Re: [TheThinkTank] Recycle-a-bike program: seeking other models, successes, failures and suggestions!

26 Jul 2013

      Hi - I apologize for perhaps not reading the entire conversation, but
I did read the all the quoted msgs in this mail I'm replying to...
My suggestion was to have a written description (charter) for your
project, which your core group should buy-into for the next few years
as you develop.  Unless you have unlimited energy in your new
organization, I've noticed that it is easy to get off track.  Things
can get really exciting as your project develops, which often leads to
overextending, thus hastening burnout of the project/people.
Example - you start a 'kitchen', which quickly becomes a hub for
people loving bicycles in the area.  Now Bob wants to run a mobile
operation as a sub-project, Belinda wants to have the kitchen provide
bikes to the Safe Routes to School program, Ed and Fiona want to lead
bike rides out of the shop and Rasputin want to be the organizer for
the monthly bike swap.  Oh, and you're supposed to be doing your
original recycle-a-bike mission...
On Fri, Jul 26, 2013 at 9:11 AM, james bledsoe jamesbleds0e@yahoo.com wrote:
...
i would suggest that you if it possible form the root of your organization
as a Not for Profit.  Not for profit is different than nonprofit.  The
Bikerowave in Los Angeles is set-up this way.  They are still a collective
still putting bicycles on the street and serving a public good.  But they
are not held under the nonprofit strictures and thereby allowed much grater
flexibility in how they handle their money.  They cannot give a tax credit
for receiving donations but from my experience at the Bicycle Kitchen where
i have volunteered for nearly ten years most of our donating patrons don't
ask for an in-kind receipt.  When the kitchen formed we considered forming
as a coop where we could operate something like REI  but already having 50g
s in the bank and an excellent set of tools when we approached the
non-profit umbrella we were working under they said we could become a coop
simply by donation our cash to a charity of our choice and then buy back our
tool for slightly higher than market price.   So when the Bikerowave
founders came to see how we had done it  we suggested that they not become a
nonprofit and they built there shop outside the nonprofit realm.   Take a
look here http://bikerowave.org/
jim
________________________________
From: Jennifer Kay jen.louise.kay@gmail.com
To: Vernon Huffman vernonhuffman@yahoo.com; The Think Tank
thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org
Sent: Monday, July 22, 2013 3:12 PM
Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Recycle-a-bike program: seeking other models,
successes, failures and suggestions!
Thank you Stephen and Vernon, very helpful info (and checklist)
A thought on one of your comments Vernon:  were thinking of establishing
some criteria for the donation bikes so we are not overwhelmed with unusable
donations.   Have you considered this, do you think it is a realistic
approach, and, if so, do you have any suggestions for clear criteria?
Jennifer
On Fri, Jul 19, 2013 at 10:47 PM, Vernon Huffman vernonhuffman@yahoo.com
wrote:
If you only have capacity for 15 bikes, don't let people know you're looking
for unused bikes. Every effort I've been part of has been overwhelmed by
donations. As they come in, decide which are worthy of your efforts, which
have components you can use, and which go straight into recycling. Your
standards will slide, depending upon what's donated. Disposing of unusable
bikes & components should be part of the plan.
Sorting stripped parts is always a challenge. Plan early, but stay flexible.
Shelving units with reusable containers of various sizes can be very handy.
Have a way to decide what you'll actually be able to use, so you don't end
up storing junk that nobody wants. Selling parts has historically accounted
for about half our income.
You might want to get started now on a long term goal of finding a location
with more storage. I suspect space will be your biggest constraint.

From: "thethinktank-request@lists.bikecollectives.org"
From: Jennifer Kay
Hi!  I am with La Bikery in Moncton, New Brunswick.  We are in the initial
stages of starting up a small scale recycle - a - bike program (storage
capacity = 12-15 bikes).  I am sure there are plenty of success stories
already out there, so I am hoping to draw on some of your expertise.  If
you have any functioning models to share (or examples of what NOT to do!),
I would be grateful to hear from you.
Thank you,
Jennifer
Recycle-a-bike Coordinator,
La Bikery

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Recycle-a-bike program: seeking other models, successes, failures and suggestions!

Brian K