Bicycle Collective Volunteer Manual

This is the SLC Bicycle Collective Volunteer Manual, we are currently developing it, so it is not in use yet.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective is to promote cycling as an effective and sustainable form of transportation and as a cornerstone of a cleaner, healthier, and safer society. The Bicycle Collective provides refurbished bicycles and educational programs to the community, focusing on children and lower income households.

Making Donations

Bikes and Parts

We accept all parts and bikes regardless of condition. As a volunteer accepting bikes or frames fill out a (yellow) Bike Information Sheet and staple or pin it to the top tube of the frame.

If the donor asks for a donation receipt, fill out a receipt for them. Donation receipts should not include the value of the bike or part -- that is between the donor and the IRS to determine. Most people that make donations are not concerned about getting a receipt, for this reason we only give them out if they ask.

Money

If someone wants to give us a check, accept it and fill out a donation receipt with the amount on it.

Tax Exempt Purchases

As a tax-exempt organization -- we don't pay tax on most of the things we buy. When purchasing things for the provide the businesses with a completed and signed TC-721 form. We are a "Religious or Charitable Institution" and our Sales Tax Excemption No. is "N21813".

NOTE: TC-721 forms need to be signed by an officer of the the SLC Bicycle Collective.

Reserving Bikes / Project Bikes

All donated bikes are for sale at nominal cost, but priority of the bikes goes to our programs. Each bike or frame should have a (yellow) Bike Information Sheet. The backside of the (yellow) Bike Information Sheets contains a place to reserve the bike.

Reserved bikes should have a name, phone number and a non-expired pickup date on them. If they lack any one of these three things -- it is not considered reserved.

To be fair to everyone, pickup dates should never be more than two weeks from the current day. The key of a pickup date is to show that the person reserving it is still interested in the bike. They also can extend the pickup date, unless it has already expired, again the key is to show they haven't abandoned their project.

Work Trade

"Time is money." -Benjamin Franklin

Our community bike shop works also uses the work trade concept. Simply ask the core volunteer what you would like to purchase, and the two of you will determine how many volunteer hours it would take to earn that item.

Donation Life Cycle

Donated bikes should be tagged.
Donated bikes should be placed in the back storage area.
Bikes left in the shop should be either in-progress or finished.
One "fix me" rack in the back will contain bikes that haven't been worked on yet.
Core volunteers will choose the bikes from the back storage area for the "fix me" rack.

Bikes

Bike and Part Sales

Buying: All bikes are for nominal sale, but reservation priority goes first and foremost to our various programs.
Selling: Make sure you mark how much the bike was sold for on the (yellow) Bike Information Sheet and put it in the drawer with the other yellow sheets. If the purchaser is asking for a low-income discount, he or she must fill out an eligibility form.

Bikes for Trade

We maintain a strict No Trades policy. We do this to remove the incentive for laundering stolen bikes at our shop. If someone trades a stolen bike to your shop, it can lead to legal problems for the person who ends up with the bike -- and that just makes us look bad.

So that we don't have to descriminate against any one person or group of people we have made this a blanket policy so that it applies to everyone.

Free Bikes

We offer free bikes in conjunction with other local charitable causes. Those organizations contact us, and we set up a referal system. Anyone listed on that referal system is given a bike and a helmet.

Memberships

Volunteers

There are 3 levels of volunteer.

Core Volunteer/Core mechanics

They are responsible for a shift of 4 hours/week, they help to maintain the space. One monthly meeting is mandatory.

Privileges:

Candidates for keys (access to the shop in off hours). Candidates are voted on by ????
Getting parts at 10% over wholesale
Cheap to free used parts (use discretion and don't be a hog).

Committed volunteers

Must work at least 8 hours a month, either as an apprentice/aid to the core mechanics on a weekly basis, or by doing odd tasks from the chore list regularly. After volunteering consistently for one full month, they are entitled to the following privileges: New parts at 35% over Wholesale and cheap to free parts (at the discretion of the shift mechanic), and membership privileges. The meeting may decide to offer keys to a long-term committed volunteer.

Access to the office and mechanics only areas is granted by the mechanic on duty, and should not be assumed.

Impromptu volunteers

They are people who ask if they can do some work for that day, usually as a trade for shop use/assistance, and necessary used parts (and occasionally a new tube). The volunteer is referred to a list of chores, and the value is determined by the mechanic.

Off Hour Shop Use

Core Volunteers have the ability to use the shop during off-hours. The conditions of doing so are:

Leave it better than you found it. If using the shop in off-hours, make sure it is clean and clear of projects at least 15 minutes before a shift or scheduled workshop/class.
Do not advertise that the shop is open. If you choose to help people that wander in, be clear that this is not a time we are regularly open.

Key Policy

Key access to the Community Bike Shop is an awardable and revocable privilege and shouldn't be taken lightly. The general goal of the following rules is to make those with key access to the shop more accountable; to regulate overall access to the shop and all the physical assets of the organization; and to reward volunteers who further the overall goals of the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective.

Earning a Key

Keys will be issued monthly at every mandatory key list meeting.

Requirements:

You must have 40 hours of volunteering (Velorutionary Membership Level Equivalent)
You must be sponsored by someone on the key list.
You must be elected by the rest of the key list by silent vote.

Exceptions:

Members of the Board of Directors may request a key.
Program Coordinators may be issued a temporary key (BikeEd, Earn-A-Bike, and Continuing Ed Courses)

Maintaining a Key

Requirements:

Volunteer for 2 mandatory shop nights per month.
Attend 1 mandatory meeting per month.

Losing Key Privileges

If you lose your key privileges, you are entitled to an explanation. Here are common reasons:

Failure to meet monthly volunteer requirements.
Failure to attend the required monthly meeting without prior notification.
Abuse or misuse of shop and/or shop resources.
Inappropriate representation of the Collective to shop patrons and/or volunteers.
Working on personal projects during public shop hours.
Lending keys to individuals not on the key list without prior consent from key list members.

Responsibilities

Open and Closing of the Community Bike Shop.
Oversee and ensure shop clean up.
Money handling and nightly money drop.

Benefits

This is a lot of responsibility for volunteering, here are some incentives.

For every full 4 hour volunteer shift a key list member will be entered into a yearly raffle.
Shop employee rate of cost + 10% for personal use only on distributor accounts.
Apron with your name on it.

Key List Meetings

Agenda Items:

Date and time are to be determined for next month's mandatory key list meeting.
Discussion of current shop projects for uniformity and clarity.
Voting on new key list members.
Voting on existing key list members.
Current issue discussion.
Project proposals.
Schedule sign ups.

Valet Bicycle Parking

Valet Bicycle Parking is an easy way to rack up some volunteer hours. You simply set up a tent at an event, and when people bring you bikes to watch, you give them one side of a raffle ticket and wedge the other one somewhere on their bike (like in between two spokes). You should know about the different programs that the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective offers -- people will ask. Also try and promote the programs as people are leaving. Say something simple as, "Have you heard of the Bicycle Collective before?"

You will need:

EZ-UP Tent
Roll-up Folding Table
Banners
Zip ties and/or Elastic Tie Downs
Clip Board
Pens
Double Roll of Raffle Tickets
Materials to hand out:
- SLC BC Tri-Fold Brochures (contact: jonathan@slcbikecollective.org)
- Cycling Utah (contact: dave@cyclingutah.com)
- Volunteer Sign up sheet (contact: jonathan@slcbikecollective.org)
- Salt Lake County Bike Maps (contact: chair@slcbac.org)
- Utah Bicycle Commuter Guide (contact: sbriggs@utah.gov)

Shop Rules

Opening

Count the register and mark it in the book.
Verify no tools are missing.
Check the answering machine and write down any notes.

Closing

Make sure everyone is gone, check the bathroom.
Make sure the phone is charging.
Make sure the benches are clean and the tools are put away.
Turn off all the lights.
Turn off the swamp cooler or the heater.

Shop Recycling

We don't get paid to recycle tubes or tires, but we do get money for aluminum. When you are at the aluminum recycles ask for a magnet! They make these ones that are perfect for taking bearings out of hubs. Put Steel in the Metal Recycling Dumpster. If you aren't sure what is steel and what is aluminum, a magnet will stick to steel but not aluminum.

Take used tires and tubes to:

Tire Disposal & Recycling (801-977-9010)
985 S 800 W
Salt Lake City, UT 84104-1506

Take aluminum to:

Wasatch Metal (801-484-3511)
205 W 3300 S
Salt Lake City, UT 84115-3432

Shop Communications

Wireless

Since you won't be able to get to this page if the wireless is down, it should be printed and posted next to the DSL modem (white) and the wireless router (blue). Brad's business card is also taped to the DSL modem (white).

Troubleshooting:

Unplug the power from both the DSL modem (white) and the wireless router (blue).
Wait 15 seconds.
Plug the power back into the DSL modem (white).
Wait until DSL modem (white) boots up, the power and internet lights should be on.
Plug the power back into the wireless router (blue).
Wait until the wireless router (blue) boots up.
Check connectivity with a computer.
If problems persist, contact Brad Mertz (801-539-0852) at XMission.

Phone

Manual for the Uniden Model #DCT5285-2HS Cordless Phone System.

Default Message:

"You have called 801-FAT-BIKE home of the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective. Online at www dot slc bike collective dot org. We accept bike and part donations whenever our shop is open. Our community bike shop is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from five to nine pm and is located at 2312 South on West Temple. We also have a volunteer only night on Mondays from five to nine pm. If you want to sign up for our Get-A-Grip Bike Education courses or have a general question, please leave your name, number or email and we will get back to you shortly."

Printer/Copier/Fax

Manual for the Brother 8660DN Multi-function Center. We have two of these, our Treasurer, Michael Wise has one, and there is one at the community bike shop.

Instead of paying for a separate phone line the fax machine uses our regular line but is set up to only pick up a on the distinctive ring: short-long-short.

Note: Because they use the same phone line, you can't make a call while the fax machine is receiving or sending a message. Likewise, you can't make or receive a fax while someone is on the phone.

Stereo

Currently we have it hooked up to registar computer and just stream audio from sites like Pandora Radio

Shop Supplies

Zip Ties - If we run out, more can be purchased at Graybar under the account Morrison Datacom. We have been buying packages of Qty 1000, size 7 3/8" x 188mm. It works out to roughly .05 each.
Paper Towels - The dispenser in the bathroom takes C-Fold paper towels. They sell them in bulk at Costco down the street.

Technology

Email Lists

community@slcbikecollective.org - General Email List
admin@slcbikecollective.org - On this list are all the "core" volunteers that make the collective happen.
board@slcbikecollective.org - Board of Directors
advisors@slcbikecollective.org - Advisory Board

Website

Dreamhost - Domain Hosting
Network Solutions - Domain Registrar

Emergency Contacts

Mark at Superior Water & Air (801-706-8904) for problems with the cooler.
Bill Delvie (801-277-7995) owns the office next door, sometimes his alarm goes off.
John Delvie (801-278-6230) is the property owner.
Jonathan Morrison (801-688-0183) is the SLC Bicycle Collective's Project Coordinator.