A good day to donate to Sharing Wheels.
Giving Tuesday
- Post author By sharingwheels
- Post date September 27, 2022
- Tags Community Outreach, donations, shop
Tag: donations
Come visit the Sharing Wheels shop to see how the spirit of giving impacts our community year-round. We’ll have a silent auction for Wheel Bike Art, hot holiday drinks and sweets to share, and an overview of our 2022 programs.
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Year-End Giving
By Kristin Kinnamon, Board President
Sharing Wheels would not have made it through the COVID challenges of 2020 without a doubling of support from our donors and supporters.
We still need your support. As we enter the winter months, our bike sales slow and our bank account drops. Our budget relies on one thing to maintain our free programs, staff and open shop: You.
You may already be a volunteer, a bike donor, or a customer. We hope you will be a financial donor as well. Give a little if that’s all your budget allows, or give more to help cover for people who can’t donate as much.
Our goal is raising $15,000 to keep people and bikes moving.
All donations made by Dec. 20 will be matched by our board and supporters, so your money goes twice as far.*
How do your donations impact people’s lives? Bikes bring joy, get people places, develop skills, build community.
“I rode the bike everywhere and every single day, for appointments, groceries … I came home wet on rainy days, but the fun part – me and my kids love getting wet in rain.” –
Prapti, recipient of a bike and trailer through our Community Bikes program
- $30 fixes a kids bike – we’re giving away 100+ kids bikes for the holidays
- $50 covers minor repairs & parts to get someone back on the road
- $100 gives a Community Bike, lock, lights and helmet to an adult in need
- $150 sends our Mobile Repair Clinic out to fix bikes for free
We welcome gifts at all levels. The board has also set goals to get
- 30 gifts of $50
- 10 past donors to increase their gift to $100
Come by the shop anytime to see your gifts at work. Some of my favorite moments this past year have been watching our customers and clients help each other – like when the homeless guy helped a woman load her new bike in her car as his way of giving back for a free repair, or when amateur mechanics crowd around a bike trying to diagnose a problem.
Your support of Sharing Wheels makes these interactions possible. Thank you for keeping people and bikes moving.
*All gifts up to $7,500 will be matched by additional donations from our supporters. You may also work for a company that does corporate matching, such as Boeing, Microsoft or Salesforce.
See our 2020 Annual Report. Save the date for our Annual Meeting & Elections: Jan. 26 via Zoom.
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Annual Report 2020
Keeping People & Bikes Moving
By Executive Director Christy Cowley
Thanks to our volunteers and community support, Sharing Wheels served a huge need for healthy outdoor activity and affordable, personal transportation in 2020.
We couldn’t create community within our shop due to COVID limitations, so we built bikes and connections in new ways. Volunteers took bikes home to clean and fix. Local nonprofits helped us match bikes with adults and kids who needed them. Our board met monthly via Zoom. Donations of time, bikes and cash kept us rolling despite a difficult year.
Used Bicycles
Bike Sales: While retail bike shops ran low on inventory, quality donations kept us stocked with a huge variety of bike styles, sizes, and prices. We loved helping new riders buy a bike to fit their needs and budget. 246 bikes.
Kids Bikes: Instead of the annual Kids Bike Swap and Christmas House events, we matched bikes with families directly, and partnered with other nonprofits to distribute bikes to low income kids. 194 bikes.
DIY Shop Use: Our free self-help station was moved out to the garage due to COVID shop limits. That made it harder for people to access our tools and advice. 75% of our 129 users bike for transportation and report low income.
Volunteers
115 people spent 2,615 hours helping in the shop and from their own garages. Boeing, Microsoft, & F5 Networks gave $2,500 to match employee efforts.
Top Volunteers: Larry Williamson, Bruce McLachlin, John Kasey, Don Sperlin, Dave Fox, Claudia Douglass, Patrick Sullivan. More than 100 hours each.
Giving & Support
Individual donations doubled this year thanks to spring and year-end campaigns. Donations were needed because shop activity and revenue were reduced due to COVID. 71 people gave $50 or more.
Grants: City of Everett Community Development Block Grant, Everett Port Gardner Rotary, Stillaguamish Tribe.
Education & Outreach
Repair Classes: We managed to teach several small, in-person bike mechanic classes. We also started mini-courses for mechanical volunteers. 25 students.
Adult Earn-A-Bike: We taught 12 formerly homeless or at-risk adults to fix a flat, gave them a fully-equipped refurbished bike, and took them on their first ride. “This is the best bike I’ve ever owned,” said a grateful 80-year-old recipient.
Velo Art Contest: While most events were canceled, we started something new to put our excess new and used parts to creative use. 6 artists, lots of fun!
2020 Budget
Actual income and expenses for 2020.
Income
| Bike Sales | $43,899 |
| Parts Sales | $11,951 |
| Donations | $36,054 |
| Grants | $9,665 |
| Repairs | $3,466 |
| Online Sales | $6,205 |
| Total | $111,790* |
Expenses
| Staff | $80,895 |
| Bike Parts | $10,680 |
| Rent | $7,850 |
| Insurance, Fees | $4,000 |
| Adminstrative | $4,350 |
| Other Shop Costs | $9,680 |
| Total | $117,455* |
Board of Directors
Kristin Kinnamon, President
Steve Erickson, Treasurer
Drew Ellison, Secretary
Claudia Douglass, Member
Bruce McLachlin, Member
Scott Schmitz, in memoriam
Staff
Christy Cowley, Executive Director
Alain Warchilde, Shop Manager
Kristin Kinnamon, Board President
Like so many small businesses and nonprofits, our finances were looking a bit shaky early this spring. The shop was closed for three weeks as we considered how to safely operate in COVID times. Even when the shop reopened, COVID had canceled classes and events like the Kids Bike Swap. Our bank account dropped $12,000 as expenses exceeded revenue. The Sharing Wheels Board took a deep breath.
That’s when many of you stepped up to GiveBIG. Thanks to matching contributions and 40 donors who gave from $20 to $1,000, we raised $8,511 during the statewide campaign. Another $2,200 came in the month following GiveBIG.
Your support bought helmets and new bike parts for our Kids Bike Giveaway program (see related article). It lets us loan tools for free to low income customers. We’re restarting classes – smaller for COVID reasons – without having to worry about the “break-even” point.
Even though bike shops have been considered “essential businesses” by the state and allowed to remain open (because bikes are transportation, not just toys), it’s been a difficult time. Knowing that you, too, think our work is essential has been a big boost – not just to the bank account, but also to our spirits.
Our board is fully committed to our mission – using bikes as vehicles for empowerment, affordability, sustainability and education. Thank you so much for supporting that vision.
Christy Cowley, Executive Director
Keeping people and bikes moving is what we do, and WOW we certainly have done it well this past month! As most everyone has noticed, there is no shortage of new and returning cyclists on our roads and trails. It is wonderful to see so many people enjoying their bikes for transportation and recreational activities. In May and June we saw record sales numbers with 81 bikes sold at an average price of $183 — keeping true to our mission of offering affordable bikes for everyone.
The Sharing Wheels staff/volunteers are having a great time helping people get introduced and/or reacquainted with the sport of cycling. Any idea what the best part of having all these new cyclists in our area could be? Most of them likely drive cars and may now have a newfound respect for the challenge and courage it sometimes takes to ride a bike on a shared road. When drivers become cyclists, it makes it safer for all of us to coexist. Perhaps less road rage? I’m hopeful.
Though our supply of bikes is shrinking, we still have many in our inventory and plenty of parts and gear to keep bikes rolling. Trying to keep up with demand has been a challenge, so PLEASE, think of Sharing Wheels if you have an adult bike in good condition that is not in use. Your donation helps us build a biking community, provide education and deliver the programs that benefit our low- and no-income residents. We are accepting donations of lightly-used, good quality bikes during shop open hours – if you’re not sure your bike is good enough for a new owner, email us a photo first. Keep riding and sharing the road with a smile on your face. Even if that smile is hidden behind a mask, it can still brighten someone’s day.
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Donations make a difference
By Kristin Kinnamon, Board President
With a budget of under $100,000, donations both large and small make a big difference for Sharing Wheels Community Bike Shop. And we put that money to good use.
We served approximately 1,750 people this past year. Maybe you came in to fix your own bike with our tools? Or perhaps you bought a used part and got some free advice to go with it? Others donated a bike so someone else could ride.
That’s what Sharing Wheels Community Bike Shop is all about. We keep people and bikes moving.
You can make a difference for a small nonprofit. Our goal is 100 donors, at any amount. With so many of our customers living in poverty, it’s especially important for those of us with a little extra to contribute financially – for ourselves, and for those who can’t.
Your support will help us though a time of change. We’ve just hired our first executive director, Christy Cowley. The job is part-time, with the goal of improving our programs and effectiveness. Josh Pfister, our first paid shop staff, recently moved on to a Seattle bike shop opportunity after 3 years with us. We continue to look for a full-time shop manager.
We remain committed to our mission of empowerment, affordability, sustainability and education. Learn more about our goals for 2020 and see our new shop layout at our Holiday Open House on Dec. 12.
Thanks for supporting Sharing Wheels.