Can I help Roderick and his family?

NBC Correspondent John Larson visited Zambia and World Bicycle Relief, and profiled the fight with HIV/AIDS. Mr. Larson's blog entry of his visit is available on MSNBC.com. An update about Roderick and his family is available in the Stories section of our web site.

Though they continue to face a daily struggle to survive, Roderick and his family are fortunate to be a part of the safety net provided by our partners in our first healthcare project in Zambia, RAPIDS. World Bicycle Relief helped empower this program through bicycles, providing 15,000 to Caregivers and Disease Prevention Educators, and 8,000 to vulnerable households like Roderick's, finishing our commitment in March 2009. Through the work of their volunteer Caregivers, Phinimore, and now Webster, Roderick and his family will be looked after on a regular basis.

How can I volunteer for World Bicycle Relief?

Across the country and around the world, The Power of Bicycles is spreading thanks to people like you. Please register to receive our monthly on-line newsletter that includes more information about volunteer opportunities, and visit our Get Involved section of the web site to learn more about Team World Bicycle Relief opportunities.

Please note that because of our desire to build scalable, sustainable programs in the countries we serve, we train and employ local people as much as possible. Because of this, overseas volunteer opportunities are extremely limited.

Who gets the bicycles? How are they selected?

As part of our comprehensive approach to providing The Power of Bicycles to people in need, World Bicycle Relief works with partner organizations and governments in the areas we serve. Bicycle recipients are selected through these partner organizations.

For example, during our first healthcare initiative in Zambia, our partners in the RAPIDS program worked with community leaders to select bicycle recipients in their community based on one of the following criteria: home-based volunteer caregivers committed to two years of service, disease prevention educators committed to two years of service and heads of households caring for orphans and vulnerable children. World Bicycle Relief distributed bicycles to selected individuals using trucks specially designed to deliver 40-100 bicycles to each community. The community participants held distribution ceremonies attended by local government representatives where they give the bicycles to chosen recipients.

World Bicycle Relief developed this model of bicycle delivery in partnership with World Vision in 2005-2006 in Sri Lanka and successfully delivered 24,000 bicycles to students, health care workers and heads of households. Furthermore, as part of our commitment to prove The Power of Bicycles, we engage independent measurement and evaluation of our programs, the results of which are published as they become available.

Can you provide bicycles to my program?

Currently, all of our bicycle resources are committed to our projects in healthcare, education and economic development. In the future, we will continue to look for opportunities to partner with established programs in order to deliver thousands of bicycles to people in need.

What kind of bicycles does World Bicycle Relief provide?

The bicycles provided by World Bicycle Relief are purpose-built and appropriate for the rugged conditions in the underdeveloped regions in which we serve. Whenever possible, these bicycles are sourced locally to add an economic development component to the poverty relief and disaster assistance mission. If not sourced locally, at the very least we work to build assembly operations in-country to bolster the local economy.

Why do these bikes cost so little?

The bicycles are sourced within the existing supply chain in the most cost-effective manner available. The total cost includes the bicycle cost plus field costs such as distribution and maintenance training.

Can I contribute my used bike parts to World Bicycle Relief?

The manufacture and assembly of appropriate bicycles is key to World Bicycle Relief programs. While providing a much-needed simple mobility solution tailored to the environment of the project, the manufacture and assembly operations add an economic development component, creating jobs and assisting in growth. At this time, monetary contributions are the best way to help spread The Power of Bicycles, and we do not accept recycled bicycles or bicycle parts.

How will I know that World Bicycle Relief received my donation?

On-line contributions to World Bicycle Relief receive an automated e-mail reply immediately when completing the donation process. This e-mail serves as the transaction receipt for both your financial record-keeping and for IRS tax exemption purposes.

Mailed checks are collected by World Bicycle Relief and sent to our bank for deposit. In response, we send a printed acknowledgement letter on World Bicycle Relief letterhead that serves as your IRS acknowledgement for tax purposes. For contributions made in honor of someone, World Bicycle Relief sends a thank-you card to the person you have honored at the address specified. Unless otherwise directed, the card includes your name as the contributor.

What happens to my contribution to World Bicycle Relief?

Last year 81% of our total revenue went to direct program costs which include; testing and sourcing appropriate and robust bicycles, distributing the bicycles to within walking distance of recipients, training one bicycle mechanic for every 50 bicycles distributed and monitoring use of the bicycles to benefit communities in need. World Bicycle Relief optimizes resources and distributes them where they are needed most. We carefully monitor and review programs and costs, use donations and grants for their intended purposes, and look for ways to leverage the funds entrusted to us. In addition, we strive to keep our overhead rate low.

World Bicycle Relief maintains a small professional staff in its Chicago headquarters dedicated to reaching out to contributors and growing the donor base. Outside of this, all funds go directly to World Bicycle Relief projects, reaching those in need.

How do SRAM and TREK (and other industry contributors) benefit from World Bicycle Relief?

The beneficiaries of our programs are the people we help in underdeveloped regions of the world. Our commitment to providing comprehensive programs extends to working within the bicycle industry to identify suppliers that can enhance our programs in a way that benefits bicycle recipients, field mechanics and assemblers, or other participants in our programs in the field. These supplier relationships are carefully evaluated based on the potential positive impact on our programs and are separate from any financial donations from industry leaders.

Where can I see a report on your expenses and fundraising to program expense ratio?

You can access our annual IRS audit which outlines annual expenses and other important information at www.guidestar.org. The site requires you to sign-up, but it is a free service. From there, you can also access a .pdf of our 501(c)(3) letter which many companies require in order to process matching gifts. Please note that prior to October 2006, World Bicycle Relief processed donations through our local community foundation, The Chicago Community Trust. If you have further questions, please call or email Jill Reid, Vice President of Development, at +1.312.664.3604 or jillr@worldbicyclerelief.org.