January 2026 - TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

Volunteer Retention
by Geoff Smart 02 Feb '26

02 Feb '26

Hi All, In some but not all of our sessions we have an issue with volunteer retention. After surveying our volunteers and people who left after 3-4 sessions the consensus is that our 1 hour induction is not enough and that we need a more structured training and onboarding over multiple sessions for the cohort that for various reasons need more training and more interaction with staff and volunteers. Has anyone had any luck with increasing retention using a more structured approach. If you have, we would appreciate any content or information you can share with us, and any other tips you may have to increase retention Regards *Geoff Smart* Chair Back2Bikes M : 0419 345 440 525 Williamstown Rd Port Melbourne 3207 back2bikes.org.au

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Let's talk about DEI
by angel york 31 Jan '26

31 Jan '26

Hi everyone, I was just reading about how one large corporation was like "we are absolutely keeping our DEI" while a deluge of other large corporations were getting rid of or tearing apart theirs last year. And I got to thinking about bike collectives. Most bike collectives that I've been have DEI statements and try to have approaches to their community that reflect those values. Some do not. Does your org have a DEI statement or policies as active guiding principles (you have many diversities in patrons/volunteers/staff/etc)? What are they? Maybe in practice, your collective is really good at one kind of DEI but not others? How did your community get to where it is today? Why is DEI important? What aspects of it are hard, and why is it worth the ongoing effort by your community? Does your org have neglected DEI statements or policies? Or none? What questions can you ask this group to feel like you have the resources and understanding you need to start the process of bringing DEI into your own community? Thanks, everyone!

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volunteer opportunity
by angel york 09 Jan '26

09 Jan '26

Hi everyone, Volunteer Responsibility Amnesty Day is coming up in a few months, and I'm going to be removing myself as an admin on https://opencollective.com/bike-collectives-tech . There is no day-to-day responsibility involved. It's basically just a way to hold enough money to occasionally pay for hosting and registration, which are covered for a few years. Jonathan has taken over all other tech duties, so it would be nice if someone else could replace me so it's not just Étienne and April on there, and so that it's slightly more of a collective. Short version: admin needed for the open collective account. no day-to-day responsibility required. Thanks! Angel

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