[hackerspaces] Discuss Digest, Vol 76, Issue 5

[Randall Arnold]

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 ;)


And you're right on target with the need for social events of some sort.
 Forgetting that can kill a community-based org.


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.


And yes, there's a very good reason Tarrant Makers went bust, and the
fundraising anecdote provides a big hint as to why.


Randy

> On December 8, 2014 at 4:04 PM Enabrin Tain <enabrintain at yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
>     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.
> 
>     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.
> 
>     Fun times,
> 
>      
>      Phil Showers
>     My Projects <https://256.makerslocal.org/wiki/User:Enabrintain>
> 
> 
>     ---------------------------------------------
>     From: Randall Arnold <randall.arnold at texrat.net>
>     To: Enabrin Tain <enabrintain at yahoo.com>; Hackerspaces General Discussion
> List <discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org>
>     Sent: Monday, December 8, 2014 2:57 PM
>     Subject: Re: [hackerspaces] Discuss Digest, Vol 76, Issue 5
> 
>     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.
> 
>     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.
> 
>     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.
> 
> 
> 
>     Randy
> 
>         > > On December 8, 2014 at 2:44 PM Enabrin Tain
>         > > <enabrintain at yahoo.com> wrote:
> > 
> >         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.
> > 
> >         But I agree, I wouldn't suggest it as an alternative for a stable
> > income stream.
> > 
> >          
> >          Phil Showers
> >         My Projects <https://256.makerslocal.org/wiki/User:Enabrintain>
> > 
> > 
> >         Message: 1
> >         Date: Sun, 7 Dec 2014 18:11:28 -0600
> >         From: "Randall Arnold" < randall.arnold at texrat.net
> > <mailto:randall.arnold at texrat.net> >
> >         To: "'Hackerspaces General Discussion List'"
> >             < discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
> > <mailto:discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org> >
> >         Subject: Re: [hackerspaces] How to make money to sustain a
> > hackerspace
> >         Message-ID: <062e01d0127b$85261fd0$8f725f70$@texrat.net>
> >         Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
> > 
> >         Here are some I?ve seen used and some that just make sense:
> > 
> >         *    silent auctions (typically held in conjunction with meetups
> > and/or other fundraisers)
> >         *    donation jar at retail and other supporting establishments
> >         *    community events (bowlathons, et al)
> >         *    dinner nights (example: one local restaurant near me provides
> > 15% of night's take when you hold a dinner gathering)
> >         *    swag sales (Etsy, Cafepress, Zazzle, et al)
> >         *    ?garage? sales
> >         *    Sponsors
> >         *    Grants (in the US there are a LOT of federal, state and
> > corporate grant opportunities)
> >         *    One-time corporate donations (provide a community service, get
> > free money from interested companies)
> >         *    Partnerships (quid pro quo activities)
> >         *    Amazon Smile (Amazon contributes money to your nonprofit with
> > each purchase when you register and people use http://smile.amazon.com
> > <http://smile.amazon.com/> for purchase url
> >         *    various best practices:
> > http://www.bing.com/search?q=nonprofit+fundraising
> > <http://www.bing.com/search?q=nonprofit+fundraising> <
> > 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>
> > >
> > &qs=n&form=QBLH&pq=nonprofit+fundraising&sc=8-16&sp=-1&sk=&cvid=81bf0599e6d24ab18850dfcf5a5a3553
> > 
> >         Randy
> > 
> > 
> >     > 


 
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