RTP-area local music and culture

[internationalistbooks AT lists.ibiblio.org]

Today we are announcing the beginning of a 30 day fundraising campaign 
to support our exciting move. Please help us spread the word!*


“Help a Radical Landmark Grow into the Future” 30-day Online Fundraiser*
*Goal:*$15,500
*Deadline:*30 days (August 29 - September 28)
**Internationalist Books and Community Center is making a move to a new 
space! This transition is crucial to continue to thrive in our work, and 
we need our community’s help to make it possible. Now is the time. We 
are confident that your support can help lay the groundwork on which the 
future of this project rests. To another 33 years of sharing stories of 
the past and carving out space to nurture the firebrands and 
troublemakers of our times.

We reach out to you with our deepest gratitude for all the ways you can 
contribute to the sustenance of Internationalist Books.

*
Donate online at everribbon.com/internationalistbooksismoving
Visit internationalistbooks.org to learn more about the fundraising 
campaign and benefit events this month!
*
*
*
_What is the Internationalist?_
Internationalist Books and Community Center, 501(c)(3), is a non-profit 
radical bookstore in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Since 1981 we have served as a hub for activism and local organizing, 
from anti-apartheid to anti-fracking. To sustain ourselves as a 
community resource, we stock a carefully chosen selection of new and 
used books, focusing on hard-to-find and marginalized publications. Our 
customers come to us to expand their horizons, delve deeper into their 
passions, and meet like-minded people. They leave more informed about 
vital happenings in their community.
Unlike most typical businesses, we consider it part of our purpose to 
welcome visitors regardless of identity or income. If you can’t afford a 
book, you can still access our library of essential titles, or simply 
relax for a while in our community space. As part of our commitment to 
maintain a Safer Space for marginalized groups, we have hosted a weekly 
Queer Youth Drop-In Night and with the NC Harm Reduction Coalition, a 
transgender discussion group. Our Prison Books program extends access to 
our resources to incarcerated people throughout the Southeast.
The Internationalist regularly hosts workshops, meetings, book clubs, 
film screenings, and author readings. In the last year alone, invited 
speakers have shared eyewitness accounts and political analysis from 
Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, India, Israel, and Egypt. At home, 
we have offered successive generations of activists a tangible link to 
their past.
_
Purpose of the Campaign_
In our over thirty years in Chapel Hill, the character of commerce has 
changed. Affordable retail space has been overrun by luxury developments 
and pricey boutiques, pushing out one after another of the town’s 
beloved fixtures. Under the same pressure, we started looking for a new 
location in 2008. Finally, we signed a lease this August on a storefront 
a few blocks west in Carrboro. Our move puts us within convenient reach 
of many of our long-term supporters while keeping us easily accessible 
from Chapel Hill.
Like many businesses, our options are to grow or get left behind. In the 
short term, our overhead costs will increase by 35% in the new location. 
By January, however, our new lease will give us better terms than the 
one we are leaving. To sustain ourselves financially in the long term, 
we need to pay for renovations to make our store inviting and useable, 
as well as an inventory expansion to increase our volume of sales. 
Additionally, we need funds for transition costs as we get up and running.
Here is the breakdown of how we’ll spend the money we raise:
·$6000 will go to new inventory: books our loyal customers have asked 
about for years, new titles for the different audiences we’ll be 
attracting, a small drinks menu developed with our business partners, 
hard-to-find health products, posters, calendars, greeting cards, and of 
course bumper stickers.
·$3000 will go to renovations: a finished 12’ ceiling, insulation, 
restroom plumbing, custom shelving, café tables and seating, interior 
and exterior paint, and artwork. Skilled professionals have committed to 
donate all labor, so we will open with a renovated space worth over 
twice this.
·$3500 will cover transition costs: lost revenue from store closure 
while we move, a short period of rent obligations in both locations, and 
the difference in monthly overhead while sales increase from our new 
inventory.
·$3000 will cover our new security deposit and first month’s rent.
As always, the Internationalist is only as strong as the community that 
supports it. Now, we need your support so we can survive and thrive for 
the coming decades. Please donate whatever you can to make our vision 
possible!
See you on Lloyd Street!
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