Hi,
I wanted to redirect Beth's questions that got lost in the bike curriculum thread...thanks in advance.
Our nonprofit, Pedals2People, just got its 501c3. As we are trying to develop projects and determine our focus under our new status we thought it would be great to get some insight from all of you that have more experience (been around for a while). Anyone that would like to, please feel free to answer any of the following questions:
1.) What is your main source of funding?
2.) If you have a space, how are you covering your costs?
3.) Do you have paid staff?
4.) Are you financially self-sustaining or grant funded?
Thanks for your help! If you have any other suggestions or ideas or questions i forgot that you would like to answer, please do!
We have officially almost been open a year... at Bike Farm in Portland... we just moved into a commercial space and paying rent is SCARY!
- most funding comes from selling new and used parts, memberships and stand
time
- we aren't quite covering our costs yet... savings it is.. and were
subleasing our space.. to help us ge through the bleak winter.
- No paid staff.... we volunteer makes it easier
4)We are hoping to be financially self sustaining by next summer.... bt we may have to host a few fundraisers to make sure we meet rent this year!... no grants... grants generally dont fund rent.... only programs.... we just wrote a grant for around $3000 for 3 programs.
hope that helps!
On Thu, Nov 6, 2008 at 7:39 PM, Liza Mattana pedals2people@gmail.comwrote:
Most grants allow a certain percentage for general and administrative expenses. Rent would be included in that.
-Doug
From: thethinktank-bounces@bikecollectives.org [mailto:thethinktank-bounces@bikecollectives.org] On Behalf Of maintenence collective Sent: Friday, November 07, 2008 2:32 AM To: The Think Tank Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] funding questions
We have officially almost been open a year... at Bike Farm in Portland... we just moved into a commercial space and paying rent is SCARY!
- most funding comes from selling new and used parts, memberships and stand
time
- we aren't quite covering our costs yet... savings it is.. and were
subleasing our space.. to help us ge through the bleak winter.
- No paid staff.... we volunteer makes it easier
4)We are hoping to be financially self sustaining by next summer.... bt we may have to host a few fundraisers to make sure we meet rent this year!... no grants... grants generally dont fund rent.... only programs.... we just wrote a grant for around $3000 for 3 programs.
hope that helps!
On Thu, Nov 6, 2008 at 7:39 PM, Liza Mattana pedals2people@gmail.com wrote:
Hi,
I wanted to redirect Beth's questions that got lost in the bike curriculum thread...thanks in advance.
Our nonprofit, Pedals2People, just got its 501c3.
As we are trying to develop projects and determine our focus under our new status we thought it would be great to get some insight from all of you that have more experience (been around for a while).
Anyone that would like to, please feel free to answer any of the following questions:
1.) What is your main source of funding?
2.) If you have a space, how are you covering your costs?
3.) Do you have paid staff?
4.) Are you financially self-sustaining or grant funded?
Thanks for your help! If you have any other suggestions or ideas or questions i forgot that you would like to answer, please do!
- 2008 budget:
1/2 = donations for shop parts and services, and other creative donations (example: we got an NPR-style car donation) 1/4 = events/assorted benefits 1/4 = grants
We self-generate most of our budget through the content of our work and by having/participating in events that are relevant to our community.
- Our rent/utilities is less than $400/mo, which is pretty easy to cover
with the above structure. Having staff necessitates some grant funding, but we don't rely on it heavily and we are strategic about from where we seek it. Grant seeking is a responsibility of the staff person, but we're careful about not turning the staff person's job into a game of perpetually finding money so she can keep finding money. Having staff lends to the ability to have more shop hours, and that generates cash, too. Our best and favorite fundraising activity is having open shop hours.
- For now we have a director (which seems to be a label useful
externally..."staff person" or something like "program admin" work, too). The point is to have someone managing day-to-day admin activities and keeping track of things. There are a lot of ins, a lot of outs.
- Yes, self sustaining, with some grant money.
-rachael // sopobikes
On Thu, Nov 6, 2008 at 10:39 PM, Liza Mattana pedals2people@gmail.comwrote:
Any one intrigued in getting all the Midwest groups together? Send me an email
Patrick Http://www.stlbikeworks.com
Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2008 10:26:46 -0500 From: rachael@sopobikes.org To: thethinktank@bikecollectives.org Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] funding questions
- 2008 budget:
1/2 = donations for shop parts and services, and other creative donations (example: we got an NPR-style car donation) 1/4 = events/assorted benefits 1/4 = grants
We self-generate most of our budget through the content of our work and by having/participating in events that are relevant to our community.
Our rent/utilities is less than $400/mo, which is pretty easy to cover with the above structure. Having staff necessitates some grant funding, but we don't rely on it heavily and we are strategic about from where we seek it. Grant seeking is a responsibility of the staff person, but we're careful about not turning the staff person's job into a game of perpetually finding money so she can keep finding money. Having staff lends to the ability to have more shop hours, and that generates cash, too. Our best and favorite fundraising activity is having open shop hours.
For now we have a director (which seems to be a label useful externally..."staff person" or something like "program admin" work, too). The point is to have someone managing day-to-day admin activities and keeping track of things. There are a lot of ins, a lot of outs.
Yes, self sustaining, with some grant money.
-rachael // sopobikes
On Thu, Nov 6, 2008 at 10:39 PM, Liza Mattana pedals2people@gmail.com wrote:
Hi, I wanted to redirect Beth's questions that got lost in the bike curriculum thread...thanks in advance.
Our nonprofit, Pedals2People, just got its 501c3.As we are trying to develop projects and determine our focus under our new status we thought it would be great to get some insight from all of you that have more experience (been around for a while).
Anyone that would like to, please feel free to answer any of the following questions: 1.) What is your main source of funding? 2.) If you have a space, how are you covering your costs?
3.) Do you have paid staff? 4.) Are you financially self-sustaining or grant funded? Thanks for your help! If you have any other suggestions or ideas or questions i forgot that you would like to answer, please do!
Chicago reporting back...
515 sounds like DesMoines...nice. My kind 'o town. I'm in for getting the Midwest groups together.
On Thu, Dec 11, 2008 at 5:21 PM, Carl Voss carlvoss@mac.com wrote:
I think I speak for the Fargo Moorhead folks in the frozen north when I say FMCBW is IN like Schwinn (was in 1962). When and where? We'd be happy to host, but I wouldn't mind Desmoines, Chicago or Madison a bit either... someplace on an Amtrak line would be preferable, I reckon.
Peace- Pete.
On Tue, Dec 16, 2008 at 8:07 AM, Froilan Eliseo Landeros < froilanderos@gmail.com> wrote:
Stl maybe able to host?
Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2008 08:07:24 -0600 From: froilanderos@gmail.com To: thethinktank@bikecollectives.org Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Midwest groups?
Chicago reporting back...
515 sounds like DesMoines...nice. My kind 'o town. I'm in for getting the Midwest groups together.
On Thu, Dec 11, 2008 at 5:21 PM, Carl Voss carlvoss@mac.com wrote:
Hey, I'm hearing that Bike Bike will be in Minneapolis. If not, I'm up for a regional meeting. We're a new co-op and have plenty to learn.
Carl carlvoss@mac.com Mobile: 515-210-0237
On Nov 7, 2008, at 12:51 PM, Patrick VDT wrote:
Any one intrigued in getting all the Midwest groups together?
Send me an email
Patrick Http://www.stlbikeworks.com
Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2008 10:26:46 -0500 From: rachael@sopobikes.org To: thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] funding questions
- 2008 budget:
1/2 = donations for shop parts and services, and other creative donations (example: we got an NPR-style car donation) 1/4 = events/assorted benefits
1/4 = grants
We self-generate most of our budget through the content of our work and by having/participating in events that are relevant to our community.
Our rent/utilities is less than $400/mo, which is pretty easy to cover with the above structure. Having staff necessitates some grant funding, but we don't rely on it heavily and we are strategic about from where we seek it. Grant seeking is a responsibility of the staff person, but we're careful about not turning the staff person's job into a game of perpetually finding money so she can keep finding money. Having staff lends to the ability to have more shop hours, and that generates cash, too. Our best and favorite fundraising activity is having open shop hours.
For now we have a director (which seems to be a label useful externally..."staff person" or something like "program admin" work, too). The point is to have someone managing day-to-day admin activities and keeping track of things. There are a lot of ins, a lot of outs.
Yes, self sustaining, with some grant money.
-rachael // sopobikes
On Thu, Nov 6, 2008 at 10:39 PM, Liza Mattana pedals2people@gmail.com wrote:
Hi,
I wanted to redirect Beth's questions that got lost in the bike curriculum thread...thanks in advance.
Our nonprofit, Pedals2People, just got its 501c3. As we are trying to develop projects and determine our focus under our new status we thought it would be great to get some insight from all of you that have more experience (been around for a while). Anyone that would like to, please feel free to answer any of the following questions:
1.) What is your main source of funding?
2.) If you have a space, how are you covering your costs?
3.) Do you have paid staff?
4.) Are you financially self-sustaining or grant funded?
Thanks for your help! If you have any other suggestions or ideas or questions i forgot that you would like to answer, please do!
*Chicago raises hand
On Tue, Dec 16, 2008 at 9:35 AM, Patrick VDT fivespeed_@hotmail.com wrote:
oh yeah, chi town. I've never been. wind whipping off the lake these days, or what?
see you at the amtrak station... we'll bring cookies.
On Tue, Dec 16, 2008 at 9:36 AM, Froilan Eliseo Landeros < froilanderos@gmail.com> wrote:
The grease pit folks in Minneapolis might not be on this list. They are planning a conference, most likely in August.
On Tue, Dec 16, 2008 at 8:20 AM, Peter Morsch pete@fmbikeworkshop.orgwrote:
Reno Bike Project.
We generate most of our income in the shop with bike/part/repair sales.
we do receive some grants from various organizations, but i still havent perfected the argument that fixing bikes is like taking a huge straw and sucking the fat and CO2 from our universe. but i am working on it.
We also receive private donations which is always awesome. This is probably the hardest thing to do, ask someone for their money. But it happens, so look out for this.
as for our expenses, there are a lot.
rent 1300/month insurance 2600/year full time mech. 1200/month Ex. Dir. 1000/month
plus other expenses.
for this reason we try to make the shop as profitable as possible while still helping people.
but we have generated over $70,000 in income so far this year. so its possible to make it work.
hope that helps
noah
On Fri, Nov 7, 2008 at 7:26 AM, rachael spiewak rachael@sopobikes.orgwrote:
A case for funding community bike shops, a work in progress:
The three major household expenses in the US according to the census are: food, housing, and transportation. Additionally, food, housing, and transportation are our top consumers of energy and producers of pollution.
When someone is without food, they are hungry or starving. When someone is with out a home, they are homeless. When someone is without transportation they are invisibly suffering. The lack of vocabulary to describe this state of being, from a queer theory perspective*, illuminates a lack of social consciousness about a critical social condition.
Organizations that address the economic gap in access to food and housing fall into the category of community development, for which there are government block grants, and hopefully we'll be seeing more of this during the Obama(!!!) administration (see change.gov for more about that). I argue that community bike shops should be eligible on the same grounds as organizations that address the first two problems.
Additionally: Organizations that address the first two problems typically only focus on immediate economic need, and rarely emphasize environmental responsibility or social capital building. Referring back to premise 2, it is critical that we at least address the environmental component. Community bike shops, as a movement, is unique because we employ social capital building methods as we bridge an economic gap in transportation. We do this by developing an alternate, environmentally responsible system of transportation that lends to further social capital building as people are exposed to each other as they bike through the streets.
From a cultural materialism perspective, our materials are: people, our
budgets, and our tools. We manipulate all of these things to ostensibly construct bicycles. Because we use social capital building means of sharing bike repair, we're transforming our social culture to emphasize new kinds of equitable relationships and community building. We're building social infrastructure. Eventually, we'll transform ideological culture to a point where we collectively internalize these values: sharing, environmental responsibility, community, economic fairness, etc, creating a giant system of feedback that will reinforce itself as we approach a cleaner, happier, and more just world.
I would call that sustainability.
*Here I'm thinking about how standard pronouns don't include everyone.
-rachael
On Fri, Nov 7, 2008 at 4:48 PM, reno bikes renobikeproject@gmail.comwrote:
participants (10)
-
Carl Voss -
Chris Janik -
Doug Franz -
Froilan Eliseo Landeros -
Liza Mattana -
maintenence collective -
Patrick VDT -
Peter Morsch -
rachael spiewak -
reno bikes