Funding
Here is the draft application and budget for Sprout Fund please review it and get back to me before Friday morning so everything will be fully ironed out. The numbers aren't in agreement, but I was expecting people to comment on all that. Note: the formats can't be changed as they are standardized forms from the Sprout Fund. The wording, however, can be changed ad nauseum.
Sprout Fund Application
1.) Project Information
Project Name: HacksBurgh – Initial Build-out
Organization: HacksBurgh
Project Website: www.hacksburgh.com(proposed)
2.) Contact Information
Name:'' Nick Pinkston
Organization: HacksBurgh
Mailing Address:'' HacksBurgh 1936 5th Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Telephone:' 724.971.6818
Email Address:' njp120@gmail.com
3.) Project Team
The two founders of the project are Nick Pinkston and Matt Stultz. There are 31 total prospective members as of 3/6/09, and 18 are on the project team.
4.) Budget / Funding Request
Amount Requested: $4,500
Total Revenues: $7,700
Total Expenses: $7,353
5.) Size of Potential Audience
In the age range of 18-40, most of our current membership lies in this age bracket. There are two measures for our audience: one is the amount of paying members (50 expected within one year) & guests that use the shop (200 expected), and the other is the amount of people who come into the shop to take classes (at least 700 students expected per year). Another audience is those who sees the work that comes out of our community. We have no way of predicting, but would expect the number to reach into the 1000's.
6.) Geographic Impact
The workshop will be located on 1942 5th Ave. in the Uptown district of Pittsburgh. Our promotion efforts will be concentrated on the area roughly an hour's drive from this location – with most emphasis on the city of Pittsburgh itself.
7.) Timeframe
Planning began on: 3/1/09 – our first member meeting
Activities begin on: 3rd weekend of March – cleaning the space
Activities on ongoing, however initial Phase I build-out will conclude by mid-April.
8.) Project Statement
This project will bring together a diverse array of groups to form a community of creation. With this group, we'll be able to not only carry out projects, but also teach others how to do the same. Our aim is to build a hub where others of various interest can come together to collaborate toward common goals.
9.) Where I heard of Sprout
I applied last year for a shared tool website, and reached the last stage where I wasn't selected. However, the project has been revised to serve the community better & with the added support from many local organizations. Before that, I had heard of multiple people receiving grants for cool projects, and that led me initially toward the Sprout Fund.
1.) Uniqueness
The inspiration for our project has been our frustration with not having the space to carry out our project as well as the success of other shared workshops across the world. We've been to several of these spaces in other cities (NYC, LA, DC, etc.), however there is currently nothing like this in Pittsburgh. Our thinking is a mix of what has worked for other co-op workshops as well as looking at the specific needs of the Pittsburgh community & local related groups.
2.) Focus
Our project aims to solve two local problems. One, facilitate collaboration amongst many of the unconnected groups around town. Two, provide the space, equipment, skills, and community to better enable new projects to be brought forth from these groups. So often people involved in the same types of projects are unaware of each other, and unable to find places to meet & build.
3.) Audience Impact
Image: Young people are often put aside into their own groups whether by their own choice or by the system itself, and even amongst themselves they tend to only associate with those in their peer groups. We're going to bring together creative & active young adults from different groups under one roof so that they can exchange skill, talents, and experience to build a connected and innovative Pittsburgh community. By providing the training, common area, and tools – we'll be able to act as a hub for creation of new projects – from sculpture to startups.
Awareness: There are currently many groups in Pittsburgh that have no space to call their own. We will provide this common space & tools that the community can use for this purpose. In doing this, we not only provide a location to mix with other groups, but also an area in which they can conduct classes or attend our own. These classes & meetings bring the greater community into our microcosm to show them the great things young people are doing in this city.
Engagement: Currently, many of the young people interested in these activities are unaware of all the others that also are. This leaves them unmotivated to pursue their interests further. We're going to arm them with the resources they need and our community's support & training to be able to make their own projects. The classes in particular are designed to get young people out and involved with the community.
Leadership: The project has already been shown to energize young people as the vast majority of our members & leadership are themselves young people. The experience in forming the club, organizing events, teaching classes, etc. will serve them throughout their civic lives and build their attitude of service to the greater community.
4.) Diversity
The groups tend to be segmented in not only their demographics, but also their purpose. Our project requires diversity to reach its full potential because the magic of collaboration comes from having a multitude of backgrounds. It's in our interest to bring groups into the fray that will promote this goal in order to benefit our community and their organization.
5.) Measures for Success
Membership: Our goal is to build a full membership of 50 by the end of the summer time. This should allow us to pay for our rent, events, and improvements to the facilities.
Teaching: We plan to reach the point where we can conduct one class a week with an average attendance of 15 per class. This should allow us to directly reach at least 700 people a year.
Hosting: We will try host at least one meeting per week for an outside organization. This will allow us to interact with new people, and gain members & awareness for both groups.
Promotion: We are working to develop a Pittsburgh-based forum & blog that is centered on the activities of our group and related ones in the Great Pittsburgh area. It's our hope to have over 100 subscribers to our blog by the summer time, and an active online forum for our membership & the community.
6.) Implementation Plan
Initially, we had to form a critical mass of members to gauge interest and allow us the resources to move forward – this has been reached. The next goal is to complete the initial outfitting of our space. Once this has been completed, we'll have the capability to conduct classes. Getting the space up and running is the largest hurdle for this whole project because of the work and financial resources involved. So far, we've been able to negotiate down rent, get some equipment donation commitments, time commitments from our members, etc., however the build-out still requires materials and equipment to get started that are beyond our means. This is why we're seeking funding.
7.) Promotion Plan
Our promotion plan could be described as “bootstrapped” or more formally: capital efficient. We've already gone around to various community groups' meetings to give announcements to various interested groups. This has yielded us over 30 prospective members in the few weeks we've been at it – well on our way to reaching our goal. The next method we'll employ is creating a forum & writing a community blog to drive awareness. Getting other local blogs & media to write article about us and link to our site will also build awareness. We've also built connections with other prominent national groups that work in this movement who have also agreed to showcase our group in their online presence.
8.) Community Connections
There are many groups in Pittsburgh that have overlapping interests with ours, but do not currently have a central, local, community area to call their home. We're hoping to change that as well as foster connections between these disparate group. For instance, groups like DorkBot and Rossums are involved with bringing technology concepts into the arts world – both have no physical “center”. Other groups such as DevHouse, Refresh Pittsburgh, and Coding Dojo are on the opposite end of the spectrum – but have the same problem. All of these organizations have expressed a lot of interest in this concept as it fits very well with what they're already doing.
9.) Skills and Experience
The group was founded by the founders listed above, however we conduct general body meetings about every two weeks (in the beginning) to plan & carry out needed projects to bring this idea to fruition. The group as a whole contributes to the build-out & maintenance of the shop as well as teaching the classes.
So far, it seems that several weekends of build-out time with the members should be all that is required for the initial shop. After that, members who wish to teach will have to commit several hours to the planning, prep, and teaching of the classes. The founders have already committed much of their time to promote, plan, carryout our efforts thus far.
Nick's experience in project management comes from his previous construction company, his current startup company, and also his political activism efforts. Matt's experience comes from being a software engineer in the planning and building complex and time dependent solutions to business problems. The group as a whole is composed of people who are used to working on projects and building things. This is a great resource for building and maintaining the shop. Some members are also professors at local universities and others are experts in their fields; this will greatly help us in our teaching efforts.
10.) Background & Goals
Personal Goals: Nick: I'm very committed in my personal and professional life to the democratization of technology and knowledge. My purpose for this project, and much of life itself, is to empower people to unleash their creative abilities to enrich mankind. We cannot hope to realize our ideas if we don't have the tools, skills, or communities to help us do so; therefore I'm taking on the founding of this project to work more towards these ends. As is said: “Think globally, act locally”. Here here.
Hope to gain / learn: In addition to building a strong local community of creative types, I hope to improve my skills, connections, and perspectives by being a part of this group
11.) Funding and other Resources
We're applying for $4500 in order to fund the build out, equipment and rent for the initial space until we get the revenues to support it through our own income streams (dues, classes, etc.). Our aim is to have enough income to sustain our activities for the foreseeable future. Any money left over will go towards either funding new equipment purchases or reducing the cost of dues, fees, etc. In addition to this grant, we require the hard work of our membership body, tool & equipment donations, and support from other community groups – a Sprout Grant will also aid us in gaining this less tangible support.
Sprout Fund Budget
Here is the copy & paste spreadsheet (very early stage). Refer to "spaces" to see the materials list for the build-out.
| Sprout Seed Award Standard Budget | ' | ' | ' |
| Project Name: HacksBurgh Initial Build-out | |||
| Organization (if applicable): HacksBurgh | |||
| Lead Project Manager Name: Nick Pinkston | |||
| Revenues | Amount | Status | Notes |
| Contributed Income | |||
| Sprout Request for Support | $4,500.00 | requested | |
| Other Funding (please list) | |||
| Membership Dues – March | $300.00 | Accessed at $15 per member w/ 20 paying members | |
| Membership Dues – April | $600.00 | Accessed at $20 per member w/ 30 paying members | |
| Membership Dues – May | $800.00 | Accessed at $30 per member w/ 40 paying members | |
| Subtotal Other Funding | $1,700.00 | ||
| Subtotal Contributed Income | $6,200.00 | ||
| Earned Income | |||
| Ticket Sales / Admission Fees | $0.00 | ||
| Other Sales | |||
| Class Income – April | $600.00 | $20 fees for 30 students | |
| Class Income – May | $900.00 | $20 fees for 45 students | |
| Subtotal Other Funding | $1,500.00 | ||
| Subtotal Contributed Income | $1,500.00 | ||
| In Kind Support | |||
| In-Kind Supporter 1 | $0.00 | ||
| In-Kind Supporter 2 | $0.00 | ||
| In-Kind Supporter 3 | $0.00 | ||
| Subtotal In-Kind Support | $0.00 | ||
| Other Support (please list) | |||
| Other Support 1 | $0.00 | ||
| Other Support 2 | $0.00 | ||
| Other Support 3 | $0.00 | ||
| Subtotal Other Support | $0.00 | ||
| Total Revenues | $7,700.00 | ||
| Expenses | Amount | Status | Notes |
| Administrative Expenses | |||
| Staff | $0.00 | ||
| Consultants | $0.00 | ||
| Other Administrative Expenses (please describe) | $0.00 | ||
| Subtotal Admin Expenses | $0.00 | ||
| Programming Expenses | |||
| Artist Fees | |||
| Materials & Supplies | $1,300.00 | Class materials – estimate | |
| Installation | |||
| Subtotal Programming Expenses | $1,300.00 | ||
| Marketing Expenses | |||
| Design | $0.00 | ||
| Printing & Copying | $0.00 | ||
| Mailing & Postage | $0.00 | ||
| Media Advertising | $0.00 | ||
| Subtotal Marketing Expenses | $0.00 | ||
| Facility Expenses | |||
| Rental/Usage Fees | $3,000.00 | Confirmed | During startup period until the membership can pay. |
| Rehab Materials | $2,053.00 | Rough Quoted | Refer to “materials” tab |
| Insurance | $0.00 | Legal documents already written. | |
| Subtotal Facility Expenses | $5,053.00 | ||
| Equipment/Technology Expenses | |||
| Equipment | $1,000.00 | Most shop equipment will be donated, however some money is required for odds & ends | |
| Website/Email | |||
| Subtotal Equip/Tech Expenses | $1,000.00 | ||
| Other Expenses (please list) | |||
| Other Expense 1 | |||
| Other Expense 2 | |||
| Other Expense 3 | |||
| Subtotal Other Expenses | $0.00 | ||
| Total Expenses | $7,353.00 | ||
| Retained Fund | $347.00 | This exists because the Sprout Grant will pay for initial fees, but dues, fees & donations will sustain there after | |
| The amount will be used for programming, equipment, lowering fees, etc. | |||