How will the $25,000 be spent?

This initial fundraising campaign allows us to demonstrate success in Austin, expand our reach, and cover some smaller startup costs.

1. Microgrant Program: Half the money received will go directly to Third Spaces in the form of hand-selected, high impact microgrants from $100-$1500.

2. Events: While we try to keep costs low though donations, sponsors, and partnerships, events hosted by 3SC require costs such as permitting, marketing, and merch. In keeping with our mission, at these events, we aim to keep as many of the activities free as possible and we ensure all vendors are paid fairly.

3. Nationwide Rollout: Though we are launching in Austin, we plan to roll out all three of our main initiatives (Finder, Events, Microgrants) to the 951 US cities with 50,000 residents or more. A cumulative 43.5% of the US lives in these cities and many more make use of these cities as social hubs. As we expand, so does the cost of software and database hosting for the Third Space Finder.

4. Content Creation: Approximately 5% of this initial campaign will be used to help us ensure the highest quality outreach - cogent branding, beautiful writing, and eye-catching content, without losing our passion or craft.

5. Administrative Costs: Less than $2000 will be used for a year’s worth of administrative costs for things like business insurance, document filing, website domain ownership, and payment processing fees.

This proof of concept will allow us to solicit funding from larger donors and make us eligible for a number of nonprofit grant programs.