We thank you for taking a moment to read this important message.

On February 10, 2023 we were informed by the office of the Minister of Transportation that we would not be receiving any further funding assistance.  The reasons given to us include that the ministry no longer has funding for traffic safety initiatives like ours.  With that said, on February 17 we received a call requesting we re-submit our funding request on March 1^st and it will be reconsidered.

We might have already made some progress, but we need to keep the push going to be sure we maintain our funding going forward.

To say that we are disappointed with this decision does not even cover how we feel.  The pandemic years very much negatively affected our small non-profit.  We lost corporate and general members through no fault of their own as money was tight for many.  We were not able to be out in front of people for over 2 years and therefore unable to raise awareness and funds out in the community.  Prior to COVID we’d built some momentum to be a bit more financially independent and unfortunately took giant steps back and are now in the process of rebuilding.

For transparency sake, we have received $25,000 from the Government of Alberta each year for the past 6 years.  That's it, just $25,000 a year.  With that, along with our current corporate members and general member dues, we are able to:

• run a kick off event to announce May is Motorcycle Awareness month - a live production in-studio at Production World
• run an annual motorcycle awareness campaign from mid April to at least mid June and sometimes longer that includes public service announcements for radio, TV, and digital marketing that hits all four corners of our province
• produce video public service announcements for TV and to share all over social media
• pay to boost posts that are important to ensure messaging is hitting all Albertan road users from 2 wheels to 18 wheels
• record and produce the weekly Think Bike podcast that runs from mid April to mid October with credible guests to give the best educational information on motorcycle related topics
• attend several community events throughout the year educating all types of road users from 2 wheels to 18 wheels

All of the above, should the Government of Alberta do on its own, would cost significantly more than $25,000 each year.  The return on investment is huge in supporting the AMSS, especially as motorcycle related traffic safety messaging is non-existent from the government themselves.

We are the only active group in Alberta doing what we do.  With our funding assistance at risk by the Government of Alberta we risk having to cease operations possibly as early as 2024.  It is important to note that not one single member of the board of directors at AMSS are paid in any fashion.  We all donate 100% of our time to this cause so there is a representation of motorcycle safety and awareness in our province.

Are you willing to lose the only motorcycle safety and awareness advocacy group in Alberta, one who is working hard to lower motorcycle related injury and fatality statistics?  We aren't either.

What can you do to help?  These are a few ways you can make a difference:

• Tell the Minister of Transportation your thoughts on this oversight.  Send a politely worded email to Honourable Devin Dreeshen,  Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors at  Transportation.Minister@gov.ab.ca.  Our membership has already started writing emails, which we think is why we’re being asked to resubmit on March 1st, and now we are hoping for the public to join in.  This could help us immensely to be sure we can move forward.
• Become a member of the AMSS as a General or Corporate member - click here for more information - https://ab-amss.org/membership-options/
• Donate to the AMSS - please note that although we are a registered non-profit in the Province of Alberta, we are not a charity and cannot issue a charitable tax receipt.  Email us at info@ab-amss.org to learn how.

Please consider one or all three of the options above.  But above all, we hope that you take a quick a quick moment to tell the Minister of Transportation and even your elected representative that you want the AMSS to continue and trust us to continue the work that we are doing.

Thank you all for your support and consideration.

Liane Langlois, President

On behalf of the AMSS Board of Directors and its membership