Celebrate Bike Week by Taking a Stand for Walking

By Damien Newton
May 16, 2013

(Want to celebrate Bike Week but can’t make an event? You can help out Bikeside with their L.A. Bike Survey, helping Bike Nation with their Long Beach kiosk locations, sending us your bike week media or go multi-modal and help L.A. Walks Kickstart their newest campaign . – DN)

It’s not considered a good fundraising strategy to announce other organization’s campaigns while in the middle of one yourself (see that ad at the top of the screen?), but there’s several reasons the current KickStarter campaign by L.A. Walks is more interesting than most.

Having sharpened their ask by applying for one of the 10 L.A. 2050 grants earlier this year, L.A. Walks is building off that unsuccessful effort by building a campaign around the 2050 application. If they reach their $10,000 goal, the funds will go into creating a true, city-wide campaign for a more walkable Los Angeles through the Hey I’m Walking Here Campaign.

So what does $10,000 buy you?

A citywide grassroots publicity campaign with events and promotional materials (with plenty of good-looking merchandise to wear while you’re walking)
A free publication focused on the “state of walking in LA” including tips on how to make your neighborhood more walkable
Hey, I’m Walking Here! action day, where groups will make temporary, attention-getting pedestrian improvements (like Parking Day)
A pilot program for a urban wayfinding system that helps walkers understand how many minutes it takes to walk to nearby landmarks (like Walk Your City, but custom for LA)

There’s lots of fun rewards for donors, including another amazing dinner party at Deborah Murphy’s Silver Lake Home. If you missed Streetsblog’s fundraiser their last month, you’re being given a second chance to experience the view, company and food that Deborah’s parties are known for.

Another winner in this story is the Goldhirsch Foundation, the sponsors of the L.A. 2050. Los Angeles Walks is one of a handful of groups trying to figure out a way to fund proposals that were created for the 2050 contest. By getting people and groups thinking outside the box, the influence of the contest could extend well beyond the $1 million in grant funding.