<div dir="ltr">Hi All,<div><br></div><div>This thread is getting long so I'll keep my comments short (though I'll be blogging longer thoughts sometime over the next few days). I've always been surprised at how few hackerspaces look 10 or more years down the road (maybe that's just because the most recent wave of the movement is so young). So here are some things I've been pushing for at i3 Detroit in the interest of sustainability:</div>
<div><br></div><div>* Regularly adding to an emergency fund. This is easy. A lot of hackerspaces focus on growth because it is exciting, but a physically larger hackerspace, or even one with more tools, is not necessarily a better one!</div>
<div>* Investment savings. Yes, that's right! Even 501c3 spaces can earn revenue from investment. Many traditional 501c3s (like private universities) have endowments that carry them through tough times. There's no reason a hackerspace can't or shouldn't do this!</div>
<div>* Owning rather than renting a space. If you're committed to being around a long time, owning a space will save a huge amount of money. Interest rates are low now, so it's a great time to buy, even if you have to get a mortgage. Yes, you still have to pay property tax and maintenance, but in the long run, it's the best way to lower expenses and save more of your revenue.</div>
<div><br></div><div>-Ed</div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sat, Jun 1, 2013 at 11:06 AM, Lisha Sterling <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:lishevita@gmail.com" target="_blank">lishevita@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr">I'd like to throw one more thought out there regarding the "when it all goes wrong you have to beg from strangers" issue:<div>
<br></div><div>There are a lot of us in the community who are highly mobile -- nomadic, even. We have attachments with and love for many hackerspaces that we have visited, been members of, or had the opportunity to help at one point or another. I personally have direct relationships with 5 different hacker-/maker- spaces and less direct ones with several more. Even for those who don't move around so much, many of us feel like hackerspaces are part of our "community" and we'd like to support them all in some little way. </div>
<div><br></div><div>This is list is one place where those of us who have been members of, but are not currently in the same location as, a hackerspace can get news of when a space needs help so that we can do what we can to help. It's also a place where those who want to support struggling hackerspaces because of the sense of a larger community involvement can pitch in to help our far-off cousins from time to time. We may not be able to help every space in every situation, and sometimes all we can do is serve as a signal booster. Still, I am glad that we get news of these sorts of things here on this list.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Also, I've noticed that big fundraising drives put on by spaces go some way towards making "strangers" into "members" of our community. The Kickstarter for Mothership HackerMoms brought in new visitors and new members as well as much needed funds. When Tech Liminal -- not exactly a hackerspace but rather a "tech salon and coworking space" that hosts classes, workshops, tech meetups and hack nights among other things -- did their fundraiser, they similarly made new community connections and gained many new friends and members.</div>
<div><br></div><div>So, yes, we do need to find ways for each of our spaces to be self-sufficient and sustainable, but it's not a sin to reach out to the wider community from time to time, either.</div><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><div>
<br></div><div>- Lisha</div><div class="gmail_extra"><br>-- <br><div dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.alwayssababa.com/" target="_blank">http://www.alwayssababa.com/</a><br><div><br></div></div>
</div></font></span></div>
<br>_______________________________________________<br>
Discuss mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Discuss@lists.hackerspaces.org">Discuss@lists.hackerspaces.org</a><br>
<a href="http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss" target="_blank">http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss</a><br>
<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br>Edward L. Platt<div><a href="http://elplatt.com" target="_blank">http://elplatt.com</a></div><div><a href="http://civic.mit.edu/users/elplatt" target="_blank">http://civic.mit.edu/users/elplatt</a></div>
<div><a href="http://i3detroit.com" target="_blank">http://i3detroit.com</a></div><div><a href="http://twitter.com/EdwardLPlatt" target="_blank">@EdwardLPlatt</a></div><div><br></div>
</div>