Over the past two years, Recycle-a-Bike has grown from a sleepy collective into a chartered and purpose-driven organization with a fully-functioning indoor workshop. Yearly, our space attracts over 250 volunteers from all walks of life: college students and retired lawyers come to rub elbows with refugees, the homeless, and the unemployed; Nepalese, Spanish, and English are all heard in the shop in a single night. We literally cannot open our doors wide enough to accommodate all of our volunteers. As the largest community bicycle shop in Rhode Island, Recycle-A-Bike provides a much needed service for the greater Providence area. We have seen the need for used bicycles grow dramatically in recent years. As the poor economy slowly improves and gas prices continue to climb, many in our city are in need of affordable transportation. Interest in leisurely cycling has grown as well as need: many are learning that biking improves health, and is good for the environment. Bikes are also a simple solution; they cost little to maintain, and can be used for everyday transportation needs. Area bike shops also help people get on bicycles, but at higher cost and lower educational benefit. New bikes can cost 3 times as much as RAB bikes, alienating people who need them the most. Most shops do not offer affordable mechanics classes, or the chance to share knowledge and socialize with other cyclists. Recycle-A-Bike has long served cyclists of all ages, abilities, and income brackets, and is well positioned to provide a greater benefit in coming years. With support from The Steel Yard, a local arts organization that acts as our fiscal agent, we are on track to become a more stable, structured program. We are in the process of building a new shop space, and are delegating more responsibilities to several specialized coordinators. We are also transitioning from an Incorporated non-profit to a 501c3 organization, and working to fulfill a clear vision for the organization. Our vision is to grow Recycle-A-Bike as a non-profit social enterprise. We aim to build a shop that is open 4-5 days each week, sells more bikes, and offers a range of affordable, hands-on programs. We will have a broader range of classes and events, and be the primary source for bike education and maintenance in Rhode Island. For approximately the past five years Recycle-A-Bike has been a tenant of the Steel Yard (SY), an urban arts nonprofit in Providence, RI. For this time, both RAB and SY have enjoyed a mutually-beneficial relationship, SY providing space and organizational support, and RAB attracting a diverse community of people to the SY site. In its history, RAB has had to move several times, and several times within the large SY site. RAB has benefited greatly from SY’s support, but now, although still on-site, we are without electrical power. We have been granted access to a building site (for which we pay rent), have nearly completed construction of a small building, and need to supply energy (for primarily lighting) to that building, and an adjacent trailer. The need for lighting is obvious, but to be specific about RAB’s needs, lighting will be used to illuminate our community bike shop on evenings during the week when we host open shop, mechanics classes, and general volunteer work hours.