The Original Build-A-Bike ® Team Building Activity

Q: How much does a Build-A-Bike ® cost?

The cost of a Build-A-Bike ® depends on your group size and donation amount. Full-service instructor-led versions of the activity start at $4,000. On average, though, most activities cost between $90 and $110 per person. These activities are highly customizable, though. So, if you have a tight budget or want to make a bigger donation, we can usually adjust the activity to fit your budget. We also offer self-facilitated kits that serve up to 36 people for $1,400 + shipping.

Q: How many bikes will we build?

For a bike team-building activity , we recommend a bicycle for every 6 to 8 people . If you want to make a larger donation, you can easily double the number of bicycles.

The Leaders Institute® launched Build-A-Bike® in 2005 as the first charity team-building activity. Since then, we’ve delivered over 8,000 charity bike events with more than 640,000 people participating!

Improves Morale & Makes Meetings Fun.

80,000+ Bikes Donated ($10M+).

25 to 1,000+ person group sizes.

We have 30 local offices worldwide.

1,300+ Local Charity Partners.

Duration: 1 to 1.5 hours.

Liven up your next annual summit, kickoff meeting, or all-hands meeting with Build-A-Bike®, the fun and interactive charity bike build that started it all. The room will erupt with energy as dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of your team members network with each other and build teamwork. And they will leave the meeting on an emotional high after building bikes for kids in your local community!

What Happens at a Charity Bike Build.

A really well-designed charity bike build like the Build-A-Bike^® program is incredibly scalable. You can organize them for small-group Town Hall meetings all the way up to huge all-hands corporate meetings.

But what we do in each group size is a little different.

Click Your Group Size Below

Run of Show for Large Groups (150+ People)

Suggested Time: 1 hour

Investment: $85 to $100 per person (based on donation and group size)

Charity donation events are one of the best large-group team activities you can organize. Big groups let you make big charity donations that are more cost-effective per person. You can also easily insert them into your meeting agenda using the main general session banquet setup.

We customize each activity to each group, but here is a sample agenda:

Large Group Build-A-Bike® Charity Events

Introduction (2 to 5 minutes): Give a quick overview of the activity, the goals, and the charity that will receive the donation.
Networking Icebreaker (15 to 20 minutes): We teach a simple networking skill and use this to create random teams.
The Charity Bike Build (20 to 30 minutes): The new teams receive a series of challenges they must complete to earn their bicycle. However, each set of challenges varies slightly. As a result, teams must work together to earn their bikes!
The Charity Donation (5 to 10 minutes): A charity representative accepts the bikes on behalf of their kids. And we typically end with a big team photo if it’s possible.

For large groups, one-hour activities work best. And it’s possible to get the actual kids who are receiving the donation to come accept the gift. However, that adds more logistical challenges. So we often opt for playing a “kids receiving the bikes” video at the end.

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Run of Show for Medium Groups (25-150 People)

Suggested Time: 1.5 hours

Investment: $4,000 to $15,000 (based on donation and group size)

The 25-person to 150-person group size is what we in the team-building industry call the “sweet spot.” Fun, small-group team-building games still work, and the group size is big enough to be more cost-effective per person for charity give-backs.

We customize each activity to each group, but here is a sample agenda:

Run of Show for Build-A-Bike Team Building Activity

Introduction (2 to 5 minutes): Give a quick overview of the activity, the goals, and the charity that will receive the donation.
Fun Icebreaker (5 to 20 minutes): A fun way for the facilitator to build rapport with the group and divide them into teams.
Warm-Up Activity (25 to 35 minutes): Participants get to know their new teams. Then, the teams compete against each other for a head start!
Earn the Bike Parts (20 to 30 minutes): The new teams receive a series of team challenges. As the teams conquer each challenge, they receive an additional piece of their bicycle. We created this activity to require each team to interact with the other teams to solve the challenges, though. So, before long, they realize they are all one big team.
The Charity Donation and Group Photo (5 to 20 minutes): If possible, we invite kids from a local children’s charity to accept the bikes. That way, teams can present the bike to them personally! We’ll take lots of photos, too.

Having the kids attend the event is a fun, emotional way to end a bike build. But it isn’t vital to creating the emotional crescendo. Our seasoned instructors are experts at creating an emotional ending that will get you five-star reviews from your participants.

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Small Group (12-35 People) Self-Facilitated Option

Suggested Time: 30 minutes to 1 hour

Investment: $1,400 + Shipping

Add a Facilitator: $2,200 (Optional)

We deliver Build-A-Bike^® activities for smaller teams as well. However, for smaller groups, it’s often more cost-effective to purchase one of our Build-A-Bike^® self-facilitated kits.

We’ll ship everything you need to organize your very own charity bike build. Each kit includes four bicycles, four helmets, all the tools to assemble the bikes, and a team-building activity for up to 36 people. We’ll also send you a step-by-step guide and let you video chat with one of our instructors.

Small Group Self-Facilitated Team Building

Introduction (2 to 5 minutes): Give a quick overview of the activity, the goals, and the charity that will receive the donation.
Icebreaker Game (5 to 10 minutes): The icebreaker gets the group doing something fun and interactive. These games require simple instructions and a lot of participation from the group.
The Build-A-Bike^® Activity (15 to 30 minutes): Each bike team-building kit includes an activity that divides the group into smaller teams. These smaller teams compete to earn their bike parts. This adds fun and competitiveness to the activity.
The Charity Donation (5 to 10 minutes): A charity representative accepts the bikes on behalf of their kids.

Our kits also include tips to help you encourage local charities to bring kids to your bike team activity.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Build-A-Bike^®

How much does a Build-A-Bike^® cost?

The cost of a Build-A-Bike^® depends on your group size and donation amount. Full-service instructor-led versions of the activity start at $4,000. On average, though, most activities cost between $90 and $110 per person. These activities are highly customizable, though. So, if you have a tight budget or want to make a bigger donation, we can usually adjust the activity to fit your budget. We also offer self-facilitated kits that serve up to 36 people for $1,400 + shipping.

How many bikes will we build?

For a bike team-building activity, we recommend a bicycle for every 6 to 8 people. If you want to make a larger donation, you can easily double the number of bicycles.

Can we get kids from a local charity to come to the event?

Getting kids from a local charity to the activity can help create an even more emotional ending. We have partnerships with over 1300 local charities that help increase the odds that the recipient kids can attend. But the feasibility typically depends on the location and time of the activity. For instance, if you schedule an activity during the school day or at a casino, the odds of getting kids to attend are lower. Our instructors can make suggestions to increase your chances, though.

Who will the bike donation be going to?

We have over 1300 vetted charity partners that have a dependable track record of being great partners for these types of events. Most of these organizations are after-school care 501(c)3s that serve kids in their local areas.

We just want to build bikes. Do we have to do a team activity?

No, we have activation stations that include the bikes, helmets, tools, and instructions for a charity bike build. This option is great for a come-and-go activity at a give-back day, convention, or trade show. But a major benefit from a full Build-A-Bike^® activity is the camaraderie and the building of teamwork while doing something together. Come-and-go bike builds are more sedentary, so you’ll miss out on a lot of the fun team building.

Do the participants need mechanical or building experience?

Not at all. Our bicycles are custom-made for charity bike builds, and our instructors walk you through the process step by step.

How do we know the bikes will be safe for kids?

Our instructors safety-check each bicycle. Our charity partners also do an additional safety check before donating each bike to a child. In addition, the Build-A-Bike^® bicycles are custom-made for charity bike builds. So they are much easier to assemble than bikes purchased from bike manufacturers.

Want additional information or need help planning an activity?