Hi everyone, I’m excited to share a recap of the two announcements from yesterday’s town hall meeting:
1. New space updates
While no lease agreement has been signed, our proposal to lease the building at 2730 Alpha Access is being negotiated and we’re optimistic we’ll come to an agreement soon-ish (it’s tough to put a date on negotiations wrapping up).
The available space is huge: ~14,000 square feet! There is office space at the front of the building, multiple bathrooms, a kitchen/break area, and a few offices. The maker space is divided into three large areas on the north, south, and west sides of the building, infrared heating, and two garage doors on opposite corners.
@brian.adams has some blueprints to share and we’ll see if we can post some pictures of the space as well.
I don’t think social distancing will be difficult if we attempt to spread our nest out in this much larger space.
2. We need your help!
Re-opening the space won’t be cheap so we’re applying to run a fundraiser on Patronicity. If the fundraiser is approved and we reach our goal of $50,000, MEDC will match $50,000.
We know that fundraising requires planning, donations, and spreading the word, but we haven’t really done a big fundraiser like this before and could really use your help!
If you’d like to help, please comment below or join our weekly Monday town halls (I’ll post the details and Zoom link a few days before each meeting).
Here are some ways you can help us prepare:
Send videos and pictures of people using the space to @SarahGeurkink or @RealCarlRaymond. We need both in order to run a Patronicity campaign.
Pledge to donate. Commitments to donate a tax refund, stimulus check, or dollar amount help the fundraiser get approved and start strong. Announcing your pledge also helps spread the word and encourages others to pledge.
Tell us about influencers and companies who may be willing to donate, match donations, and spread the word. We’re making a list and will coordinate outreach so that we don’t duplicate efforts contacting anyone.
Graphics design. If you’re more comfortable designing banners we can print or share online, please let us know!
Mini-fundraising and outreach ideas. If you have ideas to run mini-fundraisers (like a maker marathon, silent auction, etc.) or to help make knowledge of the fundraiser spread like wildfire, we’d love to hear about it.
Again, if you’d like to help, please comment below or join our weekly Monday town halls. I’ll post the details and Zoom link a few days before each meeting.
Thanks to everyone who joined last night and expressed interest in helping us reopen!
