As someone who's still trying to keep a local hackerspace alive, it seems like much of the organisational and grunt work, as well as financial support, has to be done by a few core people.
Many people aren't willing to financially support community spaces, especially if they haven't had the chance to develop memories from it. Many people can't seem to fathom that rent is an ongoing concern, and we'd rather someone commit to paying $32 a month than give us a one-time $100 donation.
I find it difficult to trust that people will contribute their share of work necessary to upkeep a space. Many users are slobs, and are happy to leave the space worse than it already is.
thanks for sharing this. not sure if you are the author, but it's really useful reading this right now.
I am working, quite literally as I write this, on starting a community space like yours for 'digital makers' in Portland.
I wake up every morning feeling charged and ready; I go to sleep every night full of anxiety and doubts -- "who am I to start this thing? does anyone want this? I don't know what I'm doing!". ultimately, I feel, failure is better than not trying.
and it helps to know it's not about me. every person I talk to in my community feels the need for this thing. and that's why we want help from other people like us. we're just getting started!
if you live here and this sounds interesting to you, you can find us here: https://rcdc.space
This looks awesome, the owner of this substack is a good resource and writes lots of case studies.
I am not based in Portland myself but I run the ticketing and membership program for Synth Library Portland which is a really cool spot. The biggest thing with all these spaces is how to make it work financially over the long term.
hello!! I have been planning to reach out to Synth Library Portland; it's awesome to hear from someone connected to it. I know they recently got kicked out of their Lloyd Center location and were looking for a home. I was hoping to talk to them about this. I will email you
Shoot me email, I might not be the best for the details on that but I could intro someone on their who might be better on their team. I run their memberships as part of a platform called Pools https://pools.events/o/synth_library_portland/
Many people aren't willing to financially support community spaces, especially if they haven't had the chance to develop memories from it. Many people can't seem to fathom that rent is an ongoing concern, and we'd rather someone commit to paying $32 a month than give us a one-time $100 donation.
I find it difficult to trust that people will contribute their share of work necessary to upkeep a space. Many users are slobs, and are happy to leave the space worse than it already is.
I am working, quite literally as I write this, on starting a community space like yours for 'digital makers' in Portland.
I wake up every morning feeling charged and ready; I go to sleep every night full of anxiety and doubts -- "who am I to start this thing? does anyone want this? I don't know what I'm doing!". ultimately, I feel, failure is better than not trying.
and it helps to know it's not about me. every person I talk to in my community feels the need for this thing. and that's why we want help from other people like us. we're just getting started!
if you live here and this sounds interesting to you, you can find us here: https://rcdc.space
I am not based in Portland myself but I run the ticketing and membership program for Synth Library Portland which is a really cool spot. The biggest thing with all these spaces is how to make it work financially over the long term.
Feel free to ping me.