Join us on this exciting journey of building a new community bike shop!
The Bicycle Collective is actively fundraising to build a new flagship location that will serve as both the Salt Lake City Shop and the headquarters for our statewide operations.
Our goal is to raise $1,000,000 from 10,000 community contributors.
Who
The Bicycle Collective is a group of nonprofit bike shops that refurbish bicycles donated by the thousands each year and puts them into the hands of those in need - focusing on children, newly resettled refugees and immigrants, individuals experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity, individuals recovering from substance abuse, and low-to-moderate income households.
We give away bikes
Working closely with partner organizations, we identify the individuals most in need of a bicycle – often used as their primary source of transportation. Our partners include: Volunteers of America (VOA), International Rescue Committee (IRC), Catholic Community Services, Boys and Girls Clubs, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, First Step House, Fortitude, and the Road Home. In 2019, we gave away 872 kids bikes and 410 adult bikes. Having a bicycle provides someone with independence, mobility and a self-reliant form of transportation. At our heart, the Bicycle Collective is transforming communities by transforming individual lives. “The Gift of a Bike,” created by USA for UNHCR, illustrates our impact.
We teach bikes to all
Across our four locations we teach anyone who wants to learn about bikes, bike maintenance and repair, and bike safety — kids, adults, women, men, and individuals who identify as transgender, femme, gender queer, trans-masculine or trans-feminine — in a safe and empowering environment.
We sell and service bikes
At all of our shops, bike enthusiasts can purchase a refurbished bike, components, accessories, and parts. Retail sales are an important revenue generator for the Collective. The community’s support of bike sales and repairs is vital to us. We offer repair tools and bench space for Do-It-Yourself (DIY) or Do-It-With-Help repairs with support from our staff mechanics. For a fee, we offer drop off service, repair and maintenance.
We live bikes
The Collective was founded on a model of recycling bikes through the generous help of volunteers. We have the most passionate and longstanding group of volunteers. We all believe at our core that everyone should have the opportunity to love bikes as much as we do. With our sustainable model, every bike gets a new life. No donated bicycle ever sees a landfill.
The bikes that cannot be repaired or stripped for parts are recycled. Last year, we recycled nearly 28 tons of metal and 3 tons of rubber.
The Bicycle Collective funding model combines both earned revenue and charitable fundraising. Charitable donations through individuals, corporations, and foundations provide approximately 40% of our revenue with 60% of income generated through retail activities: sales of bikes, parts, and components; bench time and tool rentals; community memberships; and bike valet services at events and concerts throughout the state.
Our greatest need is to build a headquarters where we can simultaneously operate all of our programs while meeting the needs as a full-service community bike shop. Through this capital campaign, we are fundraising for a larger home for our Salt Lake City shop and headquarters for our statewide operations. Our response to the global pandemic has shown that our model will be sustainable well into the future of this new normal.
Our new headquarters
Our new headquarters will be significantly larger than our current location and specifically designed to house multiple operations simultaneously—sales, service and programming—in a space that can adhere to social distancing requirements and help us grow to better serve the community.
For many years, we have successfully operated our Salt Lake City shop in a rented space located at 2312 S. West Temple. Over the years, demand for our services has increased by leaps and bounds. We are finding it increasingly challenging to meet the growing needs of the community in our current location, and we want to ensure we are here as a community resource for generations to come. Therefore, we have embarked on a $3.5 million capital campaign to finance land acquisition, design, and construction of a new flagship location in Salt Lake City.
Salt Lake City Redevelopment Agency (RDA) worked with the Collective and identified a piece of undeveloped property located at 901 S. Gale Street (325 West). Atlas Architects created the new building design concepts. The Salt Lake City RDA voted to donate that parcel of land to the Collective – a donation valued at $285,000.
We are committed to building a biking legacy for future generations.
With a permanent home, Bicycle Collective will have both the space and resources to grow our award-winning and inspiring programming. Our center will provide a safe place for all members of our community to work on their own bikes, learn bicycle mechanics, and attend a host of classes. It will bring cultural vitality to the neighbor and will connect the west and east quadrants of the Salt Lake Valley.