Tips for raising money for a special needs bike

How can I purchase a special needs bike?

In short, we will explain to you how you can buy a special needs bike.

Privately-owned

After you have selected a suitable bike that meets your needs, you can choose to purchase this special needs bike privately. You pay for the bike with your own financial means. This means that, you can go to any Van Raam dealer or bicycle repair shop with the quote for the bike, so that they can order the bike for you. The bike will then be delivered to you via your chosen dealer/cycle shop/cycle-maker. Should adjustments and/or repairs have to be made to the bike in the future, you can choose which bike repair shop will repair it. The repair costs are for your own account, unless the costs are covered by the warranty. If you want to try out the special needs Van Raam bicycles, please visit our showroom (by appointment) or contact one of our dealers in your area.

Have your special needs bike sponsored

If you are not entitled to compensation for your modified bicycle via the municipality, you can also purchase the bicycle privately. You can choose to use your own bank account to pay for the bike, but you may also be able to collect the right amount of money through a fundraising campaign or by crowdfunding. An example of such a fundraiser is to have your bicycle sponsored. This can be done by asking your neighbours and/or friends, but you can also think of companies and/or local bicycle dealers. Other sponsorship activities; sponsorship by (sports) associations, or organizea sponsor walk or sponsor bike ride.

The residents of Park Centre's new Van Raam side-by-side tandem Fun2Go was purchased completely from donated funds. A part of the amount came from a Park Centre spaghetti dinner during Newton’s RAGBRAI. RAGBRAI is the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, which is a non-competitive bicycle ride across the state of Iowa with recreational riders from across the whole world. The remainder of the amount was paid by an anonymous donor.

On the photo you see a resident of Park Centre during the spaghetti dinner-fundraiser at RAGBRAI. The resident sits on the Van Raam wheelchair transport bike VeloPlus.

Fund or foundation for a special needs bike

There are foundations and institutions that donate for an adapted bicycle. Think of theRotary, Lions Clubs or a 'Friends of' foundation, but also well-known foundations such as Make-A-Wish Foundation and Raisin Hope Foundation (RHF) may be able to do something for you.

In addition, there are also funds that sometimes make donations for the purchase of an adapted bicycle, for example: Ronald McDonald House Charities, Variety the Children's Charity.

Organize an activity and use your creativity

In addition to a donation or sponsorship by third parties, you can also choose to organize your own activity or event to raise money. Maybe you are good at knitting and can sell your homemade woollen hats to buy your special needs bike.

You can also organize an event at your (sports and/or neighbourhood) association where the donations go to the special needs bike. Examples of events are: Bingo's, Wheel of Fortune and a benefit gala.

It sometimes happens that a school will collect money for a specilal needs bicycle. For this they organize projects such as collecting packaging deposit money, sponsor runs or organizing Christmas and summer markets. Of course, as a care institution, you can also choose to do this so that you can get the desired amount of money.

Promote your campaign!

Think about what you want to achieve with your fundraiser for a special needs bike. Once you have your goal in mind, it is important to promote your campaign so that as many people as possible are informed about your campaign. Below are a few campaigns you can do to reach out to as many people as possible:

• Pay attention to your fundraising campaign by handing out and hanging posters and/or flyers.

• Share your action on Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, etc.) and ask your friends to share your message. You can also choose to set up your own Facebook page around the campaign and invite as many people as possible to participate.

• Ask a Van Raam dealer for a free testbike, so that the bike can be seen in real life and can be tested, so that people will get excited and want to support you.

• Contact the media and tell them why you need a special needs bike. If you're lucky, the media will find your story newsworthy and bring your campaign to the attention of a wide audience.