Albany Strollers & Rollers Adopts Bike East Bay as Fiscal Sponsor

2016 was a banner year for AS&R. Our 11th year saw us continue to serve Albany by parking bikes at two events and hit 50 Bike Bike Racks installed while continuing to collaborate with local business on leg bands and more. On the advocacy side, we continued to push for increased city support for active transportation. AS&R spun out an effort to help draft a sidewalk tax (Measure P1) which succeeded in getting the tax passed. We will continue to be involved in shaping the sidewalk repair program over the ten years of the tax and beyond.

Along with our successes, AS&R experienced larger sums of money passing through our hands from businesses helping us to buy Bike Bike Racks. This increased activity comes with greater responsibilities and liabilities, including paying taxes. Without native expertise in these areas, the Core Group evaluated various options and selected Bike East Bay to manage our accounting for a small fee. Due to the goals of Bike East Bay (formerly known as East Bay Bicycle Coalition) being similar to AS&R and the long-term relationship we've already had with them, it seemed like a natural fit. At the direction of the Core Group, Bike East Bay now manages our finances and includes AS&R in their tax filings. 

Under this new arrangement, AS&R retains control of all of our assets and activities. Bike East Bay is our fiscal sponsor and will be referenced in all our materials. All funds collected by AS&R will go through Bike East Bay, but they are under the local control of AS&R and will remain focused on local projects to support walking and cycling in Albany. Of course, your contributions are still tax deductible.