When I joined re-Cycles in 2001 we had a membership. Our shop rate
for DIYers was $4 per hour, but if one bought a $10 membership the
rate dropped to $2, and the first session was free. This brought
people in, but did little for attracting volunteers. Then we
realized that a lot of people were buying a membership to get the
free session, as the four hours would cost them $10 instead of $16.
So we had a great big database of people that were members, but most
did not volunteer, and many perhaps were not even that interested in
us as a co-op, but had been happy to save money that one evening.
So we dropped the membership, and now have a flat rate of $5 per hour
(still a bargain). But this also means we're not really a co-op
anymore... What we do now is offer an hour for hour deal, where
every hour of volunteering earns an hour's free time in the shop.
This has worked really well, and we now seem to have a steady stream
of volunteers.
We have a core group of about 16 people, and since we still operate
under the auspices of a larger non-profit we can get away without
having a Board. But we have our own bank account and set all our own
policies, and we are very happy that the main org. is completely
hands-off (and they are very happy with how successful we are). Our
shop is not that large, with about 700 sq. ft. of space, with another
200 upstairs for storage, and we pay $500 in rent.
Our core group consists mainly of the Head Mechanics that staff each
shift, and each one has a key. But we only have one HM per shift, so
on busy nights it can get a bit much for the one person. We have
only four workstations, but do have a few folding stands for the
overflow. We're trying to recruit more HMs of course, and are always
gently cajoling regular volunteers into becoming Shop Assistants
while they gain knowledge.
And we are quite pleased to have just signed on our first female HM!
She has been running some trial "women-only" sessions (dubbed
"Wenches with Wrenches") and will run those as a once-a-month thing
(or more often) come Spring in addition to running regular shifts.
Mark