The word “tithe” comes from the Old English word meaning one tenth. We most often hear the word in a religious context: the practice of contributing 10% of one’s income to the church.
While we may not use that word, many of us who are committed to political, environmental, and social change tithe, making regular financial contributions to the causes most important to us.
I know that many of you reading this spend hundreds or thousands of dollars annually on bicycles, repairs and parts, organized rides, bike-related travel, specialized cycling clothes and shoes, and all sorts of other gear.
What if you pledged to tithe a percentage of that spending to a bike-related cause? One SCBC member does exactly that: he makes a donation to us every time he makes a major bike-related purchase. “I think of it as a bike lane tax,” he says. “When we buy gas we pay taxes to maintain the roads, when I buy a bike I make a donation to improve bike infrastructure.”
While of course we’d love you to make a financial contribution to SCBC, there are other ways to give back! Donate a bike to someone in need, sponsor a kids’ bike team, put together a fundraiser. Together, we can grow this movement and make the joy of cycling available to everyone!
(Yes, we know that there are plenty of low-income folks for whom a bicycle is their only means of transportation. Our experience and lots of research demonstrate that folks with lower incomes actually donate a GREATER percentage of their income to charitable causes than folks with more money.)