A lot of the competitors have gotten a lot of help with aerodynamics and they wanted me to have the same advantage. They gave me enough money to buy what I needed for my bike. Neighbors, friends, and community groups. In general, people are receptive to helping out athletes they know and like. They want to feel they have made a contribution in some way.
Donations usually come in small amounts from a network of friends and acquaintances.
When she was 17 and needed to money to train in Europe, she approached the organization because it had a Cops for Kids program and she played softball on the Police Benevolent team with the daughter of detective Jerry Schweighart, who had already told her to come to him first if she needed help getting to the Olympics. Bonnie came to see me in 1982, and said she needed money, I asked her how much. She said she'd gone to several local businessmen, all of whom told her, 'Good luck,' and that was it. I couldn't believe how at ease she was talking to three armed policemen. We had no idea what speed-skating was.