Membership
Online Membership Application Coming Soon!
For more information on becoming a member, or to obtain a Biodiesel Coop of LA membership form, contact us at: biodieselcoop@yahoo.com.
We have 2 levels of membership:
A Community Membership is for those who don’t fuel from the trailer but want to support our goals of education and outreach and getting more stations open in Los Angeles. The contribution for a Community Membership is $50.00.
A Fueling Membership is for those who want to fuel out of the trailers. This also entitles the member to full voting rights in the Cooperative. We’ve had a lot of inquiries in the past about the high price of a fueling membership. Originally based on 30 members, each share started out in January of 2006 at $500, but as membership increased, we were able to lower the share cost to $250. The current cost for a Fueling Membership remains the same at this time, but is under further review by the new board, as they go about revamping the business plan.
Fueling members are given a combination that opens the trailer doors and provides access to a solar/electric fuel pump. Members use an honor system to log their fuel draws based on the pump meter readings. Each member prepays a deposit for an allotment of 25, 50 or 100 gallons, depending on their anticipated average monthly usage. The member then draws against that amount, then repurchases again when needed, rather like keeping a rolling debit account at a credit union.
The fueling membership may be limited in number at each location. If there were 40 members for each trailer that each used 300 gallons per year (25 gallons per month), either trailer would require refilling about every month. If membership expands or fuel use increases, the refilling cycle for the trailer would be shortened. Currently the co-op is pumping about 800 gallons per month combined for both trailers, which means we still have more capacity for memberships in the communities surrounding the two sites.