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We were at a grant hearing last year, and after listening to our presentation, one of the panel fairly shrilly exclaimed, “You’ve got nothing!”

Well, grant panels like this aren’t really used to hearing proposals for what’s essentially a startup, I’ll give you that.  Especially this particular grant – they’re used to hearing from folks with 10, 20 years’ or more track record coming to them year after year for support.

So let’s look at where we are now.  We have a space, and have filled it with members, gear and equipment.  Pretty impressive equipment, take a look.  We’ve been awarded nearly $75,000 in grants, including $57,000 from the MassDevelopment Collaborative Workspace Fit-out Program.  We won the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce Non-Profit of the Year award.  Not bad for starting with “nothing”, only a year ago.

Last week, the new round of the MassDevelopment Collaborative Workspace grant was announced, and we’re ready.

We have some pretty specific goals:

• We’ve had a great program for kids, ages 7 up to 14, teaching coding skills, electronics, electrical work, and we want to expand that into teaching basic wood and metal shop, digital video, imaging, sound skills, and offer after-school and weekend programs too.
• We want to expand our micro-manufacturing capabilities by adding more and better 3D printing, molding, vacuum-forming and CNC processes.
• We also want to reach further into the community in Lynn and our surrounding towns.  There’s plenty of talent here, and through teaming with other organizations, offering more programs and being in more places we can make our resources available to build the economy in the entire North Shore.

Here’s where we need your help.

The MassDEV program is a 100% fund-matching grant – that is, you need to have funds that have been donated that match your request.  Need $50k?  You have to raise $50k first.  It’s not unusual, it’s so they know you’re supported by the community…  so that’s where we need you.

Support our Patronicity campaign, and every dollar you pledge will get doubled if MassDEV funds our grant. Whatever you can do will help us out.  Got $20 you can spare?  That will get us $40.  Can you pitch in $250?  We end up with a cool $500 with the grant.  Even if we don’t happen to get the grant award, your funds will help us keep moving.  (Of course, you get cool rewards for each level, too!)

Spread the word!  Help us out by sharing the campaign on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, whatever and wherever you happen to hang out online…  a second of your time, and our reach gets multiplied by who knows how much!

Volunteer!  Contact us for information on how you can help…  we’re always looking for new ideas and energy, whether for this campaign or all of our future work.

Funny thing.  This year, at the same grant hearing, that same person exclaimed, (pretty much equally shrilly), “I don’t understand!  Last year you had nothing, and this year you have all this stuff!”  …well, yeah.  You thought we were, what, blowing smoke?  And just to be clear, we had a lot more than “nothing”.  We had the support of you: an amazing community in Lynn, and the entire North Shore.

If we got to where we are now, in a year, starting with “nothing”, imagine – just imagine where we can get to, with all we have today.  Jump on, it’s going to be a great ride!