Watershed PDX has been part of this community since March 1, 2007, and we are coming up on our 20th year! We have always been really careful not to do fundraisers because why should you donate to a private business? It is the same reason we would rather hire our friends for work than take volunteers. It just is not right to ask people to work for free for a private business, no matter what role we serve.
And now we actually have a real reason to ask for a hand. When Process PDX moved into our community room, they wanted to run a part-time gathering space. As they grew into a full-time venue, their use of the room required a change of occupancy to create a true dance floor space with a massive new capacity of 226.
It turned out to be completely unfeasible to find an outside contractor to come in and pull the permit for us, so we ended up founding Dead Letter LLC. That is a class 1 commercial contractor with the right to pull permits for large buildings, and it cost us almost exactly $5000 for the year. It was definitely not something Watershed would have done except to support Process, but it took a huge chunk out of our pocket. On top of that, the city stopped giving us special event permits, which is why you have not seen large events at Watershed this year, even though those used to be a huge part of our budget.
To help turn things around, we are taking over the back lot from the city with a new lease. It is going to cost roughly $400 to $800 a month, which is another $5000 to $10,000 per year, but it is going to open up a whole new world of community experiences for everyone. Think Tuesday Fire Spin Jam, an outdoor stage for events, propane art, and food carts.
So we are asking for your support to help us right the ship that has been listing since the middle of last year. A contribution of $20 from 750 people or $40 from 400 people would mean the absolute world to us and go so far in keeping everything moving forward.
