Hi Aaron,
Great question. We get volunteers with varying degrees of bicycle knowledge and skill set levels. Some require little to no supervision and others do require some hand holding initially at first. Once they are comfortable enough, they complete the assigned task and ask for more assignments or continue with previous task from other visits. Less experienced volunters will often differ to those with more experience, and others have the foresight to look up "how to" videos to do a task like remove a bottom bracket or patch a tube. When staffing numbers permit, a veteran staffer or experienced volunteer supervises the group of volunteers. You can call them volunteer coordinators. It helps to have a clear game plan for the day or week with specific task that need to be completed. It also helps to actively check in with volunteers on any challenges they might be experiencing. When staffing and volunteers numbers increase, we plan on adding additional days.
In the past we've offered "Work Days", only open to staff and volunteers to focus on projects like organizing parts, braking down or putting together bikes etc. We'll be making more content on how to's that can also help self guided work for volunteers.
We offer something similar to volunteer for credit. If an interested person comes in and volunteers an accumulative total of 6 hours, they earn a years membership to the co-op. If they volunteer for an additional 6 hours, 12 hours in total, they earn "Digging Rights," to build a bicycle from our inventory of frames, partial bikes, complete bikes parts etc. They tag their bike or project with their name, phone # and date ladt worked on. Had to be worked on at least every 2 weeks.
Easy task that shouldn't require a lot of assistance.
- Tire tube patch or replacement.
- Checking for leaks in tubes.
- Replacing grips or grip tape.
- Cleaning chains.
- Replacing brake pads.
- Removing surface rust on frame and componets with WD-40 or white vinegar using aluminum foil, a wire. brush or steel
wool.
I remember you, Sam, Sarah and a shorter man up at the counter during my visits. One of your former staff/volunters came to our co-op a few months ago. I believe his name was Ken; a very tall person. You've all been friendly and courteous. 1 other person, not so much.
Feel free to reach out.
Rd.
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On Mon, Aug 11, 2025, 5:32 PM Aaron via TheThinkTank < thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org> wrote:
Hey everyone,
Our collective (Davis Bike Collective) is struggling to implement a volunteer-for-credit system. One of the big questions is how to make it easier for volunteers to, well, volunteer. I think creating some more "self guided" volunteer tasks would help make everything run more smoothly by opening the door to more volunteers while increasing the effectiveness of their efforts.
How do other collectives make it easy for volunteers to stay on task? What are some good "self-guided" tasks that wouldn't require lots of oversight from more experienced mechanics? Does anyone have any other tips regarding volunteer for credit i.e. what worked and what hasn't?
Thanks in advance! Aaron
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