Gary, we feel your pain.
We've had to be ruthless in deciding what we keep. Many good bicycles have been given away or recycled because they didn't meet the criteria we use. It breaks our heart at times, but it's what we have to do.
Doug Franz, President
BikeWorks_3_wText
http://coatesvillebikeworks.org/ coatesvillebikeworks.org
like us on facebook! http://www.facebook.com/CoatesvilleBikeWorks http://www.facebook.com/CoatesvilleBikeWorks
doug@coatesvillebikeworks.org
610-383-4349
I respect your right to manage the amount of email you receive. If you want to be removed from this email list, please reply to ONLY ME, with "unsubscribe" in the subject line.
From: thethinktank-bounces@lists.bikecollectives.org [mailto:thethinktank-bounces@lists.bikecollectives.org] On Behalf Of Chauncey Tudhope-Locklear Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 11:19 PM To: The Think Tank Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] We need space
Hey there Garry and other wonderful people,
Wow! Space is POWERFUL! I can't convey the message enough-
POW_ER_FULL!!! Having been with our organization for 6 years and having seen it go from a twice a month street workshop to a mutli-structured building on a 40'x50' concrete pad that's on City property, I've seen first hand how space is the ultimate limitation on function. We are just wrapping up a $40k structure that ending up costing us about $17k-- VOLUNTEERS and DONATED MATERIAL ROCK! With 20x as much space as we originally had in an old location, we now have the ability to run better quality programming, store our material in a better way, stay clean because there's an appropriate place for each thing, and we have better group dynamics, AND we aren't being rained on anymore (after 4 years.) The truth is-- You can raise 6 kids in a two bedroom apartment, but it's not comfortable nor ideal.
How do get the space you want? PROJECT YOUR IDEAL SPACE INTO THE WORLD. Honest to JOD, it works. And it works if you work it. Within 6 months of having core staff draw pictures of our ideal space, we got it ALL. I mean, we got exactly what we drew on paper as a group. It was clear that our poor space was limiting us in a huge way. Some of you may have seen this with your own organization before it got a bigger space. How did we get on city property? Our clout and respect in the community, illustrated by our political support, gained us enough leverage to simply ask the city to allow us to move onto public property in the name of the public good. We pay about $20 a month in electricity and garbage per month, that's it. Mind you, we are the oldest population by county in all of Washington State, so they want to do right by supporting the younger folk-- and there are a lot of universe loving hippies that toot their horns and wave their flags in support.
I encourage you to continue asking questions about spaces in your own community. Put the dream out there of a bigger and better space. It might not turn out to be free, but you'd be surprised by what you can get. My visit to a bike co-op in Fort Collins blew my mind--- they have this huge warehouse (still?) that they were renting for $1k a month flat. It WAS SO HUGE! They seemed to not have any/much staff and were able to sell enough bikes where that amount of money was no problem. Other organizations are barely scraping by to afford rent each month. With this economy and with the environment in it's current state, there are very well-connected and wealthy individuals who come out of the woodwork when the horn is sounded. Have a "Dreaming of a new Space" event where the whole community is invited to participate- non profits, governmental entities, school district, private citizens, newspapers, etc. The more you work with the general public and community at large, the greater your chances of spreading your message and your need for a new space far and wide and to new ears.
Garry, My best wishes to you and your organization's search for the dream space. It can happen! It can only happen!' Much love and respect!
On Wed, May 15, 2013 at 5:07 PM, Sue Prant sue@communitycycles.org wrote:
Gary- Welcome to the club. We are 7 years old, have a big staff and budget, but we still pay $35,000 a year for a space that is way too small for us. If you live anywhere where space is somewhat of a premium (I would guess Bend is not unlike Boulder in that way) then affording space is going to be one of your biggest challenges. And that is saying a lot because there are a lot of challenges. We keep trying for donated spaces and cheaper spaces, but when land is so valuable, this is really difficult. I wish I had advise for you.
On Wed, May 15, 2013 at 6:02 PM, Garry Zimmerman garryzimmerman56@gmail.com wrote:
I am a volunteer at the Bicycle Resource of Bend in Bend, Oregon. We rent a small office space where we repair donated bicycles and we have five 10'X20' storage units packed with bikes and parts. We sell bikes to cover our $850 a month rent. We are so packed it is hard to turn around. My question is: What have other non-profits done to give them selves the space they needed?
Garry
BROB
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave@bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o rg
