Minutes

Home =MONDAY, JULY 17TH, 7:30PM - 9:30PM= [|RSVP for Working Group Meetup #6] on July 31st that will be at the Natural History Museum!

1) Welcome new members to the working group (Tara) 2) Housekeeping 3) Review action items from June 25th (All) 4) Review Fiscal Sponsor prospects Home and Community and New Roads 5) Review Grant List (Levi and Tara) 7) Review Sponsor Ideas (Tara) 8) Schedule next pop-up event 9) Decide on next meeting date/time/location

Attendees
Networking/Outreach / Parent ||
 * < **Name** || **Super Power** ||
 * < Tara Brown || ProjectManagement
 * Levi Simons || Grant Writing / Runs a student research lab ||
 * Sharon Lee (new) || Culture Trends/Coworking space in Atwater ||
 * Teresa Gonczy || Brick & Mortar Business / Education ||
 * Sarah Nichols || Classroom Management / Using Spaces /Future Mom ||
 * Luz Rivas || Director, Iridescent ||
 * Joseph Chiu || Toymaker/Parent ||
 * Cassy Clarke || Teacher / Parent ||
 * Michael Wilson || Tech Designer at Natural History Museum ||
 * Michelle Turner || Eco friendly Mama ||
 * Sabrina Williams || Home and Community / Parent ||

New Members
Cassy Clarke, Michael Wilson and Sabrina Williams joined us. Welcome!

Housekeeping
Cassy put us in touch with documentary filmmakers and they will be filming at the Scratch event on July 28th.

Fiscal Sponsorship
Joe from New Roads has to answer our questions by July 25th with a letter of intent July 26th we'll send out info on what they provide and make a decision by July 31st

NEW ROADS Contact - Joe Wise -0% Don't need public acknowledgement Won't put name on lease Don't care about curriculum Insurance - they are researching Screening (Live TB test) - someone in space needs to be present what's in it for them? Outreach

HOME AND COMMUNITY Contact: Sabrina 4, 6, 7% (sliding scale) 4% taken from donations One year contract Manage of Documents (1-90 forms annually) Financial tracking Paypal and Amazon Anti-discrimination platforms

501c3 Paperwork
Sabrina has applied for over 30 nonprofits and the outset is 6 months to process. She charges $250 + government fees. Tara is willing to put money towards this...anyone else? The money will count against membership fees.

Partner Locations
LA TRADE TECH (community college) Contact: Levi Between Staples Center and USC Levi spoke to the VP and we might be able to use their space After school during week / weekends We can use their equipment Might be able to utilize some of their instructors Rent? What about young kids

Review Grant List
Knight Foundation - almost done. Focus is on Citizen Science

Cognizant - will work on next

USC UNO (University Neighborhood Outreach) Need a staff partner + community person to apply Look at due dates (might be Feb)

Review Sponsor Ideas
Before we approach sponsors: Need Budget trimmed down - Michelle and Teresa Need Business Plan - Michelle and Teresa

Scheduled Pop Up Events
At each event we need a donation jar We need to always mention LA Makerspace at each event

July 28th - Scratch class for 4-11 year olds Aug. 11th - Quin is teaching a Beginners Arduino Class

Potential Pop Up Events
3D Unity class with USC Cinema Scratch with Ricarose (August) Ice Cream Social (make ice cream using liquid nitrogen and a container made of plastic origami) -- Levi will talk to his wife about leading this event Fire…. eTextiles Woodworking Bus (Joe will look into)

Next Meeting
July 31st, 6:30pm at Natural History Museum

Action Items

 * **Item** || **Owner** || **Due** ||
 * Sabrina Williams can apply for the 501c3 for $250 + government fees || Tara || July 31st. ||
 * Choose a Fiscal Sponsor || Tara and Levi || July 26th ||
 * Finish the Knight Foundation application || Levi and Tara || July 31st ||
 * Start the Cognizant app || Levi and Tara || Aug 15th ||
 * Look into USC UNO grant. Not due til Feb || Levi and Tara ||  ||
 * Draft a Business Plan using PowerPoint || Michelle and Teresa || July 31st ||
 * Pair down the budget || Michelle and Teresa || July 31st ||
 * We need a donation jar at our events. || ? || July 28th ||
 * We need to schedule a big open meeting like the first one at Crashspace || Tara || ? ||
 * Schedule Field Trip to WAL in Pasadena || Joe Chiu || Aug. ||
 * Look into Woodworking Bus and where they do classes || Joe Chiu || Aug. ||
 * Schedule ice cream social || Tara and Levi || Aug. ||
 * Update the Website || Cassy Clarke || Ongoing ||

=MONDAY, JUNE 25TH, 7:00PM - 9:00PM=

1) Welcome new members to the working group (Tara) 2) Housekeeping - Review LA Hack Jam - Website (LAMakerspace.com) 3) Review action items from June 11th (All) 4) Review Home and Community docs for 501(c)(3) filing and Fiscal Sponsorship 5) Review Revised Budget (Michelle and Teresa) 6) Review Grant List (Levi and Gabrielle) 7) Review Sponsor Ideas (Tara) 8) Schedule next pop-up event (Arduino?) 9) Decide on next meeting date/time/location

Attendees
Networking/Outreach / Parent ||
 * < **Name** || **Super Power** ||
 * < Tara Brown || ProjectManagement
 * Levi Simons || Grant Writing / Runs a student research lab ||
 * Sharon Lee (new) || Culture Trends/Coworking space in Atwater ||
 * Teresa Gonczy || Brick & Mortar Business / Education ||
 * Sarah Nichols || Classroom Management / Using Spaces /Future Mom ||
 * Luz Rivas || Director, Iridescent ||
 * Joseph (New) || Toymaker/Parent ||
 * Kent Nichols || Blip.tv ||

New Members
Sharon Lee (@culturebrain) joined us. Welcome Sharon!

Housekeeping
The LA Youth Hack Jam was Kidtacular!! Blog Post [|here.] The website is up but needs some love. Anyone? lamakerspace.com

=MONDAY, JUNE 11TH, 6:30PM-8:30pm=

Agenda
1) Welcome new members to the working group (Tara) 2) Review Commercial Real Estate options 3) Housekeeping - Cognizant Call - Youth Hack Jam on June 23rd - Crashspace demo day 4) Review action items from May 30th (All) 5) Review Budget (Michelle and Teresa) 6) Decide on next meeting date/time/location

Attendees
Networking/Outreach / Parent ||
 * < **Name** || **Super Power** ||
 * < Tara Brown || ProjectManagement
 * Levi Simons || Grant Writing / Runs a student research lab ||
 * George (new) || Real Estate Agent ||
 * Teresa Gonczy || Brick & Mortar Business / Education ||
 * Sarah Nichols || Classroom Management / Using Spaces /Future Mom ||
 * Michelle || Eco Friendly Mama ||
 * Joseph (New) || Toymaker/Parent ||

Real Estate
George Gleason, Director, LA Realty Partners George did a review of the DTLA area and we are supposed to review the options and give him feedback What are the regulations around having a space for kids, ADA Compliant. Levi. Fire Code regulations: 52 sq ft/person for active lab space?? We are not officially a school. Levi can find out info from Wildwood Facilities We might fall under light manufacturing We are also interested in churches and schools and libraries and car lots. One to three year minimum lease. It's a tenants market, there is a huge surplus of warehouse space in DT so we can probably get away with a year. $4k including insurance and rent for 2000 sq ft seems reasonable.

Cognizant
Levi and Tara had a call with Kathryn in charge of EDU at Cognizant They give out $20-25k for programming and equipment They may get more money to give out this year or for sure Jan 2013 They sent docs on applying for grant Tara to give to Levi and Gabrielle

501(c)(3) Umbrella
Potential:
 * Wildwood
 * Home and Community - 4-6%

Budget
Michelle and Theresa went over the budget. It is very comprehensive (Nice work!) We discussed scoping it down to determine what's needed to open the doors and start small with one or two programming events and public open times.

Action Items

 * **Item** || **Owner** || **Due** ||
 * Start working on the 501(c)(3) paperwork. Ask Theron for their docs || Tara || @https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/501c3app ||
 * Find out the process of using an umbrella organization || Teresa || June 25 ||
 * Talk to Home and Community about 501(c)(3) umbrella || Levi || June 25 ||
 * Review existing grants that we should apply for. || Gabrielle || June 25 ||
 * Would like a website to send the LA Hack Jam participants to || Tara || lamakerspace.com ||
 * Review the real estate properties that George Provided. Note: George emailed Tara asking if we had reviewed yet. || All || June 25 ||
 * Pair down the budget || Michelle and Teresa || June 25 ||

=WEDNESDAY, MAY 30TH, 7:00PM=


 * [|RSVP for Working Group Meeting #3]: Mon., June 11th, 6:30pm - 8:30pm**

Attendees
Networking/Outreach / Parent ||
 * < **Name** || **Super Power** ||
 * < Tara Brown || ProjectManagement
 * Levi Simons || Grant Writing / Runs a student research lab ||
 * Stacie Simons || Peer-mentoring, chemistry teacher, restauranteur ||
 * Teresa Gonczy || Brick & Mortar Business / Education ||
 * Sarah Nichols || Classroom Management / Using Spaces /Future Mom ||
 * Andy Wallace (New) || Future SAHD ||
 * Joseph (New) || Toymaker/Parent ||

Agenda
1) Welcome new members to the working group 2) Housekeeping (Jeff Sturges, Central Library, Culver City Library, Forbes) 3) Review action items from first meeting (http://peerspace.wikispaces.com/) 4) Discuss funding ideas and decide on first event
 * Data on DTLA Kid Community (Luz and Candice)
 * Wiki for sharing info -- Invite those that haven't joined (Levi/Tara)
 * Info on 501c3 (Tara/Teresa)
 * Business Model Canvas Draft (Kent/Tara)
 * Michelle: I'd love to connect w community leaders in the proposed/potential areas to determine if we'd be a good fit and viable. Also interested in a subgroup biz ops pow wow to solidify mission, costs, and funding. Finally, would like a brief on what "competitors" or inspiring similar businesses are doing right and wrong.

Action Items
- NewBlankets (Levi) - Wildwood (Levi) - New Roads (Levi) - CommunityPartners.org -10% incl. accounting, insurance, coaching (Levi) || Levi || June 11 || "We have [|license-exempt childcare] since the moms and childcare room are on the premises." ||
 * **Item** || **Owner** || **Due** ||
 * Start working on the 501(c)(3) paperwork. Ask Theron for their docs || Tara || @https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/501c3app ||
 * Find out the process of using an umbrella organization || Teresa || June 11 ||
 * Reach out to other 501c3s to ask if we can use them
 * Budget Spreadsheet Draft needed || Michelle/Teresa || June 11 ||
 * Draft Space Floorplans || Sarah/Tara || Loaded on Locations page ||
 * Ask Mothership about Babysitting policies. Not concerned because parents are in the space || Tara || Sho Sho says
 * Organize a field trip to Crashspace (and other places) to get demo of equipment || Tara || [|Organized for June 17th. RSVP here.] ||
 * Ask Nirvan more about Caine's Arcade Makerspace in Boyle Heights. It will be to underserved community. || Tara || Nirvan is writing up the plan. ||
 * Make a list of possible Pre-Space Popup events we can do to create buzz and interest || All || June 11 ||
 * Create a map of where everyone lives in the member group || All || Created a map and sent the link to the meetup group:

[|http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=] [|217635504357867303168.0004c1792df21417a9091] ||

New Members
Andy and Joseph joined the meetup. Andy has his PhD in Cognitive Science and is planning to be a SAHD in Dec. Jeff is a SW Engineer at Idealab and is interested in opening a space in Pasadena.

**Housekeeping**
Central Library: Tara met with Eva Mitnick, Acting Manager of Youth Services at the Central Library on Tues., May 29th. She works with Candice, a Teen Librarian that attended Working Group Mtg #1. They don't have a permanent space available but they are interested in pop-up events. Tara and Eva will continue the conversation. (Eva & I spoke later & discussed putting together a library taskforce to work on this project on the library's end. - Candice)

Jeff Sturges, Mt Elliott Makerspace in Detroit: Jeff has been involved with hackerspaces for a longtime and is noted in the maker community for his makerspace in Detroit. Tara and Jeff chatted about the ideas for the LA space and he gave some pearls of wisdom around what works and doesn't work with kids. (Tara will write up the notes).

Culver City Library: Donna Mandosa is writing a grant to help Culver City Library open a perm space...not necessarily a makerspace, more a media space.

Forbes Post on Shop Classes being shutdown: Tara wrote a post "[|The Death of Shop Class And America's Skilled Workforce]" Many shop class teachers in LAUSD are out of work and we should reach out to them and the schools who no longer have shop classes to offer group memberships to kids that need a place to work on projects.

Data on DTLA Kid Community
Luz found the following data: **Downtown LA Demographic Study** @http://www.downtownla.com/survey-2011-results.asp [|New 12 Acre "Grand Park" between Bunker Hill and Civic Center opens Summer 2012] Blog by Susana Benavidez [|"Life as a Parent in DTLA"] [|DTLA With Kids Map][|DTLA Elementary Schools] Candice found the following data: [|Article that discusses Families in DTLA] Many parents bring their families to the Central Library in downtown LA on Saturdays for weekly programs in the Children's Literature department (puppet shows) and the Taper Auditorium (paid performers.) The programs are so popular, they routinely have to turn families away because of occupancy/fire code limitations.
 * **Total DTLA residents: ** 45,518
 * <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Median Age: 33
 * <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Median Income: $86k
 * <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">**<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Children at Home **<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">: Just 6%of Downtown residents had children under the age of 5 years living at home while 5% had children aged 5 to 18 living at home.
 * <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Among Downtown residents, 63% were likely to school their children near their residence, of which 21% chose a public school, 28%preferred a private school, and 14%elected a charter school.
 * <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">New 12 acre park is being opened this summer between Bunker Hill and City Hall
 * <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Broad Museum is opening on Grand Ave.

<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; display: block;">**Note:** Tara sent an email to Hal Bastian, Senior Vice President & Director of Economic Dev. for DTLA asking where the kids and families are. Will update when a response is received.

501(c)(3)
In order for us to start taking donations we need 501(c)(3) status which typically takes at least 2 years. In order to speed things up we can use an existing organization with 501(c)(3) status as an umbrella until we achieve our status. We hoped to use Crashspace but their paperwork won't be complete until the end of 2012. We are reviewing Space Federation. Looks like a lot of paperwork and they take 10% of the donations. Levi is going to reach out to some other orgs. Tara to ask Crashspace for their paperwork and start working on the 501c3 Teresa to find out how to use an umbrella 501c3 Someone mentioned that we could be an S Corp as a backup plan. Levi mentioned it was a pain converting Crashspace from S to 501c3. Discussion around a blended model of being profit but basically operating without no profits.

Business Model Canvas Draft
Threw some numbers out there to start the conversation. We need to create a spreadsheet to crunch the numbers. Teresa and Michelle are interested in this task. Jeff Sturges said that we should be able to keep the space open without doing anything, meaning that our memberships should maintain the space and we don't have to scramble to keep events and classes up in order to keep the space open. __Costs:__ Lease, insurance and utilities: $3000 2 Staff Members: $5000 ($15/hr) Cleaners: $300 etc.

__Monthly Memberships prices (just ideas...):__ One Parent + 1 Kid = $99 Additional Kid = $29 1 Kid (13+) = $49 24x7 access (18+ only and after 3 months of membership): $149 Events Classes: various

Example: After equipment and materials were purchased, we would break even with 30 memberships at $99. That doesn't take into account maintenance or if we have staff.

Goal / Mission
We discussed what the goals for the space are. The distinction was made between targeting Maker Families vs. Kids. Tara said that her hope is that we get lots of Maker families into the space but then the emphasis is on kids. Anyone that plans to come to the space needs to happily be aware that kids will be there.

Space Usage
Discussion around what the space will be used for. Sarah and Tara are going to work on some floorplan layouts so that we all have a visual of what we think the ideal space will look like. This will aid us when we are looking at leases. Open area for building stuff, events and classes Babysitting area Clean vs Dirty (Computers vs Tools and Heavy Equipment) Noisy vs Non-noisy Big Parking space can be part of outdoor space Reception: Sign-in and Curated Gallery of stuff people made and are selling Kitchen- Needs to be a "break room" so we don't require inspectors Bathroom. A big trough along an outside wall would be good for kids.

Space Size and Additional Requirements
We determined that with the needs of the space that the minimum size required is __**2000 sq ft.**__ __**We need to be aware of fire code regulations and policies around the number of sq ft per kid (25 sq ft?). Max. Occupancy**__ It must be on the ground floor. A roll-up door would be nice but can be added. If there is a parking lot some of it can be used as the outdoor space. Within 10 miles of a hospital Create a map of the people in the meetup group to see where everyone lives (might help us determine where space should be)

Outreach
Invite Groups to do meetups at the space. E.g citizen science clubs, RC Kit clubs, etc. Schools looking for a space to work on projects Reach out to shop class teachers

**Safety/Training**
With kids, safety is of upmost concern. There should always be someone in the space that is trained on the equipment and knows CPR We'll do a field trip to Crashspace and get some training on the equipment. Tara will set it up. At our space no one can use the equipment without first getting training. And depending on the age, can't use it without supervision.

Events
Look into Stage Craft as something we do at the space (Sarah knows how to do costuming) Create Pre-Space Events to get community interest

=MONDAY, MAY 14TH, 7:00PM=

RSVP for upcoming working group meeting on May 30th here: **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #003366; font-family: sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline;">[|awe.sm/5qRgK] **

Attendees
Networking/Outreach ||
 * < **Name** || **Super Power** ||
 * < Tara Brown || ProjectManagement
 * < Kent Nichols || Filmmaking ||
 * < Sarah Nichols || Classroom Management / Using Spaces ||
 * < Christefano || Web/Drupal/Has a coworking space ||
 * < Nirvan || Filmmaking/Creative digital community building ||
 * < Luz Rivas || Community Outreach ||
 * < Harley || Real Estate / Production ||
 * < Jeremy || C / Microcontroller ASM / Electronics ||
 * < Candice || Library Perspective / I will bring the teens ||
 * < Travis || Education / Curriculum / Class Management ||
 * < Michelle Turner || Business Operations / Eco ||
 * < Teresa || Brick & Mortar Business / Education ||
 * < Bryan || TBD ||
 * < Levi || Grant Writing / Runs a student research lab ||
 * < Stacie || Peer-mentoring, chemistry teacher, restauranteur ||
 * < Carlo || Development / Developer awareness ||
 * < Scott || Process & Systems / Engineer, Design ||

Missing Super Powers: Legal Safety & Liability Expert Permits/Space Expert

Timing Is Everything
Everyone is gung-ho, losing momentum is not an option. Do or don't do, there is no try. Etc.

Non kid-friendly makerspaces have easily got up and running in 3 months. The group consensus was to get up and running in 6 months because there are more hurdles to deal with in terms of insurance, permits, legal etc. because we are going to welcome kids under 18.

That One Thing...
Everyone listed the one thing that they think is important to have in the space when we open:

Babysitting area for little kids Circuit Board Lab Computers (Lab) Eco Friendly Electronic Kits (Arduino) Greater than 25 sqft/person Green Screen Studio Green Space High Ceiling and Roll up door Web Hosting / Some way for kids to share their projects Near to Mass Transit (aka train) Parking (x2) Physical Play Area Roof with slip n slide and trampoline Safe Neighborhood White Boards and Markers

Location Location Location
Everyone got to choose a location that they want the space to be in. DTLA won out, but we continued to discuss if and where the kids are in LA. Sarah and Kent said they moved out of LA because none of their friends wanted to visit them. Contrast that with Harley who has lived in DTLA for 10 years. Candice and Luz are going to provide data on where the kids are in LA. Candice mentioned that kids from all over come to Central Library for events. Broad Museum is going to open on Grand Ave soon.

DTLA (x7) Eastside (x3) Lincoln Heights Mid City (x2) Red Line Close to Public Transit Mobile Bus Santa Monica (westside) Wherever our ideal clients are

Where's the Money?
We discussed how we can raise some money. Teresa, Michelle and Kent feel very strongly that we come up with a business plan. Tara suggested that we start with a business model canvas as per Steve Blank. He has a fabulous book btw that I have in my possession and it applies to brick and mortar startups.

We have a lot of options to raise some money to open the doors and then to keep the doors open.

Events Donors/Sponsors Pre-sell Memberships Kickstarter and other Crowdfunding sources to buy equipment Grants ...

Action Items

 * **Item** || **Owner** || **Due Date** || **Status** ||
 * Create Wiki to share info || Levi || May 15th || Complete ||
 * Add Business Model Canvas to Wiki || Tara || May18th || Complete ||
 * Post data on where the kids are in DTLA || Luz & Candice || Before May 29th || Complete ||
 * Post 501c3 Info & insurance from Theron at Crashspace || Tara || When he sends it to me || On-going ||
 * Post next meetup on May 30th || Tara || May 15th || Complete ||
 * Find a location for the next meetup (Christefano offered droplabs) || Tara || May 27th || Complete ||