[TheThinkTank] who's got membership?

[Mark Rehder]

When I joined re-Cycles in 2001 we had a membership.  Our shop rate  
for DIYers was $4 per hour, but if one bought a $10 membership the  
rate dropped to $2, and the first session was free.  This brought  
people in, but did little for attracting volunteers.  Then we  
realized that a lot of people were buying a membership to get the  
free session, as the four hours would cost them $10 instead of $16.   
So we had a great big database of people that were members, but most  
did not volunteer, and many perhaps were not even that interested in  
us as a co-op, but had been happy to save money that one evening.

So we dropped the membership, and now have a flat rate of $5 per hour  
(still a bargain).  But this also means we're not really a co-op  
anymore...  What we do now is offer an hour for hour deal, where  
every hour of volunteering earns an hour's free time in the shop.   
This has worked really well, and we now seem to have a steady stream  
of volunteers.

We have a core group of about 16 people, and since we still operate  
under the auspices of a larger non-profit we can get away without  
having a Board.  But we have our own bank account and set all our own  
policies, and we are very happy that the main org. is completely  
hands-off (and they are very happy with how successful we are).  Our  
shop is not that large, with about 700 sq. ft. of space, with another  
200 upstairs for storage, and we pay $500 in rent.

Our core group consists mainly of the Head Mechanics that staff each  
shift, and each one has a key.  But we only have one HM per shift, so  
on busy nights it can get a bit much for the one person.  We have  
only four workstations, but do have a few folding stands for the  
overflow.  We're trying to recruit more HMs of course, and are always  
gently cajoling regular volunteers into becoming Shop Assistants  
while they gain knowledge.

And we are quite pleased to have just signed on our first female HM!   
She has been running some trial "women-only" sessions (dubbed  
"Wenches with Wrenches") and will run those as a once-a-month thing  
(or more often) come Spring in addition to running regular shifts.

Mark