[TheThinkTank] Re: Car insurance, etc for bike nonprofit

Hi Clara, we've owned a variety of vehicles at the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective. Vehicle insurance and registration requirements vary state to state, so it might be worth a call to your DMV to get a grasp on your state-specific laws.

• -who to make the title out to
  • 501c3 orgs are corporate entities, and can hold titles to vehicles.
  Our vehicles have all been registered in our organization's name.
• -how to control keys/who is allowed to drive it
  • I carry a copy of the key with me, and we keep a copy in a locked
  key box in the office for other staff to access.
  • Per a conversation with our insurance broker, any staff member or
  volunteer is covered as long as they're on shop business. I just

make sure they have a valid driver's license before we authorize the trip. Most trips are taken by management staff, with occasional (1-2x/yr) volunteer use. - If we're pulling a trailer, I make sure whoever's driving has trailer experience before they leave our lot.

• -maintenance costs and responsibility
  • This varies widely based on state requirements, condition of the
  vehicle, and mileage driven. Our county requires an annual

emissions test, and until recently, the State of Utah required an annual safety inspection. These are/were registration prerequisites here. Most maintenance needs are discovered or addressed on this schedule, and vary year to year. - Commercial vehicles in Utah need an annual safety inspection to present to law enforcement in case of a stop, but it's not required for registration. - Failing to safely maintain a vehicle can have an impact on organizational liability in case of a crash or injury. In principle, I see it as our organization's responsibility to keep the vehicle in safe, good working order. I budget $1500 per year per vehicle.

• -insurance
  • Our vehicles have liability insurance brokered with our general
  liability policy. Our broker is Beehive Insurance here in Salt Lake, and they set us up with our policy through the Nonprofits Insurance

Alliance. I don't know the cost impact of the vehicle liability insurance as that's handled at our board level.

• -borrowing/lending: who can use it?
  • Any staff member or volunteer on shop business who has a valid
  driver's license.
• -and any other thoughts you might have :)
• Again, your DMV and insurance company may have different insights. I'd recommend clarifying everything with them.

-Kai

On Wed, Apr 19, 2023 at 2:42 PM clara via TheThinkTank < thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org> wrote:

Hi all, someone is considering donating a pickup truck for our community bike shop to use. Very exciting for us since we could use it to pick up donated bikes around town much easier, and also use it to haul away scraps for recycling. Curious about any feedback y'all have about how you've handled similar situations. We are a 501c3 if that makes a difference.

-who to make the title out to -how to control keys/who is allowed to drive it -maintenance costs and responsibility -insurance -borrowing/lending: who can use it? -and any other thoughts you might have :)

Thanks, Clara Community Bike Shop @ Barber Park, GSO NC _______________________________________________ TheThinkTank mailing list -- thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe send an email to thethinktank-leave@lists.bikecollectives.org