We just grin and bear all the crappy donations, in order to get those precious few decent bicycles. We have a good rapport with our cycling community and don't want to cause any ire concerning donations; cash bikes and memberships are our lifeblood.
One thing we've incorporated into our model is to have unskilled volunteers break down bicycles for scrap metal into aluminum and steel. We then have someone take it to the recycling place.
We don't really make any money from it for all that effort, but it's better than drowning in a sea of Huffys and Roadmasters. Also, our unskilled volunteers get wrenching experience without the pressure of screwing up working bikes.
Best, Leslie Durham Bike Co-op
On Tue, Oct 16, 2012 at 11:56 AM, Andrew Burnell aburnell@gwi.net wrote:
Hi All, ****
We have been inundated with bicycle donations lately and looking for some guidance: Does your shop require/ask that a cash donation be made with each bicycle donation? We have never asked for cash donations on top of bike donations, but we’ve noticed that often times people are using us as a city dump instead of a shop.****
On another note, here are links to our volunteer blog and SlideShare account. I hope they are of assistance to your respected programs. Feel free to comment or make recommendations…****
http://communitybicyclecenter.blogspot.com/****
http://www.slideshare.net/cbcad2010/documents****
Andrew****
*Andrew Burnell, Volunteer and Program Director*****
*Community Bicycle Center*****
*Shop: 284 Hill Street, Biddeford, ME 04005*****
*Mail: P.O. Box 783, Biddeford, ME 04005*****
*207-282-9700 (shop)***
*www.communitybike.net*
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