Hi friends,
I'm the programs manager at the Bike Kitchen (Vancouver) and can confirm that we have received city funds through the competitive "Greenest City Grant," last year for the annual amount of $45,000 to be split between our three shops here. These funds are tied to very specific activities (we used them to build our recycling initiatives), and although they can be used to pay for admin, wages and any other kinds of expenses, they are based on the concept that we are constantly "innovating" which means we have to rethink the funded activities each time we apply. It's not so bad though since we are always doing that anyway!
More ideally would be an "operating grant" type arrangement with renewable annual funds from the city, but I'm not sure exactly how that would happen, maybe that is what Gemma is trying to do? Gemma do you work for a local gov or a university? We also receive operations funding from a campus body at the University of British Columbia, for which we maintain a healthy relationship with representatives from their group, submit annual reports, run a few programs on their behalf, etc. I think at this point it is generally understood that if folks are running a community bike shop, what they really need is operational funds to pay rent and staff, and to supply their shops with consumables and a modest selection of new parts to keep programs running.
As JF said we also get wage subsidy funding through CSJ, UNAC (united nations canada) and CPRA (parks and rec), however those are federal funds that can only be used to reimburse wages up to 50%.
Sunny Nestler, Programs Manager
AMS Bike Co-op + Bike Kitchen