- TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

501c3 activity and IRS rules
by Bob Giordano 24 Feb '18

24 Feb '18

Below is a link and some text related to IRS rules and 501c3 activity. To me this points out the critical importance of defining your mission. When we started in 1996, we were very clear that 'providing bikes' and 'creating sustainable transportation' were goals towards a 'healthy community and environment', for instance. See part 3 of the IRS 'three-part' test below. (this ruling is from 1985, so more up to date rules may be out there) -- Bob Giordano Free Cycles Missoula, www.freecycles.org Missoula Institute for Sustainable Transportation https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/eotopicj85.pdf "Questions arise as to whether these activities, such as strikes, economic boycotts, picketing, and mass demonstrations, are permissible methods of furthering educational or charitable purposes. In determining whether activities of this type are consistent with IRC 501(c)(3), the Service relies on a three-part test. Rev. Rul. 80-278. Such activities will be considered permissible under IRC 501(c)(3) if: (1) The purpose of the organization is charitable; (2) the activities are not illegal, contrary to a clearly defined and established public policy, or in conflict with express statutory restrictions; and (3) the activities are in furtherance of the organization's exempt purpose and are reasonably related to the accomplishment of that purpose. " --- Edward Stewart wrote: Be careful of your non-profit status when taking political stance on issues. --- On Thu, Feb 22, 2018, BikeConcord <Smitty(a)bikeconcord.org> wrote: We are debating wether or not to post on our Facebook page. The brands Bell, Giro helmets, Blackburn lights, and CamelBak bags are all owned by the parent company Vista Outdoor, America’s largest manufacturer of ammunition and a big NRA booster.

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Boycott Vista Products
by BikeConcord 24 Feb '18

24 Feb '18

We are debating wether or not to post on our Facebook page. The brands Bell, Giro helmets, Blackburn lights, and CamelBak bags are all owned by the parent company Vista Outdoor, America’s largest manufacturer of ammunition and a big NRA booster. https://vistaoutdoor.com/brands/ Best regards and Happy pedaling! “Smitty” (S. M. Ardrey) Community Bicycle Shop Coordinator a.k.a. The Instigator (925)285-1814 BikeConcord.org Facebook: BikeConcord Bike Concord's nonprofit 501(c) 3 sponsor is Bike East Bay BikeEastBay.org

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Consent Forms and logistics for Drop-in Public Youth Rides and Road Skills learning?
by bike club 19 Feb '18

19 Feb '18

Hey Folks, We are hoping to create a riding/ road skills component to our drop-in youth shop program and I am wondering about the logistics/legalities of how to approach this! For over six month now we've been hosting a drop-in shop program as a collaboration between Pedal Society and Kickstand community bikes one afternoon a week where teens can drop in and get free support servicing their bikes, volunteer on shop projects to learn mechanics skills, and volunteer as part of our earn a bike program.In an effort to make the program as low barrier as possible we have left it as a drop in program vs. having a formal sign up, etc. The drop in is slowly growing a devoted crew of regulars. YAY! It has come to our attention that many teens, especially those who have not previously had access to a bike, do not have competency navigating the roads safely. In an effort to remedy this and build road skills and riding into our program, our thought is to make one week of the month our teen community ride and another day our road skills learning in the parking lot. It seems like hosting a road skills/riding session as a drop-in, with different people showing up every week would come with a host of challenges and complexities. Right now, our best idea, is that youth who will be leaving the parking lot with us on monthly rides will need a consent form and to have demonstrated a certain aptitude for riding. We're not exactly sure how to test for this or how exactly to go about teaching road skills on a drop in basis on a different monthly day while other folks are in the shop with the other instructor. How can we build on road skills when different people may show up every week? Therefore, my associated questions are: - Structure: Does anyone have any feedback on how to structure this? If we have different youth coming in all the time, it's kind of hard to build on road skills that take more than one day to teach - is it feasible to have a drop in program that teaches riding skills? - If many teenagers want to come on a community ride, do we need to cap it like a formal program (2 instructors per 10 youth) or is there a way to facilitate a larger more open community ride? I'd love to hear any feedback folks have for how to make this happen. Woohoo! Sarah -- Sarah Duby FioRito Bike Club Youth Program Coordinator Pedal Energy Development Alternatives (PEDAL) www.pedalpower.org

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Tool Board Fashion Show - late but great
by DCoppley＠intercitytransit.com 19 Feb '18

19 Feb '18

I meant to share our boards, but took a while snapping photos. Work stands, tool boards, and work ticket clipboards are color coordinated. There is storage behind the board for tires and cables. Please enjoy all the lovely type-a organizing. Photos are attached. David David Coppley Walk n' Roll Program Assistant Intercity Transit 360-705-5817 (office) 360-701-8379 (cell) PO Box 659 Olympia, WA 98501 dcoppley(a)intercitytransit.com<mailto:dcoppley@intercitytransit.com> Find us on Facebook!<https://www.facebook.com/BicycleCommuterContest> [WalkNRoll_HZ_RGB]

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Reno Bike Project is hiring a Mechanic Educator
by Genevieve Parker 17 Feb '18

17 Feb '18

Position description attached; feel free to share with your networks. Thanks! Genevieve Parker RBP Program Director http://www.renobikeproject.org/

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The Portland Gear Hub is Hiring a Program Mechanic (Portland, Maine)
by Ainsley Judge 17 Feb '18

17 Feb '18

Hi all, The Portland Gear Hub is looking for an experienced Program Mechanic to join our team in Portland, Maine. The Portland Gear Hub is a non-profit bike and outdoor gear shop powered a parent organization, Camp Ketcha. The Program Mechanic position is a full-time salaried position to lead educational bike maintenance for youth and adults, trail rides and outdoor adventures, as well as perform bike repair service and assist with sales at our retail location. Read the full description here. <https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uabhH7Ua9QbaeXRgl4la3xF8N5sCNuye/view?usp=…> Ainsley Judge Director of the Portland Gear Hub A program of Camp Ketcha Visit our shop at 155 Washington Ave. Take a class at the Bike School at 85 Anderson St. Portland, ME 04101

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Chicago's Blackstone Bicycle Works Youth Education Program Featured In Great Article
by Matthew Searle 16 Feb '18

16 Feb '18

Chicago's *Blackstone Bicycle Works* youth education program was featured in a great online article from Bittersweet Monthly. Take a look at it here: https://bittersweetmonthly.com/stories/blackstone-bicycle-works#chapter-nav *Mission: Blackstone Bicycle Works (BBW) is a youth education program of the Experimental Station. It’s a full-service bike shop dedicated to promoting ecological practices and empowering youth—teaching mechanical skills, job skills, and business literacy to youths ages 8-18.* ______________ Matthew T. Searle Assistant Director Experimental Station 6100 S. Blackstone Ave. Chicago, IL 60637 USA matthew(a)experimentalstation.org office: 773.241.6044; alt: 773.270.2502 experimentalstation.org <http://www.experimentalstation.org>

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Seen any good videos lately on bike traffic safety? (Good enough to teach with?)
by Jim Sheehan 15 Feb '18

15 Feb '18

Dear Think Tank; Do you use a video to teach bike traffic safety? Which one? Who do you teach with it? Is it part of a course that includes actual riding, or is the video all they get? Here's why we want to know: Everyone who gets a bike from OCBC is offered a free Traffic Skills Intro class , but less than 5% of them take it. (It's three hours split evenly between a slideshow/discussion, rodeo drills, and a group ride in city traffic -- the shortest we could make the LAB's 9-hour curriculum) Earn A Bike youth must take this class as part of earning their bike. Most of our other students pay a $25 fee since they didn't buy a bike from us. We get frustrated cancelling classes on these folks when we have less than three students (but a class of two is less educational, not efficient, and just kind of weird). For a long time we asked bike purchasers to take an online quiz on safe cycling (with answer feedback) while we final-checked their bikes. Almost everyone took it, and most said they appreciated the info. But it had no video, so did not demonstrate good technique, or, obviously, give them any guided practice on their bikes. So we want to give better information with a video on the basics of riding in traffic they can watch in the shop (or anytime online) and bring more of them back in with a shorter class that still covers the same "need to knows" -- since they will have seen good practice modeled in a standardized, visual way. (I'm picturing a video version of How to Not Get Hit By Cars). *We'd **also **like to use this video as the first station in community bike rodeos.* Is this a tall order? If you haven't found a video you can stand either, what do you do to teach good bicycle traffic skills? Is it effective? Please leave your answers in this google form <https://goo.gl/forms/P1MVez5bvoFKRmX32>, and for an ironic reward, see this video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prhQixo0sFI> (if you can stand it) for all the production and pedagogical choices we want to avoid at all costs. Thanks, Jim Sheehan Executive Director Ohio City Bicycle Co-op 1840 Columbus Rd Cleveland, Ohio 44113 216 830 2667 OhioCityCycles.org jim(a)ohiocitycycles.org

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Web Developer
by Tigre Bici 14 Feb '18

14 Feb '18

Hello everyone We are looking for a web developer that can help us building our webpage with an online store. We have some ideas on what we need and will love that our page is built from a cyclist developer. If this is your thing please send us and email and we will be in contact Saludos R.

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Board Member "Job" Descriptions
by judith.feist＠gmail.com 12 Feb '18

12 Feb '18

I concur on this request...also director job descriptions...please and thank you. (: Sent from my LG K10, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone ------ Original message------From: Alix AylenDate: Wed, Feb 7, 2018 12:32 PMTo: thethinktank(a)lists.bikecollectives.org;Cc: Subject:[TheThinkTank] Board Member "Job" Descriptions Hi all, I'm wondering if any collectives might be able to share examples of Board Member "Job Descriptions with me/Charlie's? We have very brief lists of tasks/areas of focus for our members, but I'm hoping to draft something that is a better indication of the time commitments for each member and potential tasks associated with each role. While also keeping in mind that these are volunteer roles. We have 2-3 staff and 9 board members, so I'm just hoping to have something to work off of to assist with articulating roles and managing the board. thank you! -- Alix AylenExecutive Director242.5 Queen Street E. M5A 1S3 Toronto, Ontario t. 416-856-5510 www.charliesfreewheels.ca Charlie's FreeWheels Inspiring a spirit of exploration in youth Sign up for our newsletter Get more young people on bikes! Click the gear to donate to Charlies' FreeWheels.

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