

Noisebridge SF might shutdown - lowglow

From Shannon Lee via Noisebridge-announce:<p>Hi All,<p>We have a problem.<p>Actually, I think we have several problems, but we have one major manifestation of our problem:  We are broke.  We are not going to be able to pay February's rent at the current rate of input/output.  We're currently taking in about $2500/month in dues &#38; donations, and we're spending about $5000 in rent and utilities and whatnot.  This is a dramatic drop-off from this summer, when we were doing a little better than breaking even.<p>So, no joke, Noisebridge may close its doors in February, unless we can solve our problem.  This is way past the time for "let's have a party and charge money!" -- the thing we need is for people who don't want Noisebridge to close to reach into their wallets and shell out some cash.  Some of you will have noticed the new donation box with a sign that says "It costs $165 per day to keep us open" -- this is true, $165 per day is our burn rate; this means we need roughly two full members, or four "starving hacker" members, to pay for every day we're open; this works out to 60 "full" members or 120 "starving hacker" members, or some combination thereof.<p>Ways to donate are spelled out on the wiki here:<p>https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/Donate_or_Pay_Dues<p>They come down to: we take cash, checks, paypal and straight up bank-transfer.<p>If you are not sure about having a committed relationship with Noisebridge (I know, commitment is scary) consider sponsoring a day:<p>https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/SponsorADay<p>For those of you who are confused about the membership process -- being a member of Noisebridge costs $80 per month.  If you're a regular user of the space, you should become a member.  Membership can be either formal (in which case you have a voice in political processes) or informal (wherein you simply donate money to the space, but don't participate in decision making); if you are only interested in supporting the space, simply start donating $80 per month; if you want to be a formal member, ask a member for details, or attend a Tuesday meeting.<p>Please support us or we will be gone, and soon.<p>Thanks for your time,<p>--S
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andymoe
This is too bad. I had not had time to stop by there for about a month but
it's a really great place and if you live in or near SF you should check it
out. I've signed up for a monthly donation. Hopefully others will follow and
Noisebridge will do a better job of keeping the community informed of their
financial situation. (Put you monthly intake on the homepage or the intranet
that unlocks the door) No one likes to ask for money but there is a generous
community of people out there and I hope we can do what it takes to keep the
lights on.

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fourstar
I'm here right now, and haven't been able to get a chance to check it out due
to school restrictions in the past.

I think anyone living within the proximity of the bay area should definitely
check this out. There are literally shelves of tools, nuts, bolts, circuit
boards, video cards, RAM, circuit boards, etc. to use.

Not to mention the people here have been great so far to welcoming us.
Seriously, check it out, and donate. I will be.

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pontifier
Joining my local Hackerspace(theTransistor in Provo, Ut) made my life better.
The people I met, and the projects I have worked on there are amazing. If you
have a Hackerspace near you, go check it out.

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sn
Maybe you could get some kind of co-membership thing going on with hacker
dojo?

SF is just too far for me to go most days.

