At the Durham Bike Co-op, a few things keep the volunteers, including me, a board member (we're all volunteers)
motivated:
1) Volunteers who regularly clock in at over 10 hours a month can be granted keys to the space.
This allows them to work on their own bikes out of the shop.
2) Social benefits- we hang out as a crew, and drink beer after a shift to discuss
and de-compress the day. Usually we go to a restaurant, a potluck, or a BBQ after we
are well-watered. Additionally, many of us have formed friendships, found
lovers, activity partners, housemates, and jobs through the connections
we make.
3) Shop perks- Core volunteers can order stuff from our QBP account
at the cost +10% markup and usually have first dibs on incoming parts.
4) Mental health- one of the biggest challenges we're facing
right now is our volunteers' mental health as the recession continues.
We're trying to figure out how to be both supportive and accountable
to those struggling.
Best,
Leslie
Have you all seen the video "The surprising truth about what motivates us "?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc&playnext=1&videos=kEGn34KiDFY
Enjoy!
Christine
www.bicicentro.org
--
On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 8:50 PM, Gervase Gallant
<gervasegallant@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I've been a volunteer at the local bike co-op and recently have been thinking about some way to develop and keep volunteers.
>
> Our board has been thinking that offering used parts for hours worked and 10% over cost on new parts might entice some. Perhaps for volunteers with a history of at least 6 hours a month we could offer something else...
>
> I'm wondering though if we are approaching this correctly.
>
> Perhaps the motivation might be elsewhere. For myself, when I started volunteering, I was just doing it because I thought the co-op was a cool idea (and I wanted to learn more about wrenching...). Others seem to be addicted to fixing up (and possibly flipping...) bikes at home and are always in need of parts. Still others, particularly the younger ones, seem hooked on the coolness of it all.
>
> What does motivate most volunteers? What could we do to keep them coming?
>
>
> Gervase Gallant
>
> Des Moines Bike Collective: Commuter Corner http://dsmcommutercorner.wordpress.com/
>
>
>
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Christine
http://cbarreb.smugmug.com/
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