requesting $4,550 from the City of Langford. Funds requested will go directly towards organizing three in-school Everyone Rides Grade 4 and 5 programs.
The funds granted will be used to run the ERG45 program in three elementary schools: Savory, Ruth King, and Lakewood. We have successfully delivered this program at both Savory and Ruth King Schools and, with more than two years since our last visit, there will be an entirely new cohort of grades 4 and 5 at each who we are excited to teach about safe cycling. Lakewood will be a new school for us, and we are excited to finally bring the program there.
ERG45 is an all-inclusive, 2-part cycling skills safety program that is delivered to every grade 4 and 5 student at a given school. In Part 1 of the program, taught in-class, we teach kids all about rules of the road, how to ride safely, and basic bike mechanics. In Part 2, our certified cycling instructors deliver a 90-minute on-bike skills training session, with mock intersections, games, and challenges. We bring spare bikes, helmets, and even tricycles for kids with trouble balancing. We build kid’s knowledge, skills, and confidence.
Our goal is to ensure all students in Greater Victoria learn to cycle safely and have fun while doing so regardless of previous experience, income, or location. We regularly teach new riders how bike and see them pedalling along with the more experienced riders by the end of the session. ERG45 helps achieve goals related to Vision Zero, climate action, active transportation, and healthy communities through accessible education.
PREVIOUS REQUESTS AND BUDGET
The City of Langford is a long-time supporter of the work Capital Bike does. It has long supported our Bike to Work/Go By Bike Week program through its Grant-in-Aid program. From 2018-2020, the Society received $1,500 for Bike to Work Week. In 2021-2022 we received $1,500 to run two ERG45 programs, which were delivered at Crystal View and Willway Elementaries, although the funding received did not cover the delivery costs for those programs.
In 2023, we received $4,425 to deliver ERG45 programs at Willway, PEXSISEN, and Crystal View Elementaries. For 2024, we are requesting $4,550 to run three ERG45 programs. The total program budget is $9,100. The remaining funds have been received through the Community Gaming Grant program.
The funding requested covers the basic costs for program delivery. It will provide us with the funding necessary to plan and organize the courses. It allows us to get insurance, arrange and transport all of the program equipment, contract cycling instructors, and provide program materials.
Please see attached budget.
BENEFIT TO RESIDENTS
The Everyone Rides Grades 4 and 5 program offers grade 4 and 5 students all over British Columbia an introductory cycling skills course where they learn to ride their bikes to and from school.
Since the program began in fall 2020, 9,300 students have participated in our ERG45 program in 89 schools across the South Island. Students were able to boost their confidence on a bicycle, improve their cycling skills, and increase their awareness of cycling rules and safety. A total of 572 teachers were actively engaged in the program and rated the overall quality of the course, 4.6 out of 5.
This program helps Langford meet the objectives in its Official Community Plan.
Under Part I, OCP Overview, section 2.0 ‘Our Sustainability Goals’, and Objective 2.2 ‘Community Sustainability Goals’, our program directly assists with the following:
Community Health
ERG45 helps enable healthy choices in all areas of living that are safe, secure, and welcoming for all. By giving students fundamental cycling skills, we enable them to choose healthy and active transportation choices, including the option to bike to school which drastically reduces congestion at schools. Reducing automobile congestion improves safety for active travellers and improves health by reducing exposure to harmful pollutants. Students are also trained to use Langford’s recreational facilities such as the Galloping Goose and E&N trails is a safe and courteous manner.
Personal Health
This program helps to ensure healthy recreational, educational, and cultural opportunities for all. Cycling is a vital component of everyday life for many Langford youth, but many are also left out – either due to lack of skill, knowledge, or access to safe equipment. Our program creates a safe, nurturing environment where kids of all skills levels learn safe riding practices and are provided with good equipment.
Energy, Climate Protection, and Adaption
Through these courses, we promote energy-use choices that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and contribute to clean air. A majority of GHG emissions in Greater Victoria are the result of transportation. By promoting biking to school and cycling for transport and as a fun and healthy alternative to motor vehicle travel, we help the City meet targets for GHG reduction.
Under Part I, OCP Overview, section 2.6 ‘Climate Action Targets’, and Objective 2.7 ‘Implementation Actions’, our program directly assists with the following goals of the City in achieving GHG emissions and energy use reduction targets:
‘Develop complete, compact, healthy neighbourhoods’: Biking to school allows kids the opportunity to be more connected to their communities, experiencing the sights, smells, and sounds that they otherwise would not from the backseat of a car. Biking, especially for transportation, is also a fun way for kids to get their daily physical exercise which contributes to healthier neighbourhoods.
‘Provide residents a diversity of transportation choices’: for residents to have the option of active transportation, they should be familiar with the relevant rules of the road and how to use existing bike facilities safely and courteously. By reaching hundreds of local students, we can foster a generation with the necessary knowledge to choose sustainable transportation.
Under Part II, Community Objectives & Policies, Objectives 8.2 our program directly assists with the following:
‘Accommodating the needs of local residents for all modes of transportation’: Reaching grade 4 and 5 students with accessible bike education regardless of skill level or whether they own a bike allows us to share the skills and knowledge necessary for active transportation, especially for students who might otherwise be left out.
‘Climate-friendly active transportation (I.e. walking, cycling) will be a priority by developing safe and viable multi-modal transportation networks that link compact and mixed centres’: ERG45’s broad and accessible education for young students creates the active transportation link to multi-modal options like transit, by giving students the confidence and skills to ride their bikes to network hubs for further trips. It fosters a generation who are interested in and able to use the networks that are being developed by the City.
Under Part II, Community Objectives & Policies, Objectives 8.4 and 8.5, our program directly assists with the following:
‘Implement multi-modal travel corridors that move all users according to the Multi-Modal Transportation Strategy’:
ERG45 includes sections on both on-street biking as well as safe and courteous use of multi-use trails, such as the various recreational and regional trails identified in Map 9 in the OCP. By educating students on polite communication and safe use of such shared facilities, we contribute to their continued enjoyment by people walking, riding horses, and biking.
As part of a “Complete Streets” strategy, ensuring ‘safe interactions between all modes along or adjacent to the public right of way and at intersections’:
Mock traffic scenarios during the day 2 “on-bike” portion of the course teach safe interactions between people on bikes and other including, but not limited to: the need to come to a complete stop at stop signs, the hzards of riding on the sidewalk, the need to communicate to other road users through strategies such as hand signals, etc.
Under Part II, Community Objectives & Policies, Objectives 8.6 and 8.13, our program directly assists with the following:
‘Support the use of alternative transportation modes such as walking or cycling’
ERG45 includes repeated reminders of pedestrian right of way to help people walking feel safe and comfortable on shared paths and neighbourhood streets. By having kids off their bikes act as people walking at mock traffic scenarios, we remind students of their requirement to be courteous to people walking and create more comfortable conditions to support that mode of active transportation as well.
‘Educating the public about the benefits of active transportation and transit usage’
Through a combination of in-class and on-bike training, education of new riders, and the ability of any students to use high-quality equipment while learning from a curriculum developed over hundreds of courses across the province, we are uniquely positioned to educate young riders about the benefits of active transportation and foster a generation of safe and courteous bike riders.
Supporting the Jordie Lunn Bike Park
With the City of Langford’s investment of $1.8 million into the Jordie Lunn Bike Park, we also find such cycling programs to provide an important knowledge basis and, especially, confidence, to make use of this world-class facility. Kids who have received bike education are more likely to make use of these recreational facilities and feel supported to live active, healthy lives going forward.
ADDITIONAL PROGRAM INFORMATION
For the past three years, teachers and school staff reported that their school’s involvement in the ERG45 program encouraged them to ride their own bikes more often. Parents and families also reported a shift in attitude, now seeing cycling as an attractive option for recreation and transportation.
“We had 100 bikes brought to school for that skills lesson (needed to borrow about a dozen or so). There were a few students who admitted their bike was a week old. My belief is that this skills class resulted in more students and families focusing on cycling!” (Principal, View Royal Elementary)
School teachers and administration have also commented on the overall quality of the education, the enjoyment of the participating students, and the unique opportunity granted to the enrolled classrooms.
“This is the best cycling education for students I have ever been involved in. The stations that teach about traffic, stop signs and following the rules of the road are so important not only as a cyclist, but also as a pedestrian. Practicing bike control, how to be safe and prepared were also taught in a fun and engaging way. All of the instructors took the time to learn students' names and were so kind and helpful. It was a huge success - thank-you! (Grade 5 Teacher, Macaulay Elementary)”
A student makes use of our recumbent trike, one of twenty-five bikes we bring for kids who do not have their own to use.
“Wonderful, consistently excellent program year-to-year. Such a super program for students, some of which don't have this opportunity outside of school.” (Principal, ḰELSET Elementary)
Students lined up to begin their “snail-paced race”, where the winner is the student with the best balance at the slowest pace. Hope they all geared down!
Practicing riding in a straight line while performing shoulder checks and had signals.
Getting the hang of traffic concepts like “right of way” and following other rules of the road.
Draft Overall Budget — Fiscal 2024
REVENUE
| Category | Amount |
|---|---|
| Sales - T-Shirts | 12,000.00 |
| Sales | 1,000.00 |
| Net Sales | 13,000.00 |
Other Revenue:
| Category | Amount |
|---|---|
| Corporate | 55,000.00 |
| Local Governments | 90,000.00 |
| Provincial Government | 5,000.00 |
| Federal Government | 43,000.00 |
| Universities & Colleges | 16,000.00 |
| Individual Donations | 20,000.00 |
| Donations | 8,000.00 |
| Gaming Grant | 31,000.00 |
| Grants | 23,000.00 |
| Workshops | 5,000.00 |
| Cov Bike Valet | 30,000.00 |
| The Locker Bike Valet | 26,000.00 |
| Bike Locker Rental | - |
| Bike Smart | 5,000.00 |
| ERG45 | 96,000.00 |
| TipTap | 8,000.00 |
| Sticker Challenge | 1,000.00 |
| Interest | 1,000.00 |
| Miscellaneous | 1,000.00 |
| Total Other Revenue | 464,000.00 |
| TOTAL REVENUE | 477,000.00 |
EXPENSE
Cost of Goods Sold:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| COGS - T-Shirts | 7,700.00 |
| COGS - Merchandise | 300.00 |
| COGS - Other | 600.00 |
| Total Cost of Goods Sold | 8,600.00 |
Payroll Expenses:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Wages & Salaries | 9,700.00 |
| WCB Expense | 600.00 |
| Employee Benefits | 10,300.00 |
| Total Payroll Expense | 20,600.00 |
General & Administrative Expenses:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Event Coordination | 2,800.00 |
| Contractors | 60,000.00 |
| Board | 9,100.00 |
| Office Rental | 19,400.00 |
| Advertising | 1,100.00 |
| Finances | 7,000.00 |
| Funding | 25,000.00 |
| Storage | 300.00 |
| Rental Fees | 500.00 |
| Office | 7,800.00 |
| IT | 1,500.00 |
| Website & Apps | 2,500.00 |
| Amortization Expense | 9,000.00 |
| Program Materials | 63,200.00 |
| Interest & Bank Charges | 300.00 |
| Media | 2,600.00 |
| Bike Valet | 200.00 |
| Outreach | 1,200.00 |
| Volunteers | 2,900.00 |
| Program Planning | 83,000.00 |
| Program Implementation | 40,000.00 |
| Merchandise | 200.00 |
| Transportation | 5,400.00 |
| Insurance | 3,700.00 |
| Staff Development | 18,300.00 |
| Miscellaneous | 2,800.00 |
| Travel & Entertainment | 100.00 |
| Administration | 17,200.00 |
| Legal | 1,000.00 |
| Hiring | 1,800.00 |
| Training | 4,500.00 |
| Service Fees | 13,100.00 |
| TipTap | 700.00 |
| Branding | 13,000.00 |
| Sponsorship | 14,000.00 |
| Total General & Admin. Expenses | 435,200.00 |
| TOTAL EXPENSE | 455,800.00 |
464,400.00
NET INCOME 12,600.00
Program Budget — ERG45 Savory, Ruth King, and Lakewood Elementary 2024
Revenue
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Local Governments | 4,550.00 $ |
| Gaming Grant | 4,550.00 $ |
| Subtotal | 9,100.00 $ |
In-Kind Income
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Event Support | 1,455.00 $ |
| Professional Services | 180.00 $ |
| Subtotal | 1,635.00 $ |
Program Expenses
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Contractors | 2,740.00 $ |
| Education Manager | 960.00 $ |
| Bike Skills Coordinator | 980.00 $ |
| Program Materials & supplies | 750.00 $ |
| Equipment Maintenance | 270.00 $ |
| Equipment Rentals | 405.00 $ |
| Transportation | 765.00 $ |
| Advertising / Outreach | 150.00 $ |
| Subtotal | 7,020.00 $ |
In-Kind Expenses
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Event Support | 1,455.00 $ |
| Professional Services | 180.00 $ |
| Subtotal | 1,635.00 $ |
Admin Expenses
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Insurance | 250.00 $ |
| Operational | 1,260.00 $ |
| Administration | 570.00 $ |
| Subtotal | 2,080.00 $ |
Total Profit/Loss - $
Capital Bike Society — Statement of Operations
For the Fiscal Years Ended September 30th 2023 & 2022
REVENUE (selected lines as presented)
| Item | 2023 | Budget 2023 | Budget Variance | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales - T-Shirts | 9,389 | 13,908 | -4,519 | 12,644 |
| Sales | 887 | 2,276 | -1,389 | 2,069 |
| Net Sales | 10,276 | 16,184 | -5,908 | 14,713 |
| Corporate | 49,750 | 203,535 | -153,785 | 179,018 |
| Local Governments | 85,005 | 95,587 | -10,582 | 86,897 |
| Provincial Government | 4,500 | 23,375 | -18,875 | 21,250 |
| Federal Government | 40,788 | 51,550 | -10,762 | 46,863 |
| Universities & Colleges | 15,000 | 7,150 | 7,850 | 6,500 |
| Individual Donations | 8,545 | 11,185 | -2,641 | 10,168 |
| Donations | 7,114 | 1,503 | 5,611 | - |
| Gaming Grant | 29,500 | - | 29,500 | - |
| Grants | 21,510 | - | 21,510 | - |
| Workshops | 2,500 | 55 | 2,445 | 50 |
| Cov Bike Valet | 27,608 | - | 27,608 | 25,850 |
| The Locker Bike Valet | 24,071 | 28,435 | -4,365 | - |
| Bike Locker Rental | 318 | 352 | -35 | 320 |
| Bike Skills | 4,226 | - | 4,226 | - |
| ERG45 | 90,954 | - | 90,954 | - |
| TipTap | 2,109 | - | 2,109 | 1,366.48 |
| Sticker Challenge | 630 | - | 630 | - |
| Interest | 1,321 | - | 1,321 | - |
| Miscellaneous | 733 | 748 | -15 | 680.00 |
| Total Other Revenue | 416,181 | 423,476 | -7,294 | 378,964 |
| TOTAL REVENUE | 426,457 | 439,660 | -13,203 | 393,677 |
97%
Of 2023 Revenue Goal Achieved
EXPENSE (selected lines as presented)
| Item | 2023 | Budget 2023 | Budget Variance | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COGS - T-Shirts | 7,281 | 13,281 | -6,000 | 12,074 |
| COGS - Merchandise | 319 | 820 | -501 | 745 |
| Total Cost of Goods Sold | 7,600 | 14,101 | -6,501 | 12,819 |
| Gross Margin | 2,676 | 2,083 | 1,894 | - |
| Gross Margin % | 26% | 13% | 13% | - |
| Wages & Salaries | 9,192 | - | 9,192 | - |
| WCB Expense | 530 | 1,841 | -1,311 | 1,673 |
| Employee Benefits | 9,751 | 1,749 | 8,002 | 1,590 |
| Total Payroll Expense | 19,473 | 3,589 | 15,883 | 3,263 |
| Event Coordination | 2,600 | 1,014 | 1,586 | 921 |
| Contractors | 62,289 | 50,328 | 11,961 | 45,753 |
| Board | 8,585 | 4,771 | 3,815 | 4,337 |
| Office Rental | 18,270 | 20,452 | -2,182 | 18,593 |
| Advertising | 1,054 | 1,569 | -516 | 1,427 |
| Finances | 7,504 | 7,660 | -156 | 6,964 |
| Funding | 24,704 | 16,535 | 8,169 | 15,032 |
| Storage | 365 | - | 365 | - |
| Rental Fees | 544 | - | 544 | - |
| Office | 7,370 | 8,012 | -642 | 7,284 |
| IT | 1,459 | 7,484 | -6,025 | - |
| Website & Apps | 2,325 | - | 2,325 | - |
| Amortization Expense | 9,929 | - | 9,929 | 12,594 |
| Program Materials | 59,618 | 51,575 | 8,043 | 46,886 |
Continuation of Expense lines:
| Item | 2023 | Budget 2023 | Budget Variance | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interest & Bank Charges | 256 | - | 256 | - |
| Media | 2,477 | 4,223 | -1,746 | 3,839 |
| Bike Valet | 150 | 2,745 | -2,595 | 2,495 |
| Outreach | 1,169 | 16,876 | -15,707 | 15,342 |
| Volunteers | 2,689 | - | 2,689 | - |
| Program Planning | 79,663 | 84,995 | -5,332 | 77,268 |
| Program Implementation | 38,957 | 39,565 | -607 | 35,968 |
| Merchandise | 228 | - | 228 | - |
| Transportation | 5,105 | 3,832 | 1,273 | 3,484 |
| Insurance | 3,491 | 4,437 | -946 | 4,034 |
| Staff Development | 17,293 | 8,008 | 9,285 | 7,280 |
| Miscellaneous | 2,635 | 10,448 | -7,812 | 9,498 |
| Travel & Entertainment | 119 | - | 119 | - |
| Administration | 16,858 | 31,985 | -15,127 | 26,657 |
| Legal | 1,605 | 310 | 1,295 | 282 |
| Hiring | 1,720 | - | 1,720 | - |
| Training | 4,285 | 4,086 | 199 | 3,714 |
| Service Fees | 12,378 | 5,971 | 6,407 | 5,428 |
| TipTap | 707 | - | 707 | - |
| Branding | 14,318 | 7,325 | 6,993 | 6,659 |
| Sponsorship | 15,098 | 343 | 14,755 | 312 |
| Total General & Admin. Expenses | 427,818 | 394,549 | 33,269 | 362,050 |
| TOTAL EXPENSE | 454,890 | 412,239 | 42,651 | 378,132 |
110%
Of 2023 Budgeted Expenses
NET INCOME -28,433 | 27,421 | -55,854 | 15,545
RETURN ON REVENUE -7% | 6% | 4%
Figures
Figure 1: Students learn how to be courteous on shared trails and multi-use pathways.
Figure 2: Students warm up with bike games on school grounds.
Figure 3: Students learn about “Right of Way” and road rules while biking at a mock two-way stop intersection.
Figure 4: students practice hand signals and shoulder checks while riding in a straight line between the cones.
