Photo of the Day: Set Up Shop Headquarters

I've made a temporary station for myself for getting work done, holding meetings, overseeing deliveries, etc.  This is where I sit everyday.  :)

Thoughts of 2010 and for 2011

Reflecting on 2010, we're thankful the following events took place:

In January, we collaborated with Mission Year for the first Overflow event in partnership with a nonprofit organization.

 

In March, we had a “Going Green” event for Overflow.  It was partially to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, to fundraise, and to showcase Overflow’s mission.  It was a lot of fun, complete with live Irish music and a leprechaun.

In April, we purchased a portable espresso machine to use for catering and fundraising events.  We’ve used it at several events since and at parties in our home.  It has been a great help in practicing our latte art.

In June, 2 major events happened:

1.    We held our first event in the building where Overflow will be located.  We called the event Café Con Brio and had a great time with live performances from multiple artists and yummy food and espresso.  If this was any indication of future events, Overflow is going to really impact the arts.

2.    We moved from our 1-bedroom apartment to a 3-bedroom and acquired 2 roommates (and our cat got 2 new feline friends!).  We made this move to have a larger living room for having parties and to save money.  It’s been great living in community.

In July, we celebrated 4 years of marriage with a “staycation.”  We enjoyed the city and used the money we would’ve spent on travel/hotel taking advantage of July 4^th sales.

Toward the end of July, beginning of August, Amanda completed a coffee shop marathon at the Common Cup in Rogers Park while the owner was out of town.  Through the marathon, we raised over $10,000 for Overflow’s plumbing and electric costs and Brandon cut his shoulder-length hair as a result of raising so much.

In September, we had an Overflow booth at the Bash on Wabash, a South Loop street festival.  We got to meet hundreds of our neighbors in the South Loop and share with them about Overflow.  In return, they shared with us how much they desire an independent coffee shop in our neighborhood.

Currently, Overflow is moving forward.  We are currently negotiating a lease and will have it signed by December 31.

We are very hopeful for 2011 and the opening of the physical doors of Overflow Coffee Bar in March.   

If you'd like to be part of Overflow's beginning, please consider participating giving a financial gift or making a purchase on our website.  Any gift or purchase is appreciated and beneficial.  Your gift will be used to purchase equipment and furniture and help us get started sooner and with less debt.  To give, look on the right-hand side of this page and click "ChipIn!"  To purchase a product go to www.overflowcoffeebar.org/shop.html.

The Past Week or So.

On Friday, February 5th I found out Mark from the IRS had our 501(c)(3) application on his desk.  I got his phone number, called, and left a message.

On Monday, February 8th,  Mark returned my call.  He said he would look at the application within the next couple days and would be getting back to me with a request for additional information.

On Wednesday morning around 9:30am, Mark sent me a fax with the requestion for additional information.  The request took up 10 pages and consisted of 18 sets of questions to which he needed answers. 

By Wednesday night around 10:30pm, I had a rough draft of my responses to all Mark's questions ready to send to Overflow's Board of Directors for their feedback.

On Thursday, I received the responses from the board and finalized the answers and their corresponding attachments.

On Friday morning, I went to Staples to get all 34 pages of the answers and attachements printed and ready to go.  Then, went to a partner organization who let me use their fax and sent all 34 pages via fax to Mark.  It was around 9am Central Time when the fax was sent.  Finally, I went to the post office and put everything in the mail to Mark.  I got home around 10:30am and napped for an hour or so.  Then, it was back to work getting caught up with all the things I missed while working on the IRS stuff.

I hope to hear something on Tuesday or shortly thereafter.  Check back for an update as soon as I have one.

stepping into a new season

Yesterday was the last day of my internship at The Common Cup... Today is the first day of this next stage of the journey.  I'm calling these next three months the "Kickin' it into High Gear Months."  Here's a snap shot of some of the things I'll be doing:

Grant Writing - Starts with research, research and more research.  Then I move on to intoductory letters, phone calls, emails.  After a "cultivation" period, I'll get to start writing grant applications for the "Set Up Shop" Campaign.

Projects - Our first educational event will be coming up on October 29.  We'd love to have another by the end of December.  There are other projects to work on too: blog posts, e-newsletters, board meetings, etc.

Individual Fundraising - We still have a goal to reach for individual contributions.  I'll be doing some more asking people to give.

Business Plan - There are still some holes to fill in our business plan because I need to research and read more in order to plan well. 

Networking - I'm looking to get involved in some of the non-profit activities going on in my neighborhood.  I want to know better what's going on.  We're also networking with individuals who we think might be interested in getting involved in what we're doing.

I'm sure there's more that will be coming up but those are my marching orders for now.  Changing the world takes work - hard work - but it'll be worth it to see the lives changed in the process.

And a Partridge in a Pear Tree

This week...

I crunched lots of budget numbers...

I wrote over 10 pages of stuff for the 501(c)3 application and the business plan...

We had real conversations with 4 people in the neighborhood...

I worked 3 days at the Common Cup...

Check out our brochures being delivered in print today!

Working Late on the Weekend

Reality is setting in. I’m still working 40 hours a week while also needing to get moving on the non-profit incorporation steps. So, it’s Friday night and both Brandon and I are at home working on the Articles of Incorporation and their accompanying requirements. Tomorrow I plan to work on fundraising plans nearly all day long. Last weekend I finished rough drafts of 5 years worth of budgeting so now I’ve got to figure out where the money’s going to come from. I’m not complaining, just laying out the facts. Our lives consist of the following activities: 9-to-5 job, entrepreneurial work, sleeping, eating, volunteer commitments and playing with the cat – in that order. I don’t see this changing until after my 9-to-5 job is finished. Maybe then we’ll be able to have a little fun.