CREATIVE RESOURCE: Charlotte Community ToolBank
By Tim Miner
To be successful in Charlotte’s creative community, you need great partners and resources. That’s why The Biscuit is committed to introducing you to people, organizations, venues and collaborators who can assist your creative work. This week, we’re highlighting the Charlotte Community ToolBank.
Putting together events and installations can be daunting and expensive. The costs of buying tools, finding trash cans, renting tables, chairs, tents and more can be the difference between a group making or losing money … or happening at all.
The Charlotte Community ToolBank has all those items and many, many more. (Check their inventory here.) All items they offer are new or gently used. You can buy many of them for 50% or more off retail. You can rent them for a fraction of that cost. As a real world example, we rented materials (including a pressure washer) for an event in December. The real-world costs were estimated at $3,000. Our bill from the ToolBank was just under $100.
The ToolBank staff will also consult with you (call them well in advance) on what materials you will likely need, what they have and where you might find the rest.
All the money from Tool Rush allows the ToolBank to serve their 800+ member agencies.
The only hitch: You must be a charitable organization or doing work for a charitable organization to become a member (for free) and rent tools.
MISSION & VISION: To equip all communities with tools for change by providing tools, equipment and expertise to empower their most ambitious goals.
A WORD FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MAUREEN KRUEGER:
“The ToolBank loves getting creative with our member agencies! Big ideas for big events, small technical projects, out-of-the-box dreams – we want to make these ideas possible by providing the tools and special event items at an amazing price!”
CONTRIBUTE TO THE TOOLBANK:
The ToolBank is always looking to add inventory with donation of funds or actual tools (new or used, as long as they are still in usable condition). To see what tools they need, visit their wish list page.
JOIN TODAY FOR FREE
There is no cost for an eligible charitable organization to register to use the ToolBank. Apply here.
CONTACT THE TOOLBANK
