Firestorm Cafe

*Get To Know Us Better*
>
> We're planning a "*New Year, New Friends*" celebration for Sunday, January
> 3rd. Full details to come!
>
> *Holiday Promotion*
>
> Get a *free* $20 gift card when you spend $100! Good for books, merch,
> food and beverages.
>
> Firestorm Cafe & Books has been open for over eighteen months during which
> time we have consistently provided critical, free resources including
> community event space, Internet access and a working model for
> non-hierarchical worker-ownership. We've offset the cost of these services
> by selling delicious, affordable food, awesome beverages and a range of
> exciting literature. Unfortunately, we have also had to subsidize these
> resources through thousands of hours of unpaid labor. We've done this
> because we are passionate about our community and our vision of a more
> inclusive, participatory Asheville. But we need your support in order to
> ensure that Firestorm continues to survive and thrive as a local fixture.The good news is that supporting Firestorm won't cost you anything, instead
> it will enrich your life!
>
> This open letter is to the segment of our community that appreciates
> Firestorm but hasn't found itself engaged on a regular basis as
> participants, patrons or party-goers. We want to start a dialog with you
> now, while it is still possible that your actions could impact our survival,
> rather than later, when it is too late and our doors are closing.
> Background: Our Business Model.
>
> When we set out to open a community event space, we knew what didn't work.
> We'd seen too many good projects collapse because of volunteer burnout and
> financially unsustainable operations. Often, this was accompanied by a long,
> drawn-out over-tapping of community resources. At their worst, through
> volunteer labor and constant appeals for donations, grassroots projects have
> a tendency to drain the communities that support them, undercutting their
> local empowerment mission. Our business model - supporting not-for-profit
> programs with ethical entrepreneurship - is designed to avoid this. We
> consider it a great success that even in the midst of an historic economic
> meltdown, we have never asked the community to bail us out.
>
> At the end of the day, our survival depends on our ability to compete as a
> local cafe bookstore. This is a tough local market with lots of great
> business already in it, but we have something that they don't: a radical
> commitment to participatory society and workplace democracy. When we
> opened, we knew that our success was dependent on community support, based
> on these shared values.
> How You Can Support Us.
>
> Unfortunately, we find that our resources are underused and undersupported.
> Perhaps we haven't done a good job of promoting ourselves, of letting you
> know what we have to offer you as a community member.
>
> As always, the biggest way that you can support Firestorm is by utilizing
> our space for what it was intended: meetings, presentations, forums,
> celebrations and performances. Just seeing you come in and engage with our
> project keeps our fires burning!
>
> Additionally, we believe that many people could support us financially
> without it costing them anything. We're not asking folks to spend more
> money on things they don't need; rather, we're asking them to redirect money
> they already intend to spend. Next time you need a cup of coffee, a bite
> to eat, a new book, a gift for a friend or family member... please consider
> stepping into Firestorm Cafe & Books before another coffeeshop, restaurant
> or bookstore. You won't spend any additional money (you might even save
> some), but you'll be playing a critical role in sustaining our good work.
>
> The holidays are a great opportunity to put this into practice and, with
> the economy stagnating and our winter bills increasing, we desperately need
> your support to survive.
>
> To those of you who have already made us a part of your life - as
> participants in our events, patrons of our business or advocates for our
> work - we extend an enormous thank you! Without your dedicated support, our
> present success would never have been possible.
> Why You Should Support Us.
>
> In case we have totally failed at communicating our awesomeness to you,
> here is a quick recap:
>
> - *Open Community Space* - We host all-manner of grassroots happenings
> including special events and regularly scheduled meetings (eg. the Asheville
> Local Exchange Trading System, the Asheville Homeless Network, Copwatch, the
> Global Report, Rising Tide, the WNC Linux Users Group and more).
> Additionally, we offer free wifi and Internet terminals for those who don't
> own laptops.
> - *Inclusive Community Focus* - We strive to create a space in which
> the widest range of Ashevillans can rub elbows, taking pains to address
> community concerns and issues of disenfranchisement and profiling.
> - *Cooperative Ownership* - We are part of a growing movement for
> workplace democracy, embracing a radical "horizontal" structure in which all
> decisions are made by consensus, management responsibilities are shared and
> wages are equalized.
> - *Local, Organic and Fair Trade* - Our awesome menu is dominated by
> high quality ingredients that are ethically sourced to promote our values
> throughout the supply chain. This includes 100% local and organic milk,
> organic and fairly traded coffee and teas, organic and locally milled
> flours, cooperatively produced tofu and much more!
> - *Community Investment* - We are committed to a not-for-profit model
> in which 100% of earnings will be returned to the community through a grant
> program once we are able to compensate labor at a living wage.(7206 unread) Yahoo! Mail, crabtreeto