2023 Fundraising Toolkit

Thank you for helping us support the work of SNTL! Of our $534,000 budget this year, only about $34,000 is from donations. Our community really cares for itself! You can find our fall fundraising page here, along with progress toward our goal.

Every year, dozens of folks come together to help us meet our goal. You can be one of those heroes! Read on for resources and guidance:

Your staff are SO grateful for your help and here for you anytime! You can call, email, or schedule time to chat!

Leanna Frick | leanna@toollibrary.org | 410-347-0850 x100

Download this toolkit

Jump to… How to Create A Fundraising Page | Messaging | Past Successes | Graphics Tools | Sample Emails

WAYS TO HELP

I’m extra & all in for SNTL
Create a fundraising page and come up with a personal challenge or game to inspire giving (e.g. raffle off a homemade pie). Ask for donations for your birthday or a holiday. Email folks in your network and create your own social media posts throughout the month. Win the fundraising crown.

I want to do the single most helpful thing
Create a fundraising page and send individual emails to 5-10 people asking for donations.

I have a little time but also social anxiety
Create a fundraising page and post creative, unique stories and images on social media with the link.

I don’t have much time but I love SNTL
Be on the lookout for our and others’ social media posts about the campaign and re-share them. Amplify without over-balancing your packed schedule

I don’t have social media or really can’t handle asking for money
We get it! Email Leanna@toollibrary.org to sign up to make thank-you calls or write cards to people who’ve given in the past.

I don’t have time but do have cool handmade stuff
Contact Leanna by 12/1/23 to contribute a cutting board, knife, lamp, or other item to a mid-December “SNTL-Made” handmade gift raffle! leanna@toollibrary.org or 410-347-0850 x100

Messaging

Choose one or more of these mini-goals to promote! Pick what calls to you.

Maintaining Our Shared Tools - $2,400 (96 gifts of $25)
Did you know there’s an amazing team of volunteers who give time every week to repair tools in our library inventory? Each year, they get our pressure washers, hammer drills, drain snakes, and all the other shared tools back on the shelf for you to use. Help us buy new parts and replace things that are ready to retire, so we all have access when we need them.
If everyone who borrowed tools last year chipped in just $2.50, we could repair all our tools next year!

Community Scholarships - $4,800 (64 gifts of $75)
Ensure that we can meet the need in our community for free and reduced–cost scholarships. The majority of our requests are for woodshop safety and home care classes. These classes open a new world of possibilities for people to build and maintain their homes, launch small businesses, and spend time in joyful creativity.
If everyone who took a class in the last year chipped in just $4, we could fully meet the current need.

Open Shop Hours for Marginalized Identities - $2,700 (100 gifts of $27)
Help provide more women, nonbinary/trans/queer folks, and people of color with the joy of making! These special events offer a more encouraging space for people to explore our wood, craft, and metal shops, and ultimately build representation in maker industries.
If everyone who used open shop last year chipped in just $4, we could fully fund this program!

New Library Desk Computers - $1,200 (50 gifts of $24)
Ever come to check out a tool and had to wait while our ancient laptops powered up? These faithful computers have served us for half a decade, completing more than 77,000 loans for our members, but they’re now too old to run current versions of basic software. Help us get you in and out quicker with a small investment!
If everyone who had borrowed a tool in the last year chipped in, it would be just about $1 per person.

Launch Craft Open Shop Hours - $2,000 (738 gifts of $9.75)
Craft classes are our fastest-growing curriculum. Everyone deserves to play and make art, and even to launch a small craft business! Weekly, free access to our craft room and basic supplies offer every member the opportunity to play and explore.
If everyone who took a craft class in the last year chipped in $5, we could fully fund this new program!

New Shop Tools & Equipment - $5,600 (80 gifts of $70)
This year, SNTL was awarded a brand-new state grant through the Maryland Makerspace Initiative to improve our public workshops! The only catch is that we have to match every grant dollar with a dollar of our own. Help us revamp your workshop and enjoy new hand and power tools, vacuums, and stationary equipment for years to come.
If everyone who used open shop in the last year chipped in $7.50, we could match this game-changing grant!

Reasons to love the library

Here are some of our successes from the last year!

Increased Services

Expanded Library schedule - Added Tuesdays back to our schedule!
Added 238 new tools to borrow this year including:

Bike repair toolkit and stand
Renter-friendly home repair guide
New mowers and string trimmers
Additional upholstery cleaners and pressure washers
Lightbulb changer
Moving cart
Additional sewing machine

New classes

Beeswax Candles
Bluetooth Speakers
Broom Making
Knitting

Environmental Sustainability

Fixed more than 65 items at Fix-It Fair, totaling more than 266 lbs kept out of the landfill
Increased tool repair budget & trained new fixing volunteers
Re-used more than 16,000 tools instead of people buying new ones!

Equity & Access

Welcomed a record 569 new members for a total of 1,659!
Our average membership fee paid was just over $17 per year, providing access to more than 4,000 tools and our public workshops
Provided 248 affordable memberships to people making $30,000 or less per year
Switched to optional late fees, ending our last regressive policy
Offered 12 Tools & Skills Basics classes for more than 100 women, non-binary, and trans learners
Distributed $5,600 in class scholarships to 64 learners:

82% people of color
86% women, trans, nonbinary and two-spirit people
54% earning less than $15,000 per year

Sharing Community

Loaned more than 16,000 tools to more than 1,000 people
Welcomed more than 300 new members and more than 700 new learners
Provided education to 1,294 people (over 7,000 hours total)
Trained a record 22 new volunteers this year!
Now have over 70 volunteers who contribute more than 3,250 hours per year
Trained 11 new teachers, majority women and nonbinary

Graphics Tools

Here’s a gallery of our favorite photos! Feel free to use these in your messaging.

Use these Canva templates to create social posts, or go wild and create your own! Drag and drop any photo into the frame (looks like a cartoon landscape) to instantly incorporate it.

Sample Emails

Hi Aunt Jane,

With Hanukkah around the corner, I wanted to let you know about an alternative gift I would love to receive: a donation to the Station North Tool Library!

I’ve been taking classes here for 2 years, and I really love the community I’ve found. Essentially, it’s like a book library, but they provide thousands of tools that people can borrow for free to renovate their houses, take care of their gardens, repair their cars and bikes – you name it.

I’m helping fundraise this year as they have some really exciting projects on the horizon, including opening more shop time for members like me.

I would love it if you were able to contribute $25 or more, and/or share the opportunity with people you know who might be interested. Here’s the link to my fundraising page: https://givebutter.com/SNTL2023

Love,
Marianne

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Hello teammates!

Many of you know about my other passion, the Station North Tool Library. I’ve been a member here for just over a year, and it’s such an amazing place. We’re raising funds this fall to support some really exciting projects next year, and I am (of course) competing with other members to see who can raise the most.

The thing I’m most excited about is hosting more Fix-It Fair events, where anyone can bring a broken appliance or torn shirt or whatever, and get it fixed with the help of volunteers.

You can help us meet our goal with a donation of any size. $25 is a great place to start, but you can also find other need amounts on my fundraising page: https://givebutter.com/SNTL2023.

Thanks!
Jared