Operational Plan
Location
A Community ReUse Center needs a location! If you have one, talk about it in this section. If you don't, describe your ideal location and what you're doing to find one.
Questions
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How much space will your Community ReUse Center need?
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How much monthly rent can your Community ReUse Center afford?
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What retail spaces are available in your area?
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What would your ideal space have (for example, parking lot, number of rooms, loading dock)? Which of these features are non-negotiable and which are not?
Tips
Visibility and accessibility are extremely important!
Finger Lakes ReUse's Story
We explored many options in our area and found that none of the spaces available to us were as large as we had initially hoped. We ended up signing a lease with a commercial space in a shopping center next to a state highway, and have gradually expanded over time: we opened in 2008, and in 2010 we expanded into the space next door. In 2014, we expanded again, adding a second location across town in order to expand our capacity to process materials, offer more programs, and be geographically accessible to more people. Since then, we have expanded again at our original location and now have two warehouses as well.
Procurement
Explain how the Community ReUse Center will take in donations: where they'll come from, how donors will get them to you.
Questions
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How will you make it easy for people to donate their used and unwanted goods to the Community ReUse Center?
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How will you set up your facility so that you can process incoming items quickly?
Tips
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Delivery and pickup services?
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A separate entrance for donations?
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A loading dock for trucks?
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What days and hours will you accept items?
Finger Lakes ReUse's Story
Finger Lakes ReUse accepts donations at our site, and we also offer pickup services for donations of valuable items that can't be brought in by their donors. We also hold donation events. For example, bringing a truck to a college campus at the end of the school year to collect students' unwanted items as they move out of dorms.
Inventory
In this section, write about the life of the reusable items you're working with: how they're handled, how you'll keep track of them, and how much you'll be able to take in at any one time.
Questions
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Once donated items are in the door, how will you track them?
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What happens to them between the time they arrive at the CRC and the time they leave in a customer's hands?
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How will you know what you have in stock?
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How much can you have in stock?
Finger Lakes ReUse's Story
When donations come in, a staffer fills out a form describing the donation (number of items, types of items, who donated, date, etc). The items are then cleaned, priced, and entered into our system. Then they go out to the floor.
For tracking, we use Shopify Point of Sale, a computer program that is set up at all of our cash registers. It keeps track of all of our items and their prices and estimated weight, what we have in stock, what items we are selling and when we are selling them, customer information, and more.
Legal and Administrative
Include information from your Getting Started work: your legal operating entity, legal compliance, insurance and relevant permits.