This is no ordinary bike shop

SALT LAKE CITY — If you squint, the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective, strategically located on the 900 South bike corridor in Salt Lake City, looks like any other successful bike shop: sales floor packed with a large variety of bikes and plenty of customers milling about; repair shop full of techs working on derailleurs and cranks; parts section with everything from pedals to forks to chains to wheels.

But look closer and you realize this is no ordinary bike shop. Because nothing in here is new.

Everything is donated. The bikes and the gear, every bit of it, used to belong to someone else. Last year, the Bicycle Collective collected 5,379 donated bikes. That's over 100 bikes on average a week. Once the bikes are refurbished, they go on sale for a significantly reduced price, or they're given away — to refugees, homeless people, inmates just getting out of jail, people coming out of substance abuse treatment, families with less than moderate income, anyone in genuine need where a bicycle could help improve their circumstances.

This entire operation is a tribute to what can happen when you mix good-hearted people with a good cause and good leadership.

"It's a very satisfying and gratifying place to work," says Donna McAleer, the collective's executive director. "None of this happens without contributions from many, many people. That is the ecosystem here."

Donna doesn't say so, but the Bicycle Collective's exponential growth has come in the 6½ years since she arrived as executive director.

For years, the collective was just getting by in a rented space on State Street. Then the board of directors did two things that paved the way for a brighter future:

First, they bought some land on 900 South so they could own their own building and better control their circumstances.

Second, they hired Donna. It was her responsibility to raise the money to construct the building and get the organization in a financially stable position.

It was a big ask, but Donna has never been one to shy away from a challenge. This is a person who, shortly after moving to Utah, decided to try out for the Olympic women's bobsled team after one run down the track; and who, even though a Democrat hadn't come close to winning in 32 years, ran against former nine-time Rep. Rob Bishop in the heavily-Republican 1st Congressional District — twice.

She nearly made the Olympic team, finishing fourth in the U.S. trials for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games, and she won the Democratic Party's congressional primaries in both 2012 and 2014 before losing to Bishop in the general election.

"Like Wayne Gretzky said, 'You miss 100% of the shots you don't take,'" says Donna. "Both those experiences reinforced my desire of wanting to have an impact in the community."

She was working as an executive for another company in 2018 when she saw the posting for a new director at the Bicycle Collective.

Being involved in a nonprofit again — she'd earlier headed a health care charity in Park City — appealed to her. She decided to apply.

You can imagine the look on the board members' faces when they saw Donna's resume: graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where she was on the tennis and ski teams and graduated in organizational dynamics and leadership; first lieutenant in the U.S. Army; MBA from the University of Virginia; previous experience as CEO of a health care nonprofit … and former bobsled athlete and two-time major party congressional candidate.

Anyway, she got the job.

It took five years to secure the funding to complete what is officially the "Kahlert Community Bicycle Resource Center" (thanks to a generous $1 million donation from the Kahlert Foundation) located at 325 W. 900 South in Salt Lake City. The grand opening was held in May 2024. That same year, Donna was named CEO of the Year by Utah Business Magazine.

Donna's affection for the 19,000-square-foot facility is obvious when she conducts an impromptu tour. She shows off the showroom floor, where ready-to-ride commuter specials are priced at around $350. She shows off the vintage section, where collectors can purchase classic bicycles that have been donated to the cause. She shows off the community bike shop, where do-it-yourselfers can rent bench time and work on their own bikes. She shows off the room where volunteers conduct free bike repair classes in the evening.

She stops to make a point when she gets to the bin where they sell used bicycle tubes.

"Used tubes are our most frequently purchased product," she says. "We sell them for a dollar. And when you see somebody literally taking out every penny they have to buy a tube, it's very reflective — you realize there's a really high need in this community."

Every day, as bicycles roll in and roll right back out, the Bicycle Collective is helping fill part of that need by giving people the mobility to go places. To donate, shop or volunteer, go to bicyclecollective.org.

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