The International Bicycle Fund (IBF) is a non-profit organization promoting bicycle transportation and international understanding. IBF promotes bicycle and other aspects of non-motorized transportation worldwide, especially in less developed areas, with a particular interest in Africa and South America. Areas of activities include: creating a bicycle culture, urban planning, transportation planning, rural mobility, mobility for women, economic development, road safety education, human settlement and quality of life, personal health, environmental quality, energy conservation and responsible tourism.
Their fundraising is done through sponsoring environmental friendly, cultural immersion, small group, bicycle tour program for ordinary active people, to Asia, the Americas, and all regions of Africa.
Through education, advocacy and demonstration projects encourage social attitudes, and infrastructure and market development that promotes use of bicycles and other forms of sustainable transport for of business and personal welfare. Encouraging environmentally friendly, economically decentralized, and educational cultural immersion formats to promote cross cultural personal and professional development and international understanding. Priority is given to less affluent regions.
The common element in all the activities of the International Bicycle Fund is bicycles.
Beyond that IBF covers a lot of territory: urban planning, facility design, women in development, rural mobility, traffic safety education, human settlement, quality of life, person health, energy conservation and responsible tourism. IBF works internationally to promote sustainable transport, preserve environmental quality and build international understanding. IBF is largely a volunteer effort.
Types of Programs
IBF provides technical advice, consulting, strategic planning, material support and financial support worldwide. Because of limited resources (both labor and funds) most of our material and financial support is provide as small matching grants to grassroots or community based organization doing undertaking unique initiatives in less developed economies. We have been particularly active in sub-Saharan Africa. Some of IBF’s support has gone to training welders in Zimbabwe to make bicycle trailers, advising a community tourism project in Tanzania, supporting a grassroots advocacy group in Uganda, advocating tariff reductions in Kenya, supplying bike parts to Eritrea, supporting a youth mechanics training program in Ghana, supporting the Pan-Africa Bicycle Information Network, funding an environmental education program in India and donating bikes to Cuba.
In Latin America, IBF launched a South America Bicycle Transport Advocacy Initiative to support local bicycle advocacy programs. Grants were made to support workshops to train transport planners about non-motorized transport and to support a car-free day program.
A great deal of IBF’s effort is focused on moving information: researching and answering queries that come to the office, helping partners refine and increase the effectiveness of their respective programs, and publishing information that might be useful for others.
For more info on International Bicycle Fund visit www.ibike.org