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<p>Sounds good, and I didn't mean to say that your potluck idea was a bad one at all, just that I also liked that some restaurants are willing to do all the hard work and still donate to you ;)</p>
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<p>And you're right on target with the need for social events of some sort. Forgetting that can kill a community-based org.</p>
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<p>There are so many ways to raise funds that it used to just fry my mind when I would hear someone on the board of our now-defunct maker foundation say "we don't have a way to make any money"-- while the nonprofit my brother worked with would rake in ~$5000 in one weekend with a bowlathon and silent auction.</p>
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<p>And yes, there's a very good reason Tarrant Makers went bust, and the fundraising anecdote provides a big hint as to why.</p>
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<p>Randy</p>
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On December 8, 2014 at 4:04 PM Enabrin Tain <enabrintain@yahoo.com> wrote:
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1418059301601_26287">Oh we definitely make use of Smile, and its predecessor (whatever that was called). We also don't have a set monthly pledge. We ask people to pledge what they think they can afford within the context of their income and usage. I usually follow up by telling prospective members that I started my membership at $5 a month. The question is more one of community than money. We've had our fair share of corporate gifts but we used them to build a rainy day fund allowing us to sweat less about the occasional shortfall due to utilities fluctuation or unforeseen expense. The focus has been on organizational independence, rather than minimizing cost of membership because cost of membership is already a solved problem in our model. That said we also offer fewer tools than better funded hackerspaces might, and many of ours are on perma-loan from members.</span>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1418059301601_30121">The Tuesday Night Feast was also a way of attracting members back to the Public Night, because before, people would start accumulating after work for the event and then get hungry and we'd lose a dozen people to a restaurant, who might not come back in time for the event. The idea that a restaurant might offer a kickback for bringing them business is definitely interesting though.</span>
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Fun times,
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Phil Showers
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<a id="yui_3_16_0_1_1418059301601_28526" target="_blank" href="https://256.makerslocal.org/wiki/User:Enabrintain"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1418059301601_28525" style="color: rgb(0,0,255);"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1418059301601_28524" style="text-decoration: underline;">My Projects</span></span></a>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1418059301601_26232" face="Arial" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;" size="2"> <strong id="yui_3_16_0_1_1418059301601_26757"><span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1418059301601_26756" style="font-weight: bold;">From:</span></strong> Randall Arnold <randall.arnold@texrat.net><br /> <strong><span style="font-weight: bold;">To:</span></strong> Enabrin Tain <enabrintain@yahoo.com>; Hackerspaces General Discussion List <discuss@lists.hackerspaces.org> <br /> <strong><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sent:</span></strong> Monday, December 8, 2014 2:57 PM<br /> <strong><span style="font-weight: bold;">Subject:</span></strong> Re: [hackerspaces] Discuss Digest, Vol 76, Issue 5<br /> </span>
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I really like the concept of having dinners at restaurants that donate to the nonprofit holding the event. For one, it reduces the risk and overhead for the nonprofit-- no need to load up on goods that may go unused. For another, it helps make the event more generic, and thus attractive to others outside the immediate maker community (family, friends, coworkers, et al). Finally, in some cases the restaurant will help promote the event.
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What I had proposed to our body was for certain leaders to focus on participating restaurants near their work or home and "own" them for the sake of fundraising. That helps with coverage and can make logistics easier for some.
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You're correct Phil that these aren't necessarily stable income streams and so organizations need to keep their options open. My personal goal is start with the premise of a completely free membership (not saying it's very practical, just a philosophical starting point) and see what other revenue sources exist. That's how I stumbled across low-hanging fruit like Amazon Smile (which is VERY underused in my experience) and the fact that companies like Wells Fargo have huge budgets for donating to organizations that contribute in some fashion to their general communities. maker orgs with a focus on education, for instance, should easily be able to satisfy such requirements.
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Randy
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On December 8, 2014 at 2:44 PM Enabrin Tain <enabrintain@yahoo.com> wrote:
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<span id="yiv5389315421yui_3_16_0_1_1418059301601_19223">We sometimes do a $5, all you can eat food event on our public nights. Its targeted to members, in that our open nights start officially after dinnertime and the Tuesday Night Feast starts earlier than that, but its basically a "feed people until the food runs out" thing. We usually make around $30 or $40 and it goes into the Facilities fund. The Facilities committee uses that money to buy toilet paper, lightbulbs, paper towels, and do improvement projects like running new lights and fixing doors. Also it helps to foster a good relationship with our landlord.</span>
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<span id="yiv5389315421yui_3_16_0_1_1418059301601_19649">But I agree, I wouldn't suggest it as an alternative for a stable income stream.</span>
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Phil Showers
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<br clear="none" />Message: 1
<br clear="none" />Date: Sun, 7 Dec 2014 18:11:28 -0600
<br clear="none" />From: "Randall Arnold" <
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<a id="yiv5389315421yui_3_16_0_1_1418059301601_19191" target="_blank" href="mailto:discuss@lists.hackerspaces.org">discuss@lists.hackerspaces.org</a>>
<br clear="none" />Subject: Re: [hackerspaces] How to make money to sustain a hackerspace
<br clear="none" />Message-ID: <062e01d0127b$85261fd0$8f725f70$@texrat.net>
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<br clear="none" />Here are some I?ve seen used and some that just make sense:
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<br clear="none" />* silent auctions (typically held in conjunction with meetups and/or other fundraisers)
<br clear="none" />* donation jar at retail and other supporting establishments
<br clear="none" />* community events (bowlathons, et al)
<br clear="none" />* dinner nights (example: one local restaurant near me provides 15% of night's take when you hold a dinner gathering)
<br clear="none" />* swag sales (Etsy, Cafepress, Zazzle, et al)
<br clear="none" />* ?garage? sales
<br clear="none" />* Sponsors
<br clear="none" />* Grants (in the US there are a LOT of federal, state and corporate grant opportunities)
<br clear="none" />* One-time corporate donations (provide a community service, get free money from interested companies)
<br clear="none" />* Partnerships (quid pro quo activities)
<br clear="none" />* Amazon Smile (Amazon contributes money to your nonprofit with each purchase when you register and people use
<a target="_blank" href="http://smile.amazon.com/">http://smile.amazon.com </a>for purchase url
<br clear="none" />* various best practices:
<a id="yiv5389315421yui_3_16_0_1_1418059301601_19218" target="_blank" href="http://www.bing.com/search?q=nonprofit+fundraising">http://www.bing.com/search?q=nonprofit+fundraising </a><
<a id="yiv5389315421yui_3_16_0_1_1418059301601_19219" target="_blank" href="http://www.bing.com/search?q=nonprofit+fundraising&qs=n&form=QBLH&pq=nonprofit+fundraising&sc=8-16&sp=-1&sk=&cvid=81bf0599e6d24ab18850dfcf5a5a3553">http://www.bing.com/search?q=nonprofit+fundraising&qs=n&form=QBLH&pq=nonprofit+fundraising&sc=8-16&sp=-1&sk=&cvid=81bf0599e6d24ab18850dfcf5a5a3553</a>> &qs=n&form=QBLH&pq=nonprofit+fundraising&sc=8-16&sp=-1&sk=&cvid=81bf0599e6d24ab18850dfcf5a5a3553
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<br clear="none" />Randy
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