On the first day of their new crowdsourcing fund-raising project, The Round House Bakery and Cafe raised $12,000 to help them buy the building the cafe occupies, put up for sale by their landlord. Scott and Lisa Carrino, who own the cafe, are seeking $75,000 to purchase the building. There is a good ways to go, but a wonderfulstart.
It was a great first day for the Round House project, a testament to the value of community, and to the joy of awakening, as people all over the country use new technological tools to support one another and to fight for the symbols and institutions that so many rural communities are losing, sacrifices to the new global economy the politicians and economists love to proclaim.
The contributions ranged from $5 to $1,000, perhaps one of the most touching came from Pat Byson, who sent $5 with the simple wish that the project. The contributions came in from Cambridge and from all over the rest of the country. People who know the Carrinos and the cafe are going to fight hard to keep it, it is the soul of our town.
“Because Community Matters,” wrote Kathryn Gillien, “thanks for sharing this.” Wrote Ray Doyle: “This is a worthy project to help a small community.” Well said, Ray sent $10.
Pat Ruble contributed and wrote: “Best of luck to you! I believe in what you’re doing. I know it’s hard work, but you are both very blessed to be doing something every day that fulfills you and that also provides such wonderful benefits to your community. I hope to visit and enjoy in the near future”
Don’t believe the news. We are a good and generous people given the chance.
Crowdsourcing is new and strange, and some people weren’t sure. “I don’t know these people and I know nothing about crowd-sourcing,” Philip messaged me from Boise, Idaho, “but tell me why they just don’t go to the bank rather than going outside for help?”
It’s a fair question. Crowdsourcing has triggered a revolution in fund-raising, it is a profoundly democratic system that reduces the middlemen and eliminates administrative and other costs. People can decide for themselves what they wish to give, or not.
The other revolutionary thing about fund-raising is that it is no longer the exclusive province of fatcats and billionaires. Since crowdsourcing sites like Kickstarter and gofundme reach millions of people, even the smallest contributions can add up quickly. We don’t have to give thousands of dollars to make our money count or help each other. Most of Scott and Lisa’s contributions were small, but they are adding up quickly.
And as Ray Doyle, said, one small community can now help another, quickly and easily. The favor will be returned.
The simple answer to Philip’s question is that if Scott and Lisa could have gotten a bank loan to buy the building, they would have. Banks are not quick to invest in small town start-ups. Lisa and Scott funded the cafe with their credit cards and loans from the community (all repaid) and the gofundme will hopefully give them enough of a down payment to qualify for a mortgage.
Things are different now. Scott and Lisa have shown that can make their cafe work, and the crowdsourcing money will go towards a down payment on the building. They will pay the rest themselves.
That’s the idea, and it’s a good plan and seems to be working well. It is being well received everywhere.
The backdrop to this community story is the rape of rural life by the corporate economy. Since World War II, there has been a vast migration of people from rural areas to the cities, rural life is considered inefficient in the new economic structure of the world. While rural communities have seen their jobs and institutions flee, the migration has greatly enriched corporations.
The absent farmers and empty main streets have been replaced by box stores, franchise restaurants, machinery, petroleum, chemicals, giant farms, credit and other expensive goods and services from the agribusiness economy to the Wal-Martting of American towns.
The departure of so many farms and people and jobs has ravaged rural communities and economies all over the country. Farmers, factories, hospitals, pharmacies, small businesses have left the country. What Scott and Lisa are trying to do is both brave and difficult and heroic. They are fighting not to be wealthy – no chance of that in a community cafe – but to keep one of the last and best vestiges of community in our town.
The cafe is a cherished gathering place, one of the few left where we can all see and great and get to know one another. Community is the lifeblood of towns and villages and cities. We are fighting hard to keep our cafe.
Scott is a close friend of mine, I know him and Lisa to be good and honest people who have worked themselves nearly to exhaustion to give something back to the community they love. It seems like the Round House is open all the time, it is always there, warm and inviting.
This is a personal decision, you can contribute or not, of course, and $5 is as good as $1,000 and as much appreciated. Thanks much to those of you who already have. Scott says he cries over some of the posts, they mean so much to him, and he reads every one.
I see this outpouring in support of the cafe as a great awakening, a new way of living in the world, a rebirth of community and connection. We don’t have to wait for economists to go out and see the world or for politicians to do their jobs. We can help each other right now, and for pennies, and without even leaving our homes.
You can see the project site here.