Fundraising

Please use this page to organise the various revenue streams for the space, and to suggest new ways of fundraising.

Existing Membership

Raise suggested amount to £40, but make it very clear that you should only pay what you can afford.

Membership Drive

What ways now we have a new space can we sell the benefits of membership to prospective members? Can someone make a flyer to hand out?

• have a space-warming-party
  • make sure to invite lots of loosely-related mailing lists/interest groups
  • make sure to mention the need for regular donations on invitation & during event

• Have a presence at relevant events - hand out flyers, answer questions, demo projects:
  • Maker Faire
  • DorkCamp (late summer 2010)
  • ?

• Make it free your first (and second) time visiting
  • Get people hooked..

• Interviews with the media:
  • Jonty to be interviewed by the ubuntu UK podcast
  • Is there a Hackspace Podcast? Maybe talking about the projects been done in hackspaces around the world??

Increase Small Donations

• "day pass": donation box at the door with a recommended minimum of e.g. £5 - would this replace the 'bring a guest' benefit of membership? Would this work if someone with out a key turns up to get a day pass?--Solexious 11:38, 14 July 2010 (UTC)
• sell larger LHS stickers for £3 a piece, call it a small donation (don't call it an expensive sticker)
  • e.g. sign next to donation box: "if you donate more than £x you can take a sticker" <- Seconded Solexious

Fundraising for Tools Purchases

Have members pledge funds for a bigger tools purchase, e.g. a laser cutter. Once it's been acquired: cut a plaque with the names of all sponsors and stick it on the machine.

Cf. LaserCutter

Workshops

Soldering workshop, either pay to attend, or charge for kits to solder, i.e. tv-be-gones or trippyRGB LEDs

Services

(Provided we have the tools.)

• e.g. laser etchings
• 3d printings
• Parcel dropoff / business address
• Email / web / rack space
• Wifi for other offices in the same building (or a full network - could fund a fast link)
• Space for small tech/hardware orientated meetups, with organisers putting down a small donation fee for wifi + desk space
• Rent out car spaces. Or offer the use of daytime spaces in exchange for evening spaces.
  • Unlikely to be allowed

For sale items

• Have arduinos etc available to buy at a slight mark-up, this would be useful to sell at public nights.
• Reprap parts sets

Fundraiser Events

• identify people with lots of disposable cash and an interest in technology (e.g. former-bankers-turned-philanthropists, successful startup founders, )
• hold an event where we:
  • present the history of the space and hackspaces in general
  • present some of the ongoing projects
  • highlight what this space means for the local tech scene (esp in terms of teaching/socialising for younger people)
  • highlight some of the things we would like funding for (hardware, tools, rent)
  • provide a simple way to donate larger amounts of money, with some kind of public recognition if warranted/wanted
• Ask for funding from organisations such as Crafts Council

Publicise projects

It is quite likely that those of us working on projects are documenting or bloging about them - sometimes on the LHS wiki. We could make an effort to publicise projects that are likely to be of interest to wider Maker/Hacker type audiences and make a clear connection to the LHS.

We could then ask for support of said project and others by making an online donation to the LHS.

This would obviously have to be done with the project owners consent.

If we get jonty to do something dangerous with a Dremel we could be an overnight YouTube sensation and make millions. He has: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7zxNTXgSvI --Solexious