Appendix H-2

Black Hills State University

Informed Consent Form for:

Pedal Powered Philanthropy 

Procedure B

This Informed Consent Form has two parts: 

• Information Sheet (to share information about the study with you) 

• Certificate of Consent (for signatures if you choose to participate) 

You will be given a copy of the full Informed Consent Form 

Part I: Information Sheet 

Introduction: The purpose of this survey is to collect data on membership, donations, volunteering, trail utilization, user experience, and general demographic information from Spearfish Trails Coalition stakeholders. These data will be compiled into a final report that the Spearfish Trails Coalition will use to inform their strategic decision making. The report will be made available to the public, but no identifiers are included and data within the final report are aggregated. Your valued input will help improve decision making for STC and strengthen trail projects in Spearfish. As a “thank you” for participating, you will be entered into a random drawing to win one of three $100 gift cards that can be used at a variety of major participating retailers.  

Procedure: If you consent to participate in this study, you will be asked to answer anonymous survey questions about membership, donations, volunteering, trail utilization, user experience, and general demographic information related to Spearfish trail systems. 

Participant Selection: You are asked to participate in this study because you are likely a Spearfish Trails Coalition stakeholder, either because you are an STC member, donor, social media follower, event attender, and/or Spearfish trails user. 

Voluntary Participation: Your participation in this research is entirely voluntary. It is your choice whether to participate or not.  You may cease your participation at any time and refuse any questions you do not wish to answer.  

Confidentiality: Please know that we respect your confidentiality by ensuring that no questions ask for identifiers (name, address, etc.). Since it is not our intent to collect identifying information, please do not use names, addresses, or other such identifiers in your text responses. If identifiers are disclosed, we will deidentify before data are shared outside of the research team (principal investigator and assistant researcher) with the STC board. Thank you!

Sharing the Results: If requested, you will be provided with a copy of the results of this study.  The results of this study may be shared in a professional paper presentation and/or academic publication, but keep in mind that the information is anonymous so nobody can identify you based on your responses. Results will also be shared via a final report published and made available to the public via electronic file. 

Right to Refuse or Withdraw: You do not have to take part in this research if you do not wish to do so.  You may stop participating at any time with no negative repercussions. 

Who to Contact: If you have any questions, you can either ask me now or contact me, Dr. Trenton Ellis, through email or by phone at:

Email: Trenton.Ellis@bhsu.edu

Phone: 605-642-1283 (leave voicemail so that I know you called)

You can ask me any more questions about any part of the research study, if you wish to. Do you have any questions?  

Part II: Certificate of Consent 

By completing the survey questionnaire, you consent to participate in this study.     

READ THIS: “I have read the foregoing information, or it has been read to me. I have had the opportunity to ask questions about it and any questions I have been asked have been answered to my satisfaction. I consent voluntarily to be a participant in this study.” 

Statement by the researcher/person taking consent

I have accurately read out the information sheet to the potential participant, and to the best of my ability made sure that the participant understands that the following will be done:

1. Questions about membership, donations, volunteering, trail utilization, user experience, and general demographic information related to Spearfish trail systems will be asked.

2. Data (anonymized and aggregated) may be shared in the form of a professional presentation and/or academic publication, as well as a final publicly available report. 

3. Completing this survey questionnaire constitutes consent to participate in this study. 

I confirm that the participants were given an opportunity to ask questions about the study, and all the questions asked by the participant have been answered correctly and to the best of my ability. I confirm that the individual has not been coerced into giving consent, and the consent has been given freely and voluntarily. 

A copy of this informed consent form has been provided to the participant via URL.

Date: September 1, 2026