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Biking as Therapy
At Rifton, we believe everyone deserves the chance to ride. Biking is more than just recreational; it’s therapeutic. We know the health benefits that come with cycling, especially for children with disabilities – improved leg strength, posture, balance, and range of motion. We’ve also seen how it helps their socialization and their engagement with friends and family. Adaptive tricycles help non-ambulatory people experience the joy and freedom of independent movement.
In the forty years that we’ve been making adaptive tricycles, we’ve sought continually to make our designs more accessible and functional. The new Rifton Adaptive Tricycle brings our experience and your input together with cutting-edge materials and technology to create the ultimate ride. It is sleek, rugged, adaptable, and a whole lot of fun.
The Therapeutic Benefits of Biking:
- Lower extremity strengthening
- Reciprocal leg motion patterning
- Balancing skills
- Using visual-spatial perception for steering
- Social interaction with peers and neighbors
Some insurers and other funding sources are beginning to recognize that for a person with disabilities, a trike is far more than merely recreational; an adaptive tricycle is often medically necessary for someone who cannot walk independently or who sits for long hours in a wheelchair. Sadly, these funding options are not available to everyone.
The Crowd Financing Option:
Through crowd-financing with CoCoPay™ , families collaborate with their social networks to gift their child a Rifton bike. The family (or a helpful friend) registers a crowdfunding campaign and shares it via email, social media, or direct messages. They craft a story about how a bike will change their child’s life, then collect online pledges from those in their networks who wish to help.
People pledge using a credit card, bank card, or PayPal account. The campaign runs for a set time, and if it reaches its goal, the payment provider completes the charges. The family and the supporters won’t incur any costs if the campaign falls short of the goal. All pledges are cancelled in that case. However, CoCoPay coaches will guide families through the entire process to provide the best opportunity for success!
Unlike other crowdfunding platforms, contributions are paid directly to Rifton, ensuring accountability for the funds used and avoiding negative impacts on families’ income tax or social benefits programs.
The family uses CoCoPay's platform and coaching services for free:
- Rifton covers payment processing costs.
- Supporters receive the option to top up their pledge, which helps keep CoCoPay’s platform and coaching services free for families.
Savings from interest and platform fees range from hundreds to thousands of dollars per family. And the strength, the delight, and the life this gift brings a child with disabilities are incomparable. Options like CareCredit are still available if a campaign is unsuccessful; however, the savings are well worth the try.
Getting Started:
If you'd like to start a campaign to fund the purchase of a Rifton Adaptive Tricycle, click here or on the big red Fund a Tricycle button. Or, ask a Rifton customer care representative to send you an email invitation to start your campaign.
Don't worry if you've never run a crowdfunding campaign before. The CoCoPay platform is very easy to use and their team will help you through the (short) setup process.
You can give the gift of better health and mobility. Give it a go and make a big impact on the quality of life of a child.
Campaigns
FAQ
Thanks for taking the time to read these frequently asked questions.
This campaign is to help a friend or family member fund the purchase of their Rifton assistive device. They are collecting contributions from people in their social network to help achieve this result. If the total contributions reach the goal of purchasing the device, the payments will be safely processed and transferred to the vendor, and the device will be shipped or delivered to them. No one is charged, and no costs are incurred if the goal is not reached. Your contribution will help them achieve their goal and get their device.
Frequently asked questions:
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When will I be charged?
When the campaign reaches its goal, your payment will be processed. This usually occurs within a few weeks but can sometimes happen right away if the campaign moves very quickly.
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Do I get a tax receipt for my contribution?
As this is a product purchase on behalf of someone, it does not qualify for a tax receipt.
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Who pays the costs of this campaign?
The campaign platform is provided for free. The payment processing fees for this campaign are being generously covered by the vendor. As part of the checkout process, you will be asked to top off your contribution to help cover CoCoPay's costs of providing this free service which includes coaching the campaign team on effective crowdfunding techniques.
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How long will the campaign run?
Campaigns run until they hit their funding goal. If it appears the goal won’t be reached, the campaign owner can stop it at any time, and no contributions will be processed. By making your risk-free contribution right away, you can inspire others also to chip in and help out.
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Does the money go to the campaign owner or the company?
The funds are collected on behalf of the campaign owner or the beneficiary they have nominated i.e., their friend or family member, and paid to the company on their behalf only when the total funds required have been collected. This removes any risk of the campaign only partially reaching its goal or the funds being accidentally misallocated.
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What is CoCoPay?
CoCoPay stands for COllaborative COmmunity PAYments and is an innovative way to help community members work together to fund impactful projects. CoCoPay is the world’s leading crowd-financing platform and is powered by ConnectionPoint, the global leader in collaborative commerce. ConnectionPoint has helped raise over $250 million dollars for impact projects in over 100 countries.
About Us
About Rifton
Our History
Rifton began in 1977 as an offshoot of Community Playthings, a leading manufacturer of furniture and equipment for early childhood settings. When our designers paid a neighborly visit to a Connecticut home for children with disabilities, a therapist asked if they could custom-build a chair for one of their residents.
In the next months similar requests trickled in, and before long designers and workers at Community Playthings were dreaming about an entirely different and new line of equipment. And so Rifton Equipment began.
Those same early years saw a growing sensitivity in society to people with special needs. Americans increasingly recognized every person’s right to be treated with dignity and respect. At Rifton, we believe people with disabilities deserve our best.
Who We Are
