Dear bike shop,

Thank you for your continued support for WABA! Your existence makes the area a better place for cycling, and we appreciate the involvement of shops at our events throughout the year.

WABA is re-imagining our annual fundraiser for 2011, and we want your shop to be involved! Rather than our traditional gala, we are hosting a Spring Bike Fest and Fundraiser, a more bike-focused event with a lower price point, on April 9. The event will be held on the 8th floor of a newly remodeled office building, which is a unique space that will allow us to throw a fun party and raise money to benefit our bicycle mission. We expect that our new format will bring around 500 people, which would be an excellent audience for your shop.

The highlight of this year's event will be a custom bike build contest, where local bike shops will engage in friendly competition with a winner chosen by our festival attendees. At the end of the festival, we will raffle off the bikes to benefit WABA, and the bike shop that made the most popular bike will take home a prize and the title of "The Washington Area's Best Bike Builder of 2011." All shops involved will have their name in front of a large group of enthusiastic bicyclists. The shops and their bikes, along with documentation of the build process, will be prominently featured on the WABA website and blog prior to the event and in the RideOn newsletter after the event.

We need at least four bike shops to showcase the talent of their employees in the bike build, and due to space limitations, we must limit the number of bikes accepted to ten. Any shop also serving as an event sponsor of $500+ (or referring a sponsorship of $500+) is guaranteed entry. Other entries will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

To make this a fair test of creativity and skill, builders will be limited to a budget of $250 in new or purchased supplies. Materials recycling is encouraged!

Other sponsorship opportunities are available and appreciated to bring us closer to our event goal of raising $25,000 and to continue our advocacy and education programs in the area. Sponsors of $500+ or of in-kind donations (significant auction items, bike-themed decorations) will be featured on the website and in the Bike Fest program.

Please contact Kevin Belanger, Events Coordinator at WABA, by Friday, February 11th and indicate your interest in the bike build or sponsorship. Kevin can be reached at kevin@waba.org or 202-518-0524. All shops with entries in the competition or who become event sponsors will also receive two free tickets to the Spring Bike Fest and Fundraiser.

Sincerely,
Kevin Belanger