Wordsmiths Meets Operating Costs; Will Remain Open Thru Fall
Decatur Metro | August 18, 2008In a post over on the Wordsmiths blog, Zach announces the success of their fund-raising campaign, which will help keep the bookstore open through the fall.
In a rather measured celebratory statement to his readers, Zach writes…
There is still much for us yet to do. We have operating expenses caught up and have made some traction into tomorrow, but we will still be working on paying down our debts for the foreseeable future. I would be remiss to state that all is well and that we are completely in the clear, though we are at least now in a position to address our concerns. I am still working to secure the long-term future of the bookstore and will be open to investment of any level up to that of a partnership in the business. I would like to have investment in the business secured sometime in the coming 90 days, so if you are interested, please email me or call the store to discuss the prospect.
Since there is no mention about hitting 100% of the funds needed, we’ll have to assume they didn’t quite make up the 40% needed over the two-day fundraiser.
And while some may question the action of a for-profit business asking for donations, you have to be impressed by the response they’ve received. Early on, someone questioned the focus Wordsmiths placed on PR…well, when push came to shove, the huge network they had created after only a year in operation saved them from some bad decisions and ultimately closing…for now.
But now the pressure is on. Over the next few months we’ll just have to wait and see how things play out.
Reading between the lines of the Wordsmith blog, I detect they are closing anyway and the $25,000 helps to pay back the creditors and protect the captain’s credit rating. It will be interesting to see if a closed signed goes up in the window the day after the Decatur Book Festival.
In all of this talk about donations, books and businesses, I have been struck by the contrast between Mingei World Arts recent efforts to raise money to establish and maintain a library in the small, impoverished village of La Union in Oaxaca, Mexico and Wordsmith’s solicitation of donations to retire their business debt. It is my understanding that through the generosity of its patrons and the community Mingei raised over $2,000 which will establish and maintain the library for more than 2 years. Does anyone else see the striking contrast?
They made the AJC again today: http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/dekalb/stories/2008/08/28/wordsmiths_donations.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13