tl;dr
We’re trying to start Hacksburg, a community-oriented makerspace (for computing, technology, building, and crafts) and need $2,000 to get us off the ground.
Brief Summary
Blacksburg is a small Virginia town with a disproportionately large community of geeks and technologists. While Virginia Tech provides specific opportunities for students to explore hands-on learning and building, locals, students, and graduates alike often find themselves without an outlet for their creative energies. Other towns of similar size have begun to build community-centric workshops for people who want to learn more about technology, computing, building, and crafts.
We envision a makerspace for a diverse cross-section of the Blacksburg community to congregate, collaborate and build.
What We Need, and How You Can Help
We have found a wonderful space with a garage door, business-grade internet, excellent power infrastructure and outlets, ancillary rooms for storage—it’s perfect. However, we will need a down payment, a year’s insurance, a small amount of furniture, and a few other things we’ve listed in detail below. The total comes to about $2,000.
One thing we would like to stress, however, is that assistance comes in many forms. If you would like to donate time or equipment, we would also greatly appreciate your help.
Why We’re Doing This
There has been a dearth of resources for makers in Blacksburg, especially for such a technology-oriented community; it was only a matter of time before someone decided to do something about it. As a group, we represent students, locals, and Virginia Tech alumni. While most of us come from a technological background, we are excited to also welcome crafters, builders, and other varieties of hands-on geeks to the community!
How This Will Help The Community
The most obvious benefit to the Blacksburg community will be our role as a resource for townspeople to get involved with technology and crafting. But Hacksburg is meant to be more than a close-knit group of makers—we will also be technological and creative ambassadors to the community. We hope to become an educational resource for Blacksburg, teaching classes that focus on fun and useful skills (things like soldering, basic computing, 3d printing, macramé…) and encouraging basic technological literacy. Basic safety classes will be required of our membership, and these classes will be taught regularly for anyone interested.
Detailed costs
- $750 for the first year of annual insurance costs
- $730 security deposit for the space
- $50 for the first year of local taxes
- $75 for corporate registration
- $250 for furniture
- $145 for the cost of running this Indiegogo campaign (credit card fees, Indiegogo's cut, ‘perk’ costs)
Stretch Goals
- If we achieve $200 beyond our goal, we will buy a set of basic tools for electronics, including a soldering iron, multimeter, and logic analyzer.
- With $500 beyond the goal, we’ll purchase our members’ choice of entry-level 3d printer or kit.
- If we achieve $700 beyond the goal (a total of $2700), we’ll reach both of the above goals.
- With $1500 above the goal ($3500 total), we’ll buy all of the above and secure lockers for members to store their projects.
