New shop: Help me budget!
Hello everyone, my name is Jennifer Nordhem of the soon to be Battlesteed Custom Bike Works in Denver. We're currently looking for places to rent for our new shop. I noticed some people say they don't, which would just be a miracle that I don't foresee coming true.
Here are the questions I have:
How much do you pay for rent?
About how much money do you receive monthly from
grants, donations, membership fees, sales, etc?
How much do you spend monthly on tools, etc?
I want to get a grasp on what kind of income/outflow to expect so I can budget how much we can afford spending on rent.
Thanks everyone! The website and wiki have been extremely helpful so far, I'm really happy to see such a supportive community.
Jen
Hi Jennifer,
I'm glad you've found the wiki and website useful. To answer some of your questions - most (if not all) the shops in the community that operate on grants and donations are non-profit (501(c)3) organizations. I'm not sure what model you are going for. The answers to your questions can be a bit complex. To help us help you, I'd suggest giving this a read and figuring out where your project fits:
http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Bike_Collective_Starter_...
On Tue, Apr 1, 2008 at 9:00 PM, Jennifer Nordhem jen@milehighmess.com wrote:
Hello everyone, my name is Jennifer Nordhem of the soon to be Battlesteed Custom Bike Works in Denver. We're currently looking for places to rent for our new shop. I noticed some people say they don't, which would just be a miracle that I don't foresee coming true.
Here are the questions I have: How much do you pay for rent? About how much money do you receive monthly from grants, donations, membership fees, sales, etc? How much do you spend monthly on tools, etc?
I want to get a grasp on what kind of income/outflow to expect so I can budget how much we can afford spending on rent.
Thanks everyone! The website and wiki have been extremely helpful so far, I'm really happy to see such a supportive community.
Jen _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
Jay, We are already in the process of becoming a 501(c)3. We're at the Articles of Incorporation and By Laws writing stage. I know the questions I asked were lengthy, I'm just a little overwhelmed, which I'm sure you can understand.
Jen
--- Jay Varner jay@sopobikes.org wrote:
Hi Jennifer,
I'm glad you've found the wiki and website useful. To answer some of your questions - most (if not all) the shops in the community that operate on grants and donations are non-profit (501(c)3) organizations. I'm not sure what model you are going for. The answers to your questions can be a bit complex. To help us help you, I'd suggest giving this a read and figuring out where your project fits:
http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Bike_Collective_Starter_...
On Tue, Apr 1, 2008 at 9:00 PM, Jennifer Nordhem jen@milehighmess.com wrote:
Hello everyone, my name is Jennifer Nordhem of the soon to be Battlesteed Custom Bike Works in
Denver.
We're currently looking for places to rent for
our new
shop. I noticed some people say they don't,
which
would just be a miracle that I don't foresee
coming
true.
Here are the questions I have: How much do you pay for rent? About how much money do you receive monthly from grants, donations, membership fees, sales, etc? How much do you spend monthly on tools, etc?
I want to get a grasp on what kind of
income/outflow
to expect so I can budget how much we can afford spending on rent.
Thanks everyone! The website and wiki have been extremely helpful so far, I'm really happy to see
such
a supportive community.
Jen _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
Hi, Jen!
Our numbers for 2007 reflect adding staff and increasing our capacity in the last quarter, and we didn't have a clear budgeting plan until the end of the year, but if it helps: The shop generated around $10,000 with our suggested donations structure. We made $5,000 with our own events and by being a part of community events that generate money for nonprofits. We scored a grant for $5,000. We earned around $500 in here's some money because we like you checks. We started off with almost $2,000.
We spent $3,600 on rent ($300/mo for 600 sq ft...and our space is probably too small). We spent $5,000 on supplies (tools, consumables, shop improvements). We spent $7,500 on administrative things, including $500/wk for one fulltime paid staff person starting in October. We spent almost nothing on events. That's way different this year, but the net total is coming out ahead so far.
Over all, we spent around $16,000 and brought in $21,000, with the bulk of that activity taking place starting off with our shop clean up, and continuing as we increased our shop hours, added staff, sought grants, etc.
The words "shoestring" and "grassroots" come to mind.
-rachael sopo/atlanta
On Thu, Apr 3, 2008 at 10:27 AM, Jennifer Nordhem jen@milehighmess.com wrote:
Jay, We are already in the process of becoming a 501(c)3. We're at the Articles of Incorporation and By Laws writing stage. I know the questions I asked were lengthy, I'm just a little overwhelmed, which I'm sure you can understand.
Jen
--- Jay Varner jay@sopobikes.org wrote:
Hi Jennifer,
I'm glad you've found the wiki and website useful. To answer some of your questions - most (if not all) the shops in the community that operate on grants and donations are non-profit (501(c)3) organizations. I'm not sure what model you are going for. The answers to your questions can be a bit complex. To help us help you, I'd suggest giving this a read and figuring out where your project fits:
http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Bike_Collective_Starter_...
On Tue, Apr 1, 2008 at 9:00 PM, Jennifer Nordhem jen@milehighmess.com wrote:
Hello everyone, my name is Jennifer Nordhem of the soon to be Battlesteed Custom Bike Works in
Denver.
We're currently looking for places to rent for
our new
shop. I noticed some people say they don't,
which
would just be a miracle that I don't foresee
coming
true.
Here are the questions I have: How much do you pay for rent? About how much money do you receive monthly from grants, donations, membership fees, sales, etc? How much do you spend monthly on tools, etc?
I want to get a grasp on what kind of
income/outflow
to expect so I can budget how much we can afford spending on rent.
Thanks everyone! The website and wiki have been extremely helpful so far, I'm really happy to see
such
a supportive community.
Jen _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
This is suuuuuuuuper helpful, Rachael. I had no where
to even begin to think of how much we would gain in
donations and how much we would loose to tools and
things. Excellent.
Jen
--- rachael spiewak rachael@sopobikes.org wrote:
Hi, Jen!
Our numbers for 2007 reflect adding staff and increasing our capacity in the last quarter, and we didn't have a clear budgeting plan until the end of the year, but if it helps: The shop generated around $10,000 with our suggested donations structure. We made $5,000 with our own events and by being a part of community events that generate money for nonprofits. We scored a grant for $5,000. We earned around $500 in here's some money because we like you checks. We started off with almost $2,000.
We spent $3,600 on rent ($300/mo for 600 sq ft...and our space is probably too small). We spent $5,000 on supplies (tools, consumables, shop improvements). We spent $7,500 on administrative things, including $500/wk for one fulltime paid staff person starting in October. We spent almost nothing on events. That's way different this year, but the net total is coming out ahead so far.
Over all, we spent around $16,000 and brought in $21,000, with the bulk of that activity taking place starting off with our shop clean up, and continuing as we increased our shop hours, added staff, sought grants, etc.
The words "shoestring" and "grassroots" come to mind.
-rachael sopo/atlanta
On Thu, Apr 3, 2008 at 10:27 AM, Jennifer Nordhem jen@milehighmess.com wrote:
Jay, We are already in the process of becoming a
501(c)3.
We're at the Articles of Incorporation and By Laws writing stage. I know the questions I asked were lengthy, I'm just a little overwhelmed, which I'm
sure
you can understand.
Jen
--- Jay Varner jay@sopobikes.org wrote:
Hi Jennifer,
I'm glad you've found the wiki and website
useful.
To answer some of your questions - most (if not all) the shops in
the
community that operate on grants and donations are non-profit (501(c)3) organizations. I'm not sure what model you are
going
for. The answers to your questions can be a bit complex. To help
us
help you, I'd suggest giving this a read and figuring out
where
your project fits:
http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Bike_Collective_Starter_...
On Tue, Apr 1, 2008 at 9:00 PM, Jennifer Nordhem jen@milehighmess.com wrote:
Hello everyone, my name is Jennifer Nordhem of
the
soon to be Battlesteed Custom Bike Works in
Denver.
We're currently looking for places to rent
for
our new
shop. I noticed some people say they don't,
which
would just be a miracle that I don't foresee
coming
true.
Here are the questions I have: How much do you pay for rent? About how much money do you receive monthly
from
grants, donations, membership fees, sales,
etc?
How much do you spend monthly on tools, etc?
I want to get a grasp on what kind of
income/outflow
to expect so I can budget how much we can
afford
spending on rent.
Thanks everyone! The website and wiki have
been
extremely helpful so far, I'm really happy to
see
such
a supportive community.
Jen
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
-- Sopo Bicycle Cooperative 404-425-9989 www.sopobikes.org
Hours of operation: Tues/Thurs 7 pm - 10 pm Sat/Sun 2 pm - 5 pm
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
I think it's safe to say that most of the collectives out there make
most of their money from refurbished bike sales. Last year bike sales
accounted for about 65% of our total income at Community Cycles.
Refurbished bike sales are our strongest fund raising tool.
Rich http://CommunityCycles.org
Jennifer Nordhem wrote:
Jay, We are already in the process of becoming a 501(c)3. We're at the Articles of Incorporation and By Laws writing stage. I know the questions I asked were lengthy, I'm just a little overwhelmed, which I'm sure you can understand.
Jen
--- Jay Varner jay@sopobikes.org wrote:
Hi Jennifer,
I'm glad you've found the wiki and website useful. To answer some of your questions - most (if not all) the shops in the community that operate on grants and donations are non-profit (501(c)3) organizations. I'm not sure what model you are going for. The answers to your questions can be a bit complex. To help us help you, I'd suggest giving this a read and figuring out where your project fits:
http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Bike_Collective_Starter_...
On Tue, Apr 1, 2008 at 9:00 PM, Jennifer Nordhem jen@milehighmess.com wrote:
Hello everyone, my name is Jennifer Nordhem of the soon to be Battlesteed Custom Bike Works in
Denver.
We're currently looking for places to rent for
our new
shop. I noticed some people say they don't,
which
would just be a miracle that I don't foresee
coming
true.
Here are the questions I have: How much do you pay for rent? About how much money do you receive monthly from grants, donations, membership fees, sales, etc? How much do you spend monthly on tools, etc?
I want to get a grasp on what kind of
income/outflow
to expect so I can budget how much we can afford spending on rent.
Thanks everyone! The website and wiki have been extremely helpful so far, I'm really happy to see
such
a supportive community.
Jen _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
Same for us. Bike sales dominate our income stream, with parts sales
in 2nd place, and income from do-it-yourselfers behind that.
Mark Rehder - Director http://re-cycles.ca
On 3-Apr-08, at 11:32 AM, Rich Points wrote:
I think it's safe to say that most of the collectives out there
make most of their money from refurbished bike sales. Last year
bike sales accounted for about 65% of our total income at Community
Cycles. Refurbished bike sales are our strongest fund raising tool.Rich http://CommunityCycles.org
Jennifer Nordhem wrote:
Jay, We are already in the process of becoming a 501(c)3. We're at
the Articles of Incorporation and By Laws writing stage. I know
the questions I asked were lengthy, I'm just a little overwhelmed,
which I'm sure you can understand. Jen --- Jay Varner
jay@sopobikes.org wrote:Hi Jennifer, I'm glad you've found the wiki and website useful.
To answer some of your questions - most (if not all) the shops in
the community that operate on grants and donations are non-profit
(501(c)3) organizations. I'm not sure what model you are going
for. The answers to your questions can be a bit complex. To help
us help you, I'd suggest giving this a read and figuring out
where your project fits:http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php? title=Bike_Collective_Starter_Kit
On Tue, Apr 1, 2008 at 9:00 PM, Jennifer Nordhem
jen@milehighmess.com wrote:Hello everyone, my name is Jennifer Nordhem of the soon to be
Battlesteed Custom Bike Works inDenver.
We're currently looking for places to rent for
our new
shop. I noticed some people say they don't,
which
would just be a miracle that I don't foresee
coming
true. Here are the questions I have: How much do you pay for
rent? About how much money do you receive monthly from grants,
donations, membership fees, sales, etc? How much do you spend
monthly on tools, etc? I want to get a grasp on what kind ofincome/outflow
to expect so I can budget how much we can afford spending on
rent. Thanks everyone! The website and wiki have been extremely
helpful so far, I'm really happy to seesuch
a supportive community. Jen
_______________________________________________ Thethinktank
mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.orghttp://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- bikecollectives.org
_______________________________________________ Thethinktank
mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.orghttp://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- bikecollectives.org
_______________________________________________ Thethinktank
mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org http:// lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- bikecollectives.org-- Rich Points Community Cycles Director http://CommunityCycles.org
Rich@CommunityCycles.org 720-565-6019 _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- bikecollectives.org
We don't sell refurbished bikes, but a good chunk of our shop generated funds comes from people donating $25 per frame/bike they pick up from us, and they tend to give more for parts even though we consider parts as being included with the bike. We /could/ sell whole bikes for more, but that seems to run up against our general shop philosophy of most things being mostly equal. We don't have membership fees either, which is another great income generator if it works for your shop/organization.
-rachael
On Thu, Apr 3, 2008 at 12:22 PM, Mark Rehder mark@re-cycles.ca wrote:
Same for us. Bike sales dominate our income stream, with parts sales in 2nd place, and income from do-it-yourselfers behind that.
Mark Rehder - Director http://re-cycles.ca
On 3-Apr-08, at 11:32 AM, Rich Points wrote:
I think it's safe to say that most of the collectives out there make most of their money from refurbished bike sales. Last year bike sales accounted for about 65% of our total income at Community Cycles. Refurbished bike sales are our strongest fund raising tool.
Rich http://CommunityCycles.org
Jennifer Nordhem wrote:
Jay, We are already in the process of becoming a 501(c)3. We're at the Articles of Incorporation and By Laws writing stage. I know the questions I asked were lengthy, I'm just a little overwhelmed, which I'm sure you can understand. Jen --- Jay Varner jay@sopobikes.org wrote:
Hi Jennifer, I'm glad you've found the wiki and website useful. To answer some of your questions - most (if not all) the shops in the community that operate on grants and donations are non-profit (501(c)3) organizations. I'm not sure what model you are going for. The answers to your questions can be a bit complex. To help us help you, I'd suggest giving this a read and figuring out where your project fits:
http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php? title=Bike_Collective_Starter_Kit
On Tue, Apr 1, 2008 at 9:00 PM, Jennifer Nordhem jen@milehighmess.com wrote:
Hello everyone, my name is Jennifer Nordhem of the soon to be Battlesteed Custom Bike Works in
Denver.
We're currently looking for places to rent for
our new
shop. I noticed some people say they don't,
which
would just be a miracle that I don't foresee
coming
true. Here are the questions I have: How much do you pay for rent? About how much money do you receive monthly from grants, donations, membership fees, sales, etc? How much do you spend monthly on tools, etc? I want to get a grasp on what kind of
income/outflow
to expect so I can budget how much we can afford spending on rent. Thanks everyone! The website and wiki have been extremely helpful so far, I'm really happy to see
such
a supportive community. Jen _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- bikecollectives.org
_______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- bikecollectives.org _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org http:// lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- bikecollectives.org
-- Rich Points Community Cycles Director http://CommunityCycles.org Rich@CommunityCycles.org 720-565-6019 _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- bikecollectives.org
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
We used to have a membership, but dropped it after a few years, which
I guess no longer makes us a co-op!
I may have described this here before, but in case not...
We used to charge $4 per hour for the public to use our shop for bike
repair. We also had a $10 annual membership fee, and that meant one
paid only $2 per hour, and the first session at the shop was free.
The problem with that was if a non-member had used our shop for a
full 4-hour session they would buy a membership to save having to pay
$16. But they didn't necessarily care if they were part of a co-op
or not - they just wanted to save $4. So they'd fill out their form
and we'd add them to our database and we'd often never see them
again. we'd send out periodic messages to our membership list, and
once the bounced emails started accumulating we decided to drop the
membership.
So we went to a flat rate of $5 per hour, and those that wanted to
save money could do so by volunteering. This is due to the deal we
set up: every hour of volunteering can become a free hour to work on
their own bike. This has worked out really well in terms of
increasing volunteers at our shop.
Mark Rehder - Director http://re-cycles.ca
On 3-Apr-08, at 12:31 PM, rachael spiewak wrote:
We don't sell refurbished bikes, but a good chunk of our shop
generated funds comes from people donating $25 per frame/bike they
pick up from us, and they tend to give more for parts even though
we consider parts as being included with the bike. We /could/ sell
whole bikes for more, but that seems to run up against our general
shop philosophy of most things being mostly equal. We don't have
membership fees either, which is another great income generator if
it works for your shop/organization.-rachael
On Thu, Apr 3, 2008 at 12:22 PM, Mark Rehder mark@re-cycles.ca
wrote: Same for us. Bike sales dominate our income stream, with parts sales in 2nd place, and income from do-it-yourselfers behind that.Mark Rehder - Director http://re-cycles.ca
On 3-Apr-08, at 11:32 AM, Rich Points wrote:
I think it's safe to say that most of the collectives out there make most of their money from refurbished bike sales. Last year bike sales accounted for about 65% of our total income at Community Cycles. Refurbished bike sales are our strongest fund raising tool.
Rich http://CommunityCycles.org
Jennifer Nordhem wrote:
Jay, We are already in the process of becoming a 501(c)3. We're at the Articles of Incorporation and By Laws writing stage. I know the questions I asked were lengthy, I'm just a little overwhelmed, which I'm sure you can understand. Jen --- Jay Varner jay@sopobikes.org wrote:
Hi Jennifer, I'm glad you've found the wiki and website useful. To answer some of your questions - most (if not all) the shops in the community that operate on grants and donations are non-profit (501(c)3) organizations. I'm not sure what model you are going for. The answers to your questions can be a bit complex. To help us help you, I'd suggest giving this a read and figuring out where your project fits:
http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php? title=Bike_Collective_Starter_Kit
On Tue, Apr 1, 2008 at 9:00 PM, Jennifer Nordhem jen@milehighmess.com wrote:
Hello everyone, my name is Jennifer Nordhem of the soon to be Battlesteed Custom Bike Works in
Denver.
We're currently looking for places to rent for
our new
shop. I noticed some people say they don't,
which
would just be a miracle that I don't foresee
coming
true. Here are the questions I have: How much do you pay for rent? About how much money do you receive monthly from grants, donations, membership fees, sales, etc? How much do you spend monthly on tools, etc? I want to get a grasp on what kind of
income/outflow
to expect so I can budget how much we can afford spending on rent. Thanks everyone! The website and wiki have been extremely helpful so far, I'm really happy to see
such
a supportive community. Jen _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- bikecollectives.org
_______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- bikecollectives.org _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org http:// lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- bikecollectives.org
-- Rich Points Community Cycles Director http://CommunityCycles.org Rich@CommunityCycles.org 720-565-6019 _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- bikecollectives.org
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- bikecollectives.org
-- Sopo Bicycle Cooperative 404-425-9989 www.sopobikes.org
Hours of operation: Tues/Thurs 7 pm - 10 pm Sat/Sun 2 pm - 5 pm _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- bikecollectives.org
Yeah, we won't be selling a whole lot of bicycles. Our mission is primarily to teach and assist people with their current bikes. We will have a wholesale account with which we can sell them parts. I'm sure we will end up with a bike or two here and there, some used parts, etc. that we will sell, but that's not our goal.
We are going to have a membership program which we're playing with right now, figuring out how to price things, etc. Does anyone have suggestions on that? Mark from Re-cycles pointed out the fault in their system, any other advise?
In addition to profits from classes and membership we will be holding a monthly art show to advertise our services to new potential students and have a little fun.
Jen Battlesteed --- rachael spiewak rachael@sopobikes.org wrote:
We don't sell refurbished bikes, but a good chunk of our shop generated funds comes from people donating $25 per frame/bike they pick up from us, and they tend to give more for parts even though we consider parts as being included with the bike. We /could/ sell whole bikes for more, but that seems to run up against our general shop philosophy of most things being mostly equal. We don't have membership fees either, which is another great income generator if it works for your shop/organization.
-rachael
On Thu, Apr 3, 2008 at 12:22 PM, Mark Rehder mark@re-cycles.ca wrote:
Same for us. Bike sales dominate our income
stream, with parts sales
in 2nd place, and income from do-it-yourselfers
behind that.
Mark Rehder - Director http://re-cycles.ca
On 3-Apr-08, at 11:32 AM, Rich Points wrote:
I think it's safe to say that most of the
collectives out there
make most of their money from refurbished bike
sales. Last year
bike sales accounted for about 65% of our total
income at Community
Cycles. Refurbished bike sales are our
strongest fund raising tool.
Rich http://CommunityCycles.org
Jennifer Nordhem wrote:
Jay, We are already in the process of becoming
a 501(c)3. We're at
the Articles of Incorporation and By Laws
writing stage. I know
the questions I asked were lengthy, I'm just a
little overwhelmed,
which I'm sure you can understand. Jen --- Jay
Varner
jay@sopobikes.org wrote:
Hi Jennifer, I'm glad you've found the wiki
and website useful.
To answer some of your questions - most (if
not all) the shops in
the community that operate on grants and
donations are non-profit
(501(c)3) organizations. I'm not sure what
model you are going
for. The answers to your questions can be a
bit complex. To help
us help you, I'd suggest giving this a read
and figuring out
where your project fits:
http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php? title=Bike_Collective_Starter_Kit
On Tue, Apr 1, 2008 at 9:00 PM, Jennifer
Nordhem
jen@milehighmess.com wrote:
Hello everyone, my name is Jennifer Nordhem
of the soon to be
Battlesteed Custom Bike Works in
Denver.
We're currently looking for places to rent
for
our new
shop. I noticed some people say they don't,
which
would just be a miracle that I don't foresee
coming
true. Here are the questions I have: How much
do you pay for
rent? About how much money do you receive
monthly from grants,
donations, membership fees, sales, etc? How
much do you spend
monthly on tools, etc? I want to get a grasp
on what kind of
income/outflow
to expect so I can budget how much we can
afford spending on
rent. Thanks everyone! The website and wiki
have been extremely
helpful so far, I'm really happy to see
such
a supportive community. Jen
Thethinktank
mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-
bikecollectives.org
Thethinktank
mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-
bikecollectives.org _______________________________________________
Thethinktank
mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://
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-- Rich Points Community Cycles Director
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-- Sopo Bicycle Cooperative 404-425-9989 www.sopobikes.org
Hours of operation: Tues/Thurs 7 pm - 10 pm Sat/Sun 2 pm - 5 pm
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I've read that minimum membership for any nonprofit should be $30 (too bad I can't substantiate that right now.. I think maybe I picked that up from the Thunderhead Alliance). Check on the free info on http://foundationcenter.org.
Here's the art show http://www.sopobikes.org/events/artshow we've got going on right now. We started organizing it in October and we've put a couple hundred bucks into it. I'll let you know if we make money on it. Other events we've got in the works are a bicycle flea market (sellers pay for a space in our parking lot, buyers shop for free, and we'll encourage the sellers to donate their leftovers to us) and a photography print show (lots of artists take pics in the shop.. we're very attractive bike mechanics) coupled with food demos in the artspace you can see in the pics on the art show website.
-rachael
On Thu, Apr 3, 2008 at 7:11 PM, Jennifer Nordhem jen@milehighmess.com wrote:
Yeah, we won't be selling a whole lot of bicycles. Our mission is primarily to teach and assist people with their current bikes. We will have a wholesale account with which we can sell them parts. I'm sure we will end up with a bike or two here and there, some used parts, etc. that we will sell, but that's not our goal.
We are going to have a membership program which we're playing with right now, figuring out how to price things, etc. Does anyone have suggestions on that? Mark from Re-cycles pointed out the fault in their system, any other advise?
In addition to profits from classes and membership we will be holding a monthly art show to advertise our services to new potential students and have a little fun.
Jen Battlesteed --- rachael spiewak rachael@sopobikes.org wrote:
We don't sell refurbished bikes, but a good chunk of our shop generated funds comes from people donating $25 per frame/bike they pick up from us, and they tend to give more for parts even though we consider parts as being included with the bike. We /could/ sell whole bikes for more, but that seems to run up against our general shop philosophy of most things being mostly equal. We don't have membership fees either, which is another great income generator if it works for your shop/organization.
-rachael
On Thu, Apr 3, 2008 at 12:22 PM, Mark Rehder mark@re-cycles.ca wrote:
Same for us. Bike sales dominate our income
stream, with parts sales
in 2nd place, and income from do-it-yourselfers
behind that.
Mark Rehder - Director http://re-cycles.ca
On 3-Apr-08, at 11:32 AM, Rich Points wrote:
I think it's safe to say that most of the
collectives out there
make most of their money from refurbished bike
sales. Last year
bike sales accounted for about 65% of our total
income at Community
Cycles. Refurbished bike sales are our
strongest fund raising tool.
Rich http://CommunityCycles.org
Jennifer Nordhem wrote:
Jay, We are already in the process of becoming
a 501(c)3. We're at
the Articles of Incorporation and By Laws
writing stage. I know
the questions I asked were lengthy, I'm just a
little overwhelmed,
which I'm sure you can understand. Jen --- Jay
Varner
jay@sopobikes.org wrote:
Hi Jennifer, I'm glad you've found the wiki
and website useful.
To answer some of your questions - most (if
not all) the shops in
the community that operate on grants and
donations are non-profit
(501(c)3) organizations. I'm not sure what
model you are going
for. The answers to your questions can be a
bit complex. To help
us help you, I'd suggest giving this a read
and figuring out
where your project fits:
http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php? title=Bike_Collective_Starter_Kit
On Tue, Apr 1, 2008 at 9:00 PM, Jennifer
Nordhem
jen@milehighmess.com wrote: > > Hello everyone, my name is Jennifer Nordhem
of the soon to be
> Battlesteed Custom Bike Works in Denver. > > We're currently looking for places to rent
for
our new > > shop. I noticed some people say they don't, which > > would just be a miracle that I don't foresee coming > > true. Here are the questions I have: How much
do you pay for
> rent? About how much money do you receive
monthly from grants,
> donations, membership fees, sales, etc? How
much do you spend
> monthly on tools, etc? I want to get a grasp
on what kind of
income/outflow > > to expect so I can budget how much we can
afford spending on
> rent. Thanks everyone! The website and wiki
have been extremely
> helpful so far, I'm really happy to see such > > a supportive community. Jen >
Thethinktank
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-- Rich Points Community Cycles Director
Rich@CommunityCycles.org 720-565-6019 _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
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-- Sopo Bicycle Cooperative 404-425-9989 www.sopobikes.org
Hours of operation: Tues/Thurs 7 pm - 10 pm Sat/Sun 2 pm - 5 pm
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
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Sorry for bothering everyone about this, but how do I set up my messages as I digest and not receive individual messages from the list? I tried to find it.
thanks,
Suzanne
You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster Total Access, No Cost.
The link in the bottom of this, and every e-mail, ( http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o... ) has "receive list mail batched in a daily digest" as an option on the subscription page.
On Thu, Apr 3, 2008 at 5:14 AM, sfsuenvs sfsuenvs@yahoo.com wrote:
Sorry for bothering everyone about this, but how do I set up my messages as I digest and not receive individual messages from the list? I tried to find it.
thanks,
Suzanne
You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster Total Accesshttp://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=47523/*http://tc.deals.yahoo.com/tc/blockbuster/text5.com, No Cost. _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
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participants (7)
-
Jay Varner -
Jennifer Nordhem -
Mark Rehder -
rachael spiewak -
Rich Points -
sfsuenvs -
Vyki Englert