Hello Friends and Ashland CarShare Supporters,
Many of you have already heard the fantastic news about our recent grant award from the Oregon Department of Transportation. This is excellent timing for the organization as we line things up to launch our first shared vehicle in Ashland in just a few short months. As many of you also know, this grant does not mean that all of our financial needs have been taken care of. Before we receive our first payment from ODOT, it is imperative that we submit our application for federal Non-Profit status with the IRS. This means it must be submitted no later than Friday, along with a filing fee of $500. This is where you come in!
A donation from you could really make a difference in the future of transportaion in the Rogue Valley. Our mission is to provide an alternative to individual car ownership to the residents of Ashland and eventually the entire valley. We hope to encourage folks to drive less and to walk, bike, and utilize public transportaion with more frequency. Less cars on the road means pedestrian friendly communities and cleaner air for all of us here in the valley.
My goal is to raise the $500 filing fee by Friday. Together, I believe we can raise this amount in the next 5 days and secure the future of ACS as a Non-Profit Organization. It would only take a $20 donation from 25 of you to make this a reality. However, no amount is too small. Please consider making a donation and email me as soon as possible to indicate your level of support, as I am closely monitoring our progress as Friday approaches. Please also consider forwarding this request to those you may know who would like to see carsharing succeed in Southern Oregon.
Checks can be made out and mailed to:
Ashland CarShare
2023 Siskiyou Blvd.
Ashland, OR 97520
Thank you for your support. Together we can make a difference.
Sincerely,
Becky
Becky Brown
Ashland CarShare
www.ashlandcarshare.org
ashlandcarshare@gmail.com
Consume less. Share more
We just received word yesterday afternoon that we have been awarded $20,000 from the Oregon Department of Transportation!!!! This is excellent timing for us and we are thrilled to finally be moving forward.
Those interested in becoming members should plan to attend our next meeting on Wednesday, November 5 at 5:30pm at the Ashland Library.
Membership applications and pricing plans will be available soon. Stay tuned………
This is probably the most common question I get from folks. Makes sense, really. Changing your transportation habits is a big deal and people want to know the facts before they even consider letting go of their wheels.
Because we don’t have specific numbers for Ashland CarShare just yet, I thought it would be helpful to share some examples of what our membership and usage fees might look like. Take a look at this table, compiled by Kevin at carsharing.net . It’s a nice way of comparing the cost of carsharing in different parts of the world.
I also recommend taking a look at the websites of some established carshares. Rates for Ashland will most likely follow those of smaller organizations such as Boulder CarShare , CarShare Vermont, and Ithaca CarShare, but it’s helpful to see what they charge at the larger organizations like Philly CarShare and City CarShare as well for comparison.
Dave Brook has a great blog devoted to keeping us all current on carsharing news around the world. If you haven’t had a chance to check it out, be sure to take a look. Last week he posted current North American stats:
“As of July 2008, 19 U.S. carsharing programs claimed 279,174 members sharing 5,838 vehicles. As of July 2008, 39,664 members shared 1,667 vehicles among 14 carsharing organizations in Canada.
That’s a 23:1 national member to vehicle ratio in Canada and 47: 1 ratio for the US.”
Looks like we’ve got a little work to do here in the US.
Carsharing is just one of many ways of living more sustainably. In case you weren’t already aware, the county is offering a new opportunity to keep even more garbage out of our landfills!
Jackson County Plastic Round-up
Save your plastic for recycling; many types accepted!
Fri & Sat, November 14-15
8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Jackson County Recycling Partnership is hosting 3 free drop-off locations for NUMEROUS TYPES of plastic, including grocery and dry cleaning bags, cereal and potato chips bags, to-go containers, lawn furniture, toys, nursery pots, buckets and tubs, lids and caps, CDs and CD cases, baling twine, shrink wrap and much more.
For a LIST OF ACCEPTABLE ITEMS and more information, visit www.jcrecycle.org
Three event drop-off locations include: Rogue Disposal Transfer Station at 8001 Table Rock Road in White City, Valley View Transfer Station at 3000 Valley View Road in Ashland, and OSU Extension Service at 569 Hanley Road in Central Point.
Spread the word! If this event is a success, we hope to make it happen twice each year. Please share this information with friends, neighbors and colleagues, and recycle your plastic this November.
Recycle more: Find the Jackson County Recycling Directory online at
www.RogueSMART.org/directory.html
Today is International Car Free Day! Established officially in Europe in 1999, September 22nd is a day for showing the world that we can change our car-centered habits. If you’re a regular car user, think about parking it for the day. If you already use alternative forms of transportation congratulations! Today you can celebrate your healthy choices.
Here in Ashland, we’ll be celebrating downtown on Oak Street between E. Main St. and Lithia Way. The party starts at 4pm with informational booths, games, activties, live music and much, much more. Show your support of Ashland CarShare and walk, bike, skate, or take the bus on down……RVTD is offering free bus rides all day long. Hope to see you there!
Mark your calendars for Wednesday, October 1st and plan to spend an evening at the movies. ACS will be sponsoring two free films which support our cause. “The Lorax”, the Dr. Seuss classic, will begin at 6:30pm with “Who Killed the Electric Car?” following at 7:15pm. We are very excited to be bringing the community together for an evening of fun, education, and lively discussion.
Spread the word, bring your families, and help us raise awareness (and funds!) for alternative transportation in Ashland.
Once I figure out how to import the flyer, it’ll be on here!
ACS has gotten a bit of press this summer. Seems that lowering our dependence upon fossil fuels is hitting the mainstream media. Imagine that!
Follow these links from the Daily Tidings and Mail Tribune to read up. Unfortunately, neither article mentions the website and neither does a great job accurately explaining the details involved in carsharing, but a little exposure has got to be a good thing.
I’m working on the deatils for our Fall Fundraisers. So far, we’re planning on a Sunday Pancake Breakfast at Pilaf as well as a movie night. Two movies have been suggested: Who Killed the Electric Car? and The End of Suburbia. Any thoughts? E mail me (ashlandcarshare@gmail.com) if you have an opinion that would be helpful.
I’m putting the finishing touches on our MRG grant application and looking for a proof reader available this weekend. Any takers?
We meet next Wednesday…come join us!
Well, we’ve finally made it into the web-world. Thanks to the hard work of our Web Designer and Web Master, Alejandro, we have finally launched our site.
Stay tuned for regular updates. I’m hopeful that we will be able to keep our supporters informed and our potential members hanging by the edges of their seats for that glorious day when we register our first members and launch our first vehicle.
Check back with us often, and be sure to come on by the Ashland Library the first Wednesday of each month for our regular meeting. We meet at 5:30pm in the Guanajuato Room.
Rats.
It’s looking like the Rogue Valley MPO (municipal planning organization) will not be awarding ACS with CMAQ funding this year. I just returned from the Advisory Committee meeting at the Council of Governments, and I’m sad to report that in the lengthy, one hour discussion the committee had on the CMAQ grant candidates, ACS didn’t even make it to the table.
Looks like CMAQ air quality funds for Jackson County will go to pay for road paving projects after all. There were 7 potential projects applying for funding. Two were RVTD expansion projects (it wouldn’t have been quite so sad if either of these had won, extended bus service, I can deal with), one was a city of Medford vehicle purchase, one was a Jackson County vehicle purchase, two were road construction projects (one in Ashland and one in Jacksonville), and finally, Ashland CarShare. we scored 5th out of 7. The entire discussion held by committee members centered around the importance of “backfunding” projects that had already been partially funded and were projected to go well over budget.
Did you know that it costs over a million dollars to pave 700 feet of roadway? I was astounded. And discouraged.
I learned a lot, though. Just attending the meeting allowed me to see how our county operates and helps me to understand the decision making process. I am hopeful that we will be poised and ready to submit an application in the next funding cycle (in 18 months or so) that will catch the attention of the committee members and help facilitate an understanding of the extreme importance of carsharing in the Rogue Valley
