- TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

Grant Seeking and Collective Foundation Center Subscription?
by rachael spiewak 29 Jan '08

29 Jan '08

Hi, everyone! People have been asking us lately about how we do our grant seeking. We're not experts (at bike maintenance either), but we've scored a little bit of support in the last few months. What helps the most is the Foundation Center, and we're lucky enough to have a physical location in Atlanta. However, there are tons of free resources on their website, and I just learned about a bunch at a workshop there recently. They also publish books, and I'm thinking about getting their Guides to Proposal Writing<http://foundationcenter.org/marketplace/catalog/product_monograph.jhtml?id=…> . *The FAQ has tons of technical info, and links pretty heavily to samples of things. I used the Letter of Inquiry<http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/faqs/html/letter.html>entry recently, and it was massively helpful. I put a sample letter that I wrote on the BCN Wiki<http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Grant_Writing>(but I can't figure out the formatting). *There are free online tutorials<http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/learnabout/foundations.html>at the bottom of this page. *As for process.. *I would like to suggest that we buy a collective subscription<https://fcsecure.fdncenter.org/fdo_signup_prof/register.php?setplan=start>so everyone can access the database regardless of location. When you access a record in the database, it returns critical info, like areas of interest, contact info, initial contact method, etc.. all the things you need to know so you can zero in on the foundations that are likely to help you and start building a relationship with them. What we're going for are as non-corporate as possible Atlanta-specific foundations that provide operational support to community development organizations. Most of these are interested in education and/or the environment, so we fit right in. It gets that specific. *To get started on thinking through what your organization does, what you need money for, and whom to ask: **Create a logic model<http://www.managementhelp.org/np_progs/np_mod/org_frm.htm>. This helps you name and quantify measurable things. *Create a budget. We have a spreadsheet broken down by month, things quantified by quarter, and a projected annual budget. I did this in Open Office spreadsheet, but maybe some folks have found more user friendly software. Anyway, included are major developments so we can relate those things with changes in income and expenses. It's easy then to prove how shop activity and income generated increased when we expanded shop hours. And that makes it easy to describe how operational support for a Shop Manager salary will provide the necessary means to support said explosion in shop awesomeness. *Create a companion timeline. *Have a compelling and concise argument, and make sure everything relates back to your mission statement. *Start early. Grant seeking is not just filling out an application and turning it in on the deadline. It's a process of getting to know people. *Realize that Operation Support can include personnel. You may be organizing a community bike shop that could benefit from having some paid staff. *For folks wondering how we're pitching ourselves: *Sopo is a community development organization. We use bicycle repair education as a way to empower people while we work together to create affordable transportation. Our core program is the Shop. The Shop is open to the public four days a week, and it is accessed by 100 people per week, including drop in visitors, volunteers, donors, community leaders, kids, etc. All participants access the shop in order to share resources and knowledge. The organization has paid director, and our next staffing goal is to hire a project manager for our core program (Shop Manager). If you need more info on the community development piece: Creating affordable housing and food security is considered community development activity. Like housing and food, transportation is a major household expense (see: the Census), and taken together we've got our big three producers of pollution and consumers of energy. Transportation is the neglected component when it comes to organizations creating affordable access (A lack of vocabulary indicates social invisibility [I think of gender expression and pronouns here]. How many organizations are addressing rampant "transportationlessness" in our communities?). Community bike shops not only address an economic gap. We also address the social and environmental components (which means we're doing sustainable development work). I have a diagram that goes along with this. And a flowchart. Nerd alert. Anyway, I hope this helps. : ) -- Rachael Spiewak, MSW Executive Director Sopo Bicycle Cooperative www.sopobikes.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Hours of operation: Tues/Thurs 7 pm - 10 pm Sat/Sun 2 pm - 5 pm Important Dates: Monday, January 28, 6 pm - Volunteer Orientation at Sopo Wednesday, January 30, 7 pm - Craft Night at 858-C DeKalb Ave

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GrassRoutes [Bicycle] Caravan August!
by Sarah 26 Jan '08

26 Jan '08

Hey, bike enthusiasts! I wanted to give y'all a heads-up about a bicycle caravan taking place in August 2008. The Neverwood Collective in Madison, Wisconsin is organizing a bike ride to St. Paul, Minnesota, arriving a few days ahead of the Republican National Convention protests! We're calling the ride the GrassRoutes Caravan, as we'll be hooking up with various grassroots organizations along our route, doing volunteer work and learning about regional struggles. Madison is holding a counter-convention to the Republican and Democrat National Conventions. It's called the People's Networking Convention (PNC), and it's going down August 15-17th. The GrassRoutes Caravan will link the PNC to the RNC. Check out more about the PNC and the Caravan at: www.infopnc.org -- People's Networking Convention www.pnc2rnc.org -- GrassRoutes Caravan We're super-excited about the GrassRoutes Caravan! It's sort of a mix between the Democracy Uprising DNC2RNC march in 2004, work done by the SuperHeroes collective, cycle circuses everywhere, a mobile version of Burning Man, and everything in-between! We just published a zine about our vision -- find it to download online. We welcome any input, advice, or bike travel hints you may have. I invite y'all, and yer bikes, to the Midwest this August for our mobile village of resistance! I hope to hear from you soon! Sincerely, ~ Sarahtops of the Neverwood Collective Madison, Wisconsin PS: Many thanks if you spread this message far and wide!

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selling bikes
by Liza Mattana 25 Jan '08

25 Jan '08

if this has been answered before, can you link me to the archive thread? my questions is how does your org price used bikes? we've come across some nice older bikes (bridgestone CB-0 and an old stumpjumper), and we're trying to figure out a way to price them, kind of a way to standardize the process. we'll be turning them into commuter bikes with fenders and racks and making them safe and rideable, but we're not doing complete overhauls. i know this is a tricky question, but any advice you have will be helpful! thanks, liza -- Liza Mattana www.pedals2people.org Spokane, WA

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mailing list
by Tom Christopher 24 Jan '08

24 Jan '08

Please put me on your mailing list. Thanks, Tom

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Collective Board of Directors
by Andrew Bushaw 21 Jan '08

21 Jan '08

This is what I have proposed to our collective in regard to forming a Board of Directors. If anyone is familiar with Participatory Economics, this is sort of modeled after that system of Producer/Consumer and Worker Councils. FM Community Bicycle Workshop Organizational Structure General Collective Membership is defined by: Working regular, accountable shifts of 4 hours in length, once a week for the duration of at least one month. After that one month, working regular, accountable shifts is still expected but is flexible depending on circumstances. Attending and actively participating in at least three consecutive General Collective, Board, or Worker Council meetings. If a General Collective Member is inactive for the duration of one month without a prior notice, their membership is terminated with the option to rejoin the collective through by meeting the same criteria as a new prospective collective member. The General Collective will meet once a Month at a regularly scheduled time to discuss the day to day operation of the shop, update schedules, make suggestions and in general report news to the collective from their respective worker councils. Worker Councils (WC) consist of members from the general collective who wish to have an increased level of participation. There are six WC: Finance/Legal, Advertising/Hardcopy, Physical Donations, Shop/Tools/Ordering, Education, and Community Outreach. Each WC chooses a representative within to represent their interests on the Board of Directors. These representatives are easily recallable by the WC or the General Collective as a whole. These representatives along with co-representatives, if appointed, would be the collectives primary key-holders. The six WC representatives are also members of the Board of directors, and taken as a whole, make up the producers council. Worker councils will meet as needed. Collective members would generally only officially participate in one WC, two if necessary. The Board of Directors -- Members-At-Large would represent the interests of the groups that the FMCBW explicitly intends to serve. In other words, they would collectively make up the consumers council. These Board members-at-large would be chosen by the General Collective at the annual meeting and would serve a one year term. Board Mechanics: Six Collective members representing their respective WC and 6-8 Members-At-Large to represent the communities we intend to serve. The Board of Directors will meet quarterly and are open to general collective member attendance. Two weeks notice will be given before the quarterly meetings and one week notice will be given for special circumstances. Voting by proxy is allowed but consent must be given in a written form and it must be on a specified proposal and not a general power. Voting by email is valid and legitimate but if any board member feels that there needs to be more discussion the vote can be vetoed and a meeting called in it's place. Quorum for Board of Directors meetings will be 50%+1. The board of directors will determine what specific democratic decision making process suits but with an emphasis on consensus decision making when possible. The board will have a Chair, Co-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. In the case of vacancies, the General Collective will be charged with finding a suitable replacement, taking into consideration input and suggestions from the Board Members-At-Large. I think the overall effect of this would be to allow outside input and give us community perspective, tap external resources, organize more effectively in our WC, increase general collective membership thus "throwing more people" at the issue of staffing the shop when open, Allow individual participation to determine level of involvement in decisionmaking, allow a broader number of people to lead in their areas of interest, as well as being "legal" in terms of US regulations. Andrew ------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Collectives and board of Directors
by plan_9＠riseup.net 21 Jan '08

21 Jan '08

Thus far the FM Community Bicycle Workshop has been operating as a 501c3 through a fiscal agency agreement with a local non-profit. The agreement is for a limited time period so I have been working on our Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws and Tax forms. The crossroads were at with it though, is that we are set up to operate as a traditional collective (consensus, democratic decision making, non-authoritarian structure) with elements of Participatory Economics (we have worker councils set up). This doesn't seem to reconcile very cleanly with how the US wants non-profits to be structured with a traditional Board of Directors, Chair, Co-chair, Secretary, Treasurer, etc. So what I'm wondering is this: How do other groups that have a non-heirarchical organizational structure set up their bylaws and articles to reflect their values, yet be accepted as a legitimate by the state? I have been told by a few more non-standard organizations that they just set it up like "it's supposed to be" and then disregard it. I really don't want to do that since if it's on the books, we can be held accountable to it. These seem to be the logical options so far: 1. Collective as the Board of Directors. In this scenario we basically form the board using the collective members as board members and build our bylaws around our the rules and procedures that are outlined in our volunteer handbook. To get outside folks involved in this we could set up an advisory board that would give input but not make decisions that would meet something like once a quarter. 2. An Outside Board In this scenario we would form a board that would consist completely of outside individuals who are understanding of our mission and would represent the populations that we serve. The collective would serve the role of the executive director(s). In this situation we would be tasked with the day to day decisions of the FMCBW and have input into the Board of Directors but macro decisions such as funding, long term planning, would ultimately be decided by the Board of Directors. (This idea has already met with much opposition from the group so this is probably out) 3. A Mixed Board In this scenario we would form a board that would consist of some collective members and some outside community members. There could be checks and balances put into place to make sure that the collective continues to have real tangible input into the board of directors decision making. This would take some extra mechanics in our bylaws and is slightly non-standard in the non-profit world, (but is somewhat more standard in the business world) but in the end might be the best of both worlds if done correctly. For Example: We have a board of 9 people, four of which were collective members and five of which were outside community members that would represent the populations that we serve. We could run the board conservatively (as in more resistance to change, not politically of course) where we would put into our bylaws that we there must be Consensus U-3 to make binding decisions. This would enable the collective to block any proposals, given that they have solidarity on the issue, that the board may make that might be against the interest or the intent of the collectives mission. This method would also stand for electing new outside board members, ensuring that the integrity and intent of the organization would stay in line with the collectives mission. The numbers and methods are up in the air, of course, I was just using this as an example. These all have pros and cons to them. The collective as the board we would continue to have autonomous control over what we do and how we operate and would allow us to make decisions "light and fast" but at the loss of credibility, resources and the ever important perspective of the community. Having an outside board would make it easier to propose "self-serving" ideas, such as paying us wages, funding outside training, going to conferences, spending shop money to renumerate the collective. Plus it spreads the risk, it allows input from veterans in the non-profit world as well as access to their resources without begging. It would give us an air of credibility to some institutions that might take us "not so seriously". It also allows us to focus on building bikes, teaching bike maintenance, and developing our programs. The risk is that we don't have control over the board at all and are totally at their whims. We can put a good board in place that understands our values and mission but they are responsible for voting in new board members, and if their judgment isn't the same as ours, there is the potential that a few years down the road there could be a group of people directing us in a way we might not agree with at all, and could possibly disband the collective and appoint a director. The Mixed Board has potential to have the best of both worlds if executed correctly. If executed incorrectly it could possible result in some of the negative possibilities of both the the others. It would probably also take a little longer to make decisions, but since we are already operating fairly well we probably are done making rapid decisions. Sorry for the ridiculously long post, I decided not to chop it down in case this info is useful for the seemingly many new bike collectives that are in the works right now. Andrew FM Community Bicycle Workshop

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Re: [TheThinkTank] low cost lights
by troy neiman 18 Jan '08

18 Jan '08

Here in Tucson, it is fairly common for folks to get a generic mini maglight from the ace hardware or a sporting good store. these come with a few to many LED bulbs for the cost of 5-15 $ generally the more you spend the better quality the light. Then pick yourself up a couple of hose clamps and put one around the light and loop the second through the first and around the handle bar or stem. this creates a good adjustable, theft resistant bracket as good or better than that plastic crap on the market. This has been a great solution for many people. you get about 10-15 hours out of most of the lights and the cost is a relatively low 10-20 dollars for and aluminum body led light as opposed to a plastic one for the same price. Bike lights that are supposedly built for "bike riding" are probably one of the most frustrating things about the industry, i personally think they are all crap or overkill. > ----- Originale ----- > From: "1304bikes" <1304bikes(a)gmail.com> > To: "The Think Tank" <thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org> > Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Piles of freewheels? > Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2008 08:31:41 -0500 > > > Christopher, While the points you raise are valid and very good advice, I'm > afraid it doesn' help our shop out very much. We deal with a lot of > homeless and working class poeple who can not or would rather not spend $30 > on a bike light. Likewise, our organization doesn't have the funds to > provide every EAB paticipant with a full set of lights, even though we want > to. > > That being said, I'm still open to hearing what other shops have come > up with for inexpensive solutions to the light issue. I still feel that any > light is better than no light. > > -Doug > 1304bikes, Raleigh > > > > There is a physical problem with lights that are not powerful. As we > > humans get older our cornea become harder and do not open and close as > > quickly as in our youth. This leaves us blind to all but the brightest > > lights after we are hit in the face by car headlamps. I witnessed a cyclist > > disappear when he was backlit by car headlamps. He had a few $15 to $20 > > front flashers, a reflective vest, and reflective tape on the bike. Once he > > was back lit by a car all those inexpensive low wattage lamps were worthless > > to his safety > > > > If you do not invest in a bright light you will disappear when back lit > > and in other situations. The lesson I learned is simple if you are to be > > traffic at night time you need to act like traffic. If you can get the Cat > > Eye 520 at cost, it is about $30 and well worth it. 1200 candle power is > > close to the brightness of a car head lamp, 300 hour burn time with 4 AA > > batteries. When in traffic, act like traffic. If they are well lit, you > > should be equally lit to be seen. A flash light is not enough. > > > > > > I am not saying do not have fun with cheap lights too. I look like an > > alien space craft with all the cheap lights around my bike. I also have a > > serious head and tail light. I do make a spectacle of myself out on the road > > at night. Have fun and think about safety. > > > > Christopher Wallace > > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in > > shape<http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489>in the new > > year. > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Thethinktank mailing list > > Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org > > > > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… > > > > > > > -- > 1304bikes > 2419 Mayview Rd. > Raleigh, NC > 1304bikes.org > > _______________________________________________ > Thethinktank mailing list > Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… > y -- Want an e-mail address like mine? Get a free e-mail account today at www.mail.com!

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Bicycle Physics Curriculum
by AndaLaLucha 17 Jan '08

17 Jan '08

Hello, Free Ride has this exciting partnership with City High School in Pittsburgh in which we teach bicycle repair in a "How Things Work" Physics class. We had some lessons with tire pneumatics and Boyle's law and also a gear ratio lesson. I was wondering if people had other science related curricula planned? If so can you e-mail me or put it on the wiki? Also, I don't know if people know already but the Youth Bicycled Education Network has some useful curricula posted-- http://www.yben.org/category/resource-guide/curricula-and-lesson-plans/ Thanks, Andalusia P.S. I'm not sure if people know what Ghost bikes are- but they are pretty powerful memorials for cyclists who have died. There was a memorial ride in NYC last week to honor the 23+ cyclists who died last year and I did a radio report about it and wrote an article for those interested Article: http://www.indypendent.org/2008/01/12/a-silent-roadside-reminder/ Shorter Radio: http://www.fsrn.org/content/new-york-city%2526%2523039%3Bs-ghost-bikes-hono… Longer Radio: https://wiki.indypgh.org/cgi-bin/twiki/viewfile/Radio/Shows/2008x01x14?rev=…

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Lights
by BovineOaks＠aol.com 16 Jan '08

16 Jan '08

I always behave like i'm invisible to cars no matter how much illumination I have. Brian UBP If I taped ten thousand lightning bugs to my body I still would not put out much light, Barely a dim glow if I was lucky. It is not the number of lights that make you seen or not seen it is the brightness of the lights that matters. If you put on Aircraft landing lights on the front of your bike and shot a beam a half mile down the road I am sure you could not say "I always behave like i'm invisible to cars no matter how much illumination I have." If you said "I have a bunch of low lumen flash lights on my bike and I can not be seen by cars that have lots of lumens coming out of their headlamps, then I would have to say DUH! Car drivers are looking for traffic to have high lumen lights out on the road, if you wish to be treated like traffic, act like traffic! What would you think if a car had two little battery powered flash lights or little bicycle blinkers where its head lamps were supposed to be? Would you see the car if other brightly lit cars were around it or would it be near invisible? Brian you should behave like you are invisible when you have low lumen lights on your bike, because you are. You can either whine about it or change your choice of lights. I am asking you to Think, We are the Bicycle education leaders of our communities. Christopher Wallace **************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape. http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489

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The Build-A-Bike Team Building Workshop
by Jonathan Morrison 16 Jan '08

16 Jan '08

www.build-a-bike.com You know we are doing good when the for-profit takes the idea mainstream. It looks like these folks have a registered trademark on the "Build-A-Bike" name. -- Sincerely, Jonathan Morrison Executive Director Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective 2312 S. West Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84115 w: 801-328-2453 c: 801-688-0183 f: 801-466-3856 www.slcbikecollective.org Get Addicted to Crank! http://www.slcbikecollective.org/crank/

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