- TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

816 Bicycle Collective Benefit Bash!!!!
by the816bikecollective Kansascity 30 Jul '09

30 Jul '09

Hello Friends, The 816 Bicycle Collective is having a benefit show to raise some much needed funds. We really hope that you can make it. Our show is at Californo's in Westport on Sunday, August 16th. There will be bands, food, raffle prizes and much more. We're taking donation's at the door. We'll see you there!!! Thanks, the 816 Bicycle Collective 3109 Troost Ave KCMO 64109 www.816bike.org

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Re: [TheThinkTank] "job" openings at your co-op
by john.carlson＠comcast.net 30 Jul '09

30 Jul '09

At Sibley Bike Depot, we have four paid staff people right now, all of which could use more hours; Volunteer Coordinator, Youth Coordinator, and two mechanics. The mechanics staff our open shops, teach staff and volunteers and help teach classes, repair bikes and do final checks on bikes volunteers repair. We also pay a professional bookkeeper monthly to do our payroll and keep us on track with the reporting, filing of key things. We also have an active board that participates in all areas of operations. We decided that to be more sustainable we had to shift our organization from a top-top hierarchy to a collective model. Our mode of operation shift went something like this: We had a hands-off board of directors that hired an Executive Director and Shop Manager /mechanic The Grants that paid for the start-up of our organization ran out and they were unable to fund these positions. The ED left and they decided to start selling bikes to pay for the Shop Manager/mechanic. The shop manager position continued for a number of years and he was able to use the volunteers and the bikes to pay our rent, utilities and his own pay. But the model was essentially the same; a board of directors who hired someone to do the work for them. Unfortunately that set up the situation where we had the shop manager acting as ED and Mechanic and Program Leader doing and directing everything from bike rentals, sales, donations, deposits, ordering, problem solving, etc. Everything had to go through the shop manager to keep everything going. Eventually he burned out. In our scenario, the board was seen as the boss who could come in and change things, give orders, had power over money and jobs, but was not responsible for day to day operations. And not connected with the people making it all happen. We looked at the Grease Pit as a different model of how things could operate by sharing the work between engaged, participating members of a collective. We decided that we would hire staff people in focused, key areas, to act as partners with us, part of the collective. And the rest is us trying to figure out how to make a collective work. Part of our new organizational structure is to have decentralized volunteer teams with power and authority to carry out tasks. For instance, the web/technology team totally setup a three computer network in our shop, redeveloped our website using drupal for easy content updating and setup a volunteer tracking system also in drupal. The way it's suppose to work is our collective members and staff participate in these teams alongside volunteers. We also have a finance team, fundraising team, outreach/promotion team, education team, etc. It's not all working great, but in my view so far, it's more just and sustainable than the old model. To make our collective more open and accessible, we have been trying to expand our collective to core volunteers who can participate, take on leadership roles and responsibilities and have a say in how to do things. What doesn't work though is when collective members join, but don't take responsibility and don't do the work, and work against other volunteers. And we are still a 501c3 non-profit corporation with banking, payroll, filing and reporting responsibilities. Our new model is confusing to even us at times when collective members assume someone else is taking care of responsibilities and we do only the things that we want to do. I've also seen the collective model turn against itself - infighting, clique behavior, and power struggles. And the other volunteers definately see this. And our model is also confusing to outsiders who always ask, "who's in charge?" Funding and Sustainability: The bigger the org, the more funding it needs. And the funding comes from somewhere. If not grants, then bike sales or donations. But still it has to be funded. A small volunteer collective with donated or free space is still funded by the donor of the space. The sources of funding may be an issue, but we have decided that we need to diversify our funding so it's not all recycled-bike sales. But our goal is not to get big, but to do a better job of what we do, increase our capacity to do more, and to keep it sustainable. It's definately a learning process. And I look forward to reading that book, The Revolution Will Not Be Funded. John Sibley Bike Depot St. Paul, MN ----- Original Message ----- From: "rachael spiewak" <rachael(a)sopobikes.org> To: "The Think Tank" <thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org> Sent: Wednesday, July 29, 2009 10:31:36 AM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] "job" openings at your co-op Here are some quick answers from Sopo. We pay one person right now to be our executive director (that's me), but the role is more like a facilitator or manager. My job includes specific tasks that I do and coordinating volunteers to do what they do. On the administrative end, I: *do most of our correspondence and communication oriented things *manage our budget and banking *do our grantseeking and most of the event planning *keep up with donor relations *keep up with all y'all for new ideas *recruit and coordinate the big volunteer picture *keep up with volunteers to make sure they're getting what they need *order shop supplies *and other sort of mundane nonprofit management stuff. Then, in the shop, I'm always there, I match volunteers with individuals who need help, match volunteers with other things to do in the shop, work with volunteers to address conflict resolution oriented things. Volunteers facilitate our volunteer orientation, keep the shop running, do our outreach, and help out with lots of the stuff I do. Our board is made up of active volunteers who are specifically helping with finances, HR, and fundraising. I make $30k a year, which so far has been surprisingly easy to fundraise without compromising our policy about avoiding corporate money and financial support from entities whose values don't match ours. In many ways, my job pays for itself. In the nonprofit world, it appears that organizations get taken more seriously if they have an ED. It's a tricky line to walk, but I think we're making it work for us (suggested reading: The Revolution Will Not Be Funded). We started this during the third quarter of 2007 on a trial basis. The agreement was that if the money could be found for the next quarter and everything was going fine, we could roll it out for another 3 months. Six months deep we had enough money to keep it going through the end of the year, and by the end of the year we had funding for a bunch more years. As for decision making: the community has that power. I'm entrusted to do what I do with the understanding that I have a particular skill set, experience with this stuff, education, yadda yadda.. as in, I'm qualified to do my job. But if things at the shop need to change, we deal with it at our general meetings. If I was doing a lousy job, the community could fire me via the Board. It's funny how power relations are so entrenched, because I overhear people in the shop explaining that I'm in charge, and I have to get in there and explain that "I just work here." Sometimes I have to be the enforcer and ask someone to take a hike when it comes down to it (which everyone gets a kick out of since even our kiddos are bigger than me...and I say things like "kiddos"). I think that my job is to support the work of the volunteers, so that's my approach. I feel empowered to do my job, I feel empowered by my job, I feel rewarded by what I get to do for a living, and I feel that my role in the shop is special in its own way, but we're not feeling any hierchical weirdness. Hope this helps, Rachael On Wed, Jul 29, 2009 at 11:02 AM, Boson Au < instructions(a)gmail.com > wrote: so the recent job opening at the bike kitchen in LA reminded me of something I'd very much like to discuss at bikebike, namely how, if you, compensate managers. Currently our collective members are de facto managers, and the recent influx of new volunteers/people in our shop is making some of us think about the possibility of creating a manager role. Right now we have no way to pay this person, but that might change in the future. so I guess if yall have a minute, can you tell me a little about how your organization deals with it? specifically, if you do offer compensation, does it affect their decisiion making powers? I noticed that the bike kitchen's job opening states that the person would not have executive decisionl, and I can see why since that person's power is already pretty great considering they'd be the manager of the shop. anyways, this is something I'm really interested in and want to pursue @ bikebike. -B _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave(a)bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… -- Sopo Bicycle Cooperative 404-425-9989 www.sopobikes.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Hours of operation: Tues, Wed, & Thurs 7 pm - 10 pm Sat & Sun 2 pm - 6 pm _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave(a)bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.…

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DesGua Bike tour through central america--interest poll thing
by Erik Stockmeier 29 Jul '09

29 Jul '09

Good afternoon, comrades- So a friend of mine from Guatemala is trying to organize a bike tour from guatemala to panama from november 1 to mid-december. The tour would be visiting local social movements along the way and have an explicitly political purpose, and he asked me to help out, to try and gage interest on it and such. He's currently talking to Just Coffee about some kind of sponsorship and the attachment elaborates on some of the questions he has for potentially interested parties, as well as more general information (but more elaborate than i can squeeze in on my lunch break over here). Some other questions I have (I have a meeting with him on sunday before he returns to guatemala): is there interest in this around? what about the timing? I'm concerned about it being so soon. would any other bike coops/collectives/etc be interested in somehow supporting it? It looks like an awesome experience at any rate. Anyhow, sorry for being so brief and sloppy, but like i said... lunch break. Erik @the recyclery

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Job Opening at Cycles of Change APC in the SF Bay Area
by Cycles of Change APC 29 Jul '09

29 Jul '09

Cycles of Change APC Bike Shop seeks a Bicycle Repair Coordinator to join our fantastic, fast-paced and friendly grassroots, not-for-profit community bike shop in Alameda. The shop provides people of all backgrounds and ages earn-a-bike and job training programs, do-it-together repair access, bicycle donation drop-off and much more! The shop offers a full-range of services which fund the shop including sales of used bicycle and parts, and comprehensive bicycle repair services. We seek a staff person who will professionally and productively repair bicycles. The Cycles of Change APC shop has been thriving and this position is critical to its ongoing success. The primary responsibilities of this position are: • Repairs: o Repair a very wide range of used bicycles professionally and efficiently. o Excellent familiarity with compatibility and quality of used bicycle components. • Sales o Sell refurbished bicycles to people of all incomes and backgrounds from all over the Bay Area. • Saturday shop o Staff our community shop on Saturdays in order to assist with bike sales and helping visitors. • Active team member o This job requires that you have the passion for expertly repairing bikes, and that you deeply believe in the mission of the project. Following qualities are some which are important for success at this position: • Able to communicate effectively and patiently with people of all ages, backgrounds, preferences and income levels individually and in groups whether selling a bike, meeting with other staff/volunteers or teaching a young person how to fix a flat. • Ability to stay organized and grounded while multi-tasking. • Able to travel to Alameda 3-4 times per week, including Saturdays from 10am-5pm. • Commitment to recycling, reusing and reducing consumption in carrying out the work. • Strong desire to promote bicycle use as a strategy to strengthen the health and sustainability of communities. HOW TO APPLY: In order to apply for this position, please send or email, your resume and a brief letter of introduction about your interest and experience to: Email: bikeshop(a)apcollaborative.org See our craigslist posting at: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/npo/1274851559.html www.myspace.com/cyclesapc Mailing address: Cycles of Change APC 677 W. Ranger Avenue Alameda, CA 94501 COMPENSATION: This position pays $15/hour for between 12-20 hours per week. There are no additional benefits to this position currently, and we’re working on offering health benefits soon! There may be opportunities for increased hours in the Fall. We are an equal opportunity employer. Women, People of Color, and people with experience working w/ African-American and/or formerly homeless people and Alameda residents are strongly encouraged to apply! -- Cycles of Change APC Bike Shop 650 W.Ranger Ave Alameda, Ca 94501 (510) 898-7830 www.apcollaborative.org/cycles.htm www.myspace.com/cyclesapc

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DesGua Bike tour through central america--interest poll
by Erik Stockmeier 29 Jul '09

29 Jul '09

Good afternoon, comrades- So a friend of mine from Guatemala is trying to organize a bike tour from guatemala to panama from november 1 to mid-december. The tour would be visiting local social movements along the way and have an explicitly political purpose, and he asked me to help out, to try and gage interest on it and such. He's currently talking to Just Coffee about some kind of sponsorship and the attachment elaborates on some of the questions he has for potentially interested parties, as well as more general information (but more elaborate than i can squeeze in on my lunch break over here). Some other questions I have (I have a meeting with him on sunday before he returns to guatemala): is there interest in this around? what about the timing? I'm concerned about it being so soon. would any other bike coops/collectives/etc be interested in somehow supporting it? It looks like an awesome experience at any rate. Anyhow, sorry for being so brief and sloppy, but like i said... lunch break. Erik @the recyclery

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"job" openings at your co-op
by Boson Au 29 Jul '09

29 Jul '09

so the recent job opening at the bike kitchen in LA reminded me of something I'd very much like to discuss at bikebike, namely how, if you, compensate managers. Currently our collective members are de facto managers, and the recent influx of new volunteers/people in our shop is making some of us think about the possibility of creating a manager role. Right now we have no way to pay this person, but that might change in the future. so I guess if yall have a minute, can you tell me a little about how your organization deals with it? specifically, if you do offer compensation, does it affect their decisiion making powers? I noticed that the bike kitchen's job opening states that the person would not have executive decisionl, and I can see why since that person's power is already pretty great considering they'd be the manager of the shop. anyways, this is something I'm really interested in and want to pursue @ bikebike. -B

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Job Opening at Bicycle Kitchen (los angeles)
by james blesdoe 29 Jul '09

29 Jul '09

Only complete applications will be considered and all applications should be sent to BicycleKitchenJob(a)gmail.com. Below is the text of the announcement, included in the attached file with a questionnaire (available attached or via internet download). Thank you! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BICYCLE KITCHEN CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR OPERATIONS FACILITATOR The Bicycle Kitchen is hiring for the first time in its history. The Operations Facilitator (OpsFac) position is full-time for one year. It is not an executive director position. What is the Bicycle Kitchen? The Bicycle Kitchen is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our mission is to promote the bicycle as a fun, safe and accessible form of transportation, to foster healthy urban communities, and to provide a welcoming space to learn about building, maintaining and riding bicycles in Los Angeles. Our space offers tools, stands and parts while our volunteers provide guidance in bicycle building and repair. More than 45 of these volunteers—known as “Cooks”—work regular weekly shifts, logging more than 5,000 hours and serving as many as 10,000 clients annually. What is the job? The Bicycle Kitchen has been awarded a capacity building grant to hire one full-time staff person for one year. The OpsFac will support the organization's daily operations through a variety of administrative, financial and logistical duties, including inventory and processing donations. This position will interface directly with clients, volunteers and the community. The OpsFac will report to the board of directors and work closely with many members of the volunteer staff. The largest project over the course of the year will be creating an operations manual to streamline and standardize regular operations. The OpsFac should be personable and adaptable to different duties as they arise. This position has a fixed term of one year, with the possibility of continuation dependent on future funding. Compensation range is $34-38,000/year plus health benefits. What are the qualifications? Applicants must: • Be at least 18 years of age • have a working knowledge of Microsoft/Open Office, Mac OS X, and Windows • have an interest in bicycle mechanics • be personable and work well with others People with experience in customer service, legal services, grant-seeking, community outreach, bicycle repair, accounting, QuickBooks and nonprofit management are encouraged to apply. Computer programming and multilingual abilities are a bonus. We’d like it if you ride a bicycle. How do I apply? Apply to BicycleKitchenJob(a)gmail.com. Your application should contain the following attachments: - A cover letter explaining what makes you a good candidate for the job (limit 500 words) - A resume with relevant qualifications - List of References including name, relationship to applicant, job title, phone and email - A completed application questionnaire downloaded from this link (or find it attached): http://www.mediafire.com/?nhwfnqmymmm (then click “Click Here to Start Download” to download the file) Incomplete applications or stand-alone resumes will not be considered. You will receive a confirmation of receipt via email. Once you’ve received your confirmation of receipt, please wait for us to contact you regarding further steps. PLEASE ATTACH ALL DOCUMENTS as .pdf files, including your cover letter. Please type in the blanks on the questionnaire and save it with your name (Smith_John_Questionaire) in the filename. The top 5-10 candidates will be notified that they are being brought in for interviews by August 28. First round interviews will take place Fri-Sat September 4-5, and 2nd round (final) interviews will take place September 6. Final decision will be announced by September 12, with the position to begin ASAP but no later than October 1, 2009. Thank You! This will be a fun and rewarding job working with cool people in a great community. Good luck. -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ Bicipandilla mailing list Bicipandilla(a)bicyclekitchen.com http://nine.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/bicipandilla

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Volunteer Disciplinary Procedure/Conflict Resolution
by Maggie Burrus-Granger 26 Jul '09

26 Jul '09

Hi, Does anyone have a Volunteer Disciplinary Procedure or detailed Conflict Resolution plan that outlines how to deal with volunteers breaking bylaws/handbook rules/procedures etc. We're trying to write our bylaws and operating procedures and would like to include a process for such situations. Thanks, Maggie -- Maggie Burrus-Granger Recycle-a-Bike Program Coordinator 27 Sims Ave. Providence, RI 02909 401.273.7101 www.recycleabike.org

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getting to know each other ideas for bike!bike!
by rachael spiewak 23 Jul '09

23 Jul '09

Hi, everyone. After attending a handful of Bike!Bike! conferences and putting on a regional one, it seems to me that folks are looking for opportunities to: 1. tell their own bike shop stories, 2. have those stories be heard, and 3. get to know other shops with stories that resonate with them. I think facilitating some of that up front will make workshops move along faster and go deeper, and it would help us find that magical person we needed to talk to about whatever nagging issue's been bothering us. At BBSE we did a conference-wide go-around of introductions and then we broke out into pairs to share bike shop stories, which seemed to go really well. I think we could take it a few steps farther if folks are into it: 1. It might be nice to have info booths or tables for all of the shops if there's a big common area available at the conference. Then you could move about, see photos or slide shows, put faces to names, and show off what you're proud of at your shop. We did this at an community arts gathering in Atlanta a few weeks ago, and it was pretty great. It might lend to developing a few ad hoc workshops or post-conference partnerships. 2. And it might be nice to have a big map and push pins to get a visual geographic depiction of who's present. Anyway, just putting some ideas out there so we can get the most out of sharing a short period of with each other. Looking forward to it! Rachael -- Sopo Bicycle Cooperative 404-425-9989 www.sopobikes.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Hours of operation: Tues, Wed, & Thurs 7 pm - 10 pm Sat & Sun 2 pm - 6 pm

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Bike Maintenance Classes
by Jason Tanzman 23 Jul '09

23 Jul '09

Hi everybody, I'm putting together a workshop for Bikebike on how to organize and teach bike maintenance classes, and I would love some feedback from different sho Stps on their community education programs. Info I'm interested in includes: -Do you charge for your classes? If so, how much? -How many hours/weeks does your class last? -How many participants do you allow in each class? How many staff/core volunteers help teach the class? -How regularly do you offer classes? -How do you publicize your classes? -What classes do you offer? (Basic Bike Maintenance? Wheel Building? Safe Cycling/Commuting classes? Advanced Mechanics classes? I work with Sibley Bike Depot in St. Paul, MN; we teach all our classes for free which has been awesome. We've thought about charging for classes but decided that the benefits of bringing new people into the shop and educating current volunteers outweighs the revenues that we might get from charging for classes. We also receive about $1800 per year from a free community education program in the Twin Cities for teaching classes for free, which helps offset our costs of paying staff to teach classes. I would love to get information/feedback! Jason Tanzman Sibley Bike Depot www.sibleybikedepot.org

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