Coronavirus Update

First, thanks for hanging in there, both as a BBP supporter and as a fellow constantly-adjusting human being. One of the things I love most about you, and about Boise, is that we are a community that’s always ready and willing to come together and get our hands dirty. The problem right now is that we, as humans, really need to stay away and keep our hands clean. As hardy Idahoans, it’s the opposite of our natural reaction. And I personally hate it! However, the more we commit to it, the better we’ll be able bounce back to normal when the time comes. And that time will come.

BBP remains open for emergency/essential bike repair for those with no other transportation options. All other services are currently closed to the public. It was essential that we prioritize our most vulnerable community members this week, as we work out the kinks and explore creative ways to open other aspects of the shop for our members, volunteers, and general public. All of these creative ways will likely incorporate waiting outside while we carefully fulfill your needs behind closed doors. It has to be that way right now in order for us to maintain no more than 10 people in the shop at a time. If we can maintain that 10 person number we hope to be able to keep all of our employees on payroll for the next 2-3 months.

Bouncing back stronger?

We say 2-3 months, but the reality is our clock is ticking. Many other nonprofits and businesses are in a worse boat, but luckily BBP’s board has established a bit of safety net to keep things moving for a bit longer. BBP is also extremely lucky to have plenty o’ bikes to work on. If we continue to work on those bikes diligently while other shop services are closed, we have the ability to have a record number of bicycles available for purchase and donation as soon as we reopen. Basically, if we can stick things out for 2-3 months, we have the ability to bounce back pretty STRONG.

But that ticking clock reminds us of our daily battle. How can we still be available to the community who needs us the most (through the free emergency repair services we’re offering), keep our expenses to an absolute minimal, and find creative ways (membership, gift cards, donations, online sales) to offset a quickly dwindling reserve account… possibly extending that 2-3 month period to 3-4 months… hopefully we reach a level of normalcy earlier than that.

How does that look exactly? In this illustration you can see possible operating scenarios. The only ones that give BBP an ability to bounce back strong in June involve ongoing community support in March, April, and May.

So that means we still need your support. We will be getting creative and exploring every way imaginable to make that support easy, mutually beneficial, and incredibly fun. Some of those support opportunities will outlined in this newsletter, and we’ll be working on ways to expand those this week.

This Weekend’s Action Plan

Please read this weeks newsletter, cover to cover. We’ve changed a few things, and will continue to change more things, to make our communication with you more personal and authentic.

Now go outside and go for bike ride. If you maintain your social distancing (at least 6 feet) and practice all of your extra precautions, it may be something you can even do with a friend… family members absolutely.

We miss you so much. Honestly it physically hurts not having you here, but we’ll be doing everything we can to keep us connected over the next couple of months.

Stay strong BBP friends! We will get through this together.