Last Thursday, the leadership of the PBC and the Greenways Alliance of Rhode Island (GARI) met to continue discussions about a possible merger of these two organizations. Those attending the meeting, worked through a litany of concerns or questions about such a merger and left with a general consensus that a merger would be mutually benefitial. The boards of the two organizations have since met and officially voted to merge.
This is an exciting opportunity for both groups and, hopefully, it will only help to strengthen each of the individual groups. What will this mean for the PBC?
- We will ultimately be known by a different name, one which identifies the mission of the combined organization. If you have any great names for a statewide bicycle advocacy group, we’d love to hear your suggestions!
- The merged organization will take over GARI’s 501c.3 status. This was ultimately in the long term plans for the PBC and is now one less thing we will need to worry about.
- The fundamental mission of the combined organization is very closely aligned with the original PBC. The most noteworthy exception is that the focus will shift to statewide efforts, rather than solely focusing on Providence. In reality, this was the long term goal of the PBC, we are just accelerating the process slightly.
- We instantly grow the total membership and achieve a wider variety of cyclists.
We will be posting further information as the merger moves forward. I’d welcome any comments, suggestions, or concerns you might have.