Yes. We’ve been pretty quiet.
We were told back in September that we were awarded $5000 from the CDBG program, and again, about a week ago, by the Mayor’s office. This funding is usually made available by the end of the summer, but it’s been held up… by Congress. Let that sink in for a minute – not only for us, but for the 20 or 30 organizations in this city that depend on the money to help out on everything from homeless shelters to meals-on-wheels. …and all the organizations that rely on this funding, nationwide.
That’s money that we were counting on to continue our progress and repay some expenses that have come out of personal pockets. That work has to be on hold for the moment.
We’ve been waiting for word on our Mass DEP grant, which would get us rolling with our recycling/upcycling/reuse programs, repair clinics and other important work. That decision was supposed to be made in the end of September, and as yet, there’s no word. Emails have been sent, no responses have been received.
Finally, as you have probably heard, we were awarded a $56,000 grant from MassDevelopment, which is awesome… however, as you can imagine (or probably know), actually receiving the funds requires stringent review and a whole lot of coordination. We thought we’d been through the hoops, but we learned quickly that there are many more hoops to hop. Currently we’re trying to negotiate a lease – and if you’ve ever dealt with commercial real estate, you maybe have an idea of what that’s like. (eg: “PLEASE. I BEG OF YOU. Just ANSWER YOUR EMAIL.” – edit: Persistence pays off – got through to the building owners today! – )
In the Department of Stuff We Have Control Over Dept., one thing we’re working on is putting together Workshop Gift Certificates for you and yours for the Holiday Season! Nobody has time for extracurricular activities this time of year, so you can give the gift of Making in advance – either a Gift Certificate for any workshop, or for specific classes. We were hoping to be able to announce that along with an announcement that we’d locked in a location, but, by Thanksgiving, you’ll see the Gift Certificates announced, either way.
Never fear, don’t despair! A good friend of ours likes to say, “95% is only half-way there!” To be honest, we never really appreciated the truth of this, until the last few weeks… but we’re not discouraged – only all the more determined to make this happen!
Keep making stuff. Take care of people, play nice and clean up after yourselves.