Learn about the Bicycle Collective
Founded in 2002, The Bicycle Collective is a community resource to provide a path to personal and self-reliant transportation for anyone in need, focusing on children, newly resettled refugees and immigrants, individuals experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity, individuals recovering from substance abuse, and income eligible households. Since our inception, we have received more than 20,000 bicycles as donations and prevented them from ending up in the landfill. These bicycles are refurbished and upcycled, and put back on the road as a low-cost or free transportation medium for those in need and for anyone wanting an affordable alternative to driving a car.
The Collective operates numerous programs throughout the State at four locations: our main site in Salt Lake City (est. 2002), Ogden (est. 2015), Provo (est. 2015) and St. George (est. 2017). Bikes are either sold in our shops which generate revenue that accounts for 60% of our current annual operating revenue, or these bikes are provided to low income and refugee individuals in need of reliable transportation and mobility. The recipients of our donated bikes are identified by dozens of partner organizations, including nonprofits, governmental departments, and churches. In addition, our mission provides the community low cost or free help for repair and maintenance, after school programs and bike mechanic job training for youth at all of our shops and at juvenile detention facilities throughout the state.
Our programming
The Bicycle Collective offers an array of community programming that includes:
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Bikes for Goodwill (providing free bikes to children, newly resettled refugees and immigrants, individuals experiencing homeless or housing insecurity, people recovering from substance abuse, and low to moderate income households)
- Earn-A-Bike (individuals not working with a community partner but in financial need are eligible to volunteer in our shops to earn a bike)
- Junior Mechanic Certification Programs (job training for young adults)
- Community Bike Shop (also known as Open Shop) which includes Do-It-Yourself or Do-It-With-Help
- Youth Open Shop
- Youth-In-Corrections Training
- Women Only Night
- Women Trans Femme (WTF) Night
- Kids bike giveaway program
- Bike Valet service for community events
(Programming varies slightly at each location).
Our impact
Professional bicycle mechanics and trained volunteers refurbish nearly half of all donated bicycles making them available to individuals in need through our more than 30 community partners including nonprofits, governmental departments, and churches. Having a bicycle provides someone with independence, mobility and a self-reliant form of transportation. As part of our Bikes for Goodwill program, we provide individuals with financial need and not referred by a community partner, the opportunity to earn a bike through volunteering at our shop. Our Work-Trade program provides individuals with similar financial need the opportunity to volunteer in exchange for parts for a bike they already own.
In addition, the Bicycle Collective provides the community low-cost or free help for repair and maintenance, after school programs and bike mechanic job training for youth at all of our shops and at juvenile detention facilities throughout the state.