Maker Nexus Makerspace: Difference between revisions

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===Day Passes===
===Day Passes===
At this time we do not offer day passes to the makerspace. We have considered this but our financial model would require a day pass to be so expensive that no one would actually buy them.  
At this time we do not offer day passes to the makerspace. We have considered this but we have several concerns. Many of our members only use the shop one or two days a month so our financial model would require a day pass to be so expensive that we feel no one would actually buy them. Secondly, if a person were to "save up" a number of projects and then buy a day pass we think they would expect a lot of machine access in that one day, which could block regular members from using the equipment. Imagine a person who buys an expensive day pass to use the laser cutters - how much time should we give them on our busy lasers? Would a day pass user expect six hours of laser time that one day? Or a day pass user comes into the woodshop - would they monopolize the space making it uncomfortable for regular members?
 
For these reasons we do not offer day passes.


===Other Levels===
===Other Levels===

Revision as of 11:18, 21 February 2020

(Information about the Maker Nexus organization's makerspace will be provided here. If you register with this wiki you can click the star at the top right to "watch" this page. If you do this then you will get an email whenever this page is updated.)

New members go to the MN New Member page to get started.

The Takeaway

For those who need the quick summary:

  • Non-profit organization
  • Makerspace: 234 East Caribbean Drive, Sunnyvale, CA 94089 / 408.685.2500
  • Open Wednesday - Sunday 10 AM - 10PM
  • A few paid staff members for support & maintenance, but a very lean organization
  • Rely heavily on volunteers
  • $150/month membership
  • Everyone has to pitch in to make this work

We hope that you, the reader, will join us in growing a healthy makerspace for everyone.

Our Mission

We believe that everyone sees opportunities to improve their world but most people lack the tools and skills to make those improvements. For some people it's a better Halloween costume; for others it's a way to provide clean water to remote villages. Maker Nexus helps everyone to gain the skills and use the tools they need to realize their dreams.

Maker Nexus is a non-profit with a mission to provide education in woodworking, textiles, metalworking, and other vocational skills and hobby crafts, and promote the same in the community. We do this by providing a community makerspace and training that serves all experience levels from hobbyists to professionals. Our goal is to help each person improve their skills whether as STEAM/STEM teen, life enrichment, job skill acquisition, or new entrepreneur.

We also work to help other non-profit makerspaces. Our classes, project sheets, governance documents, tool research, etc are all available to others under a Creative Commons license Makernexuswiki:Copyrights.

It's our hope that through Maker Nexus a plethora of good things will happen to our world.

Sometimes government officials ask how a makerspace can help their community at large. In response, we have a list of businesses that have been developed in a makerspace.

The Organization

Become a member, pledge your support, and track our progress on our website: MakerNexus.com

We are a California non-profit and classified by the IRS as a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization. Read our by laws. We are classified by the IRS as a public charity. You can view our tax returns by asking one of our general managers.

Read our officers' biographies.

Position Plans for board members, volunteers, contractors, and employees.

Become part of the team

The Makerspace

Address

234 East Caribbean Drive

Sunnyvale, CA 94089

408.685.2500

Current Status

Regular hours of Wednesday - Sunday, 10am - 10pm.

We welcome everyone to stop by and tour the makerspace. See the machines, look at the media room, feel the carpet under your feet.

Need a place to hold your maker oriented meetup? Come see our facility and consider holding it here.

  • Other resources
    • large tables where you can work on your project
    • computers with design software (Adobe suite, Corel Draw end more) - our internet speed is very, very limited at this time
    • 10 person conference room
    • 12 person computer lab
    • 30 person event room

Members may reserve equipment.

In the clean area, projects are limited to things you can do over carpet. No sanding, no wet work, etc. Other work must be done in the cement floor areas. If you have a question about a project, ask any of our staff or volunteers.

Getting certified to use equipment

If you know how to use a piece of equipment, we offer a short checkoff test with a proctor. You may arrange for a test by talking with any staff members or by posting on the appropriate Slack channel (e.g. #lasercutters, #textiles, #3dprinters)

If you need to learn to use a piece of equipment, no problem - we'll teach you! We offer Basic Operation and Safety Standard (BOSS) classes for all our equipment. These short seminars will take you from a no-nothing to a user of the machine in just an hour or two. BOSS classes are posted on Activity Hero. You can also arrange an ad hoc BOSS class by posting on the appropriate Slack channel (e.g. #lasercutters, #textiles, #3dprinters). Just post "I'd like to arrange for a BOSS class on <<put the machine name here>>"

Next Steps

We are working to open the additional "dirty shop" build tables.

We have some metal machining tools, but they are not online yet. We have some planning and work to do before we can allow metal working. We do not allow welding.

Important Information

Maker Memberships

We offer Maker Memberships that give access to the shop. (Different than a non-profit "membership" where you are really just donating to support the mission.) Maker Memberships are not tax-deductible.

You can stop your membership at any time by emailing info@makernexus.org. However our makerspace really needs continued monthly memberships. Without that dependable revenue we would not be able to keep the doors open. Because of this we are not able to stop and start memberships every month. We allow a member to stop/restart their membership once every 12 months without penalty. If a member wants to restart their membership a second time, there is a one-time $150 fee in addition to the monthly membership.

  • Age Limitations
    • Anyone aged 16 or older can hold a membership and use the shop.
    • Clean shop
      • Under the age of 10 may not be in the makerspace except on a tour or as part of a scheduled class.
      • Ages 10-16 may be in the clean shop if they are in the care of a parent. They may not operate machines alone.
      • Over age 16 may use the clean shop.
    • Woodshop
      • Under the age of 12 may be in the woodshop ONLY if they are accompanied by a Maker Nexus instructor.
      • Under the age of 12 may NOT accompany a parent in the woodshop.
      • Ages 12-16 may only be in the woodshop if they are under the constant supervision of a parent.
      • Over age 16 may use the woodshop.

Entry Level

  • $75 / month.
  • Access to workspace, textiles, computers
  • No machine reservation
  • No access to CNC machines or lasers or woodshop
  • No storage

Hobbyist

  • $150 / month
  • All of Entry Level
  • Access to all machines with some time limits per week
  • May rent storage as available
  • Most popular level

Family Add-on

  • Requires one parent with a Hobbyist membership
  • Additional children between the ages of 10 and 21: $50 / month
  • Second adult: $50 / month

The process to set up a family add-on membership:

  1. Have the family member register at our self service portal.
  2. Send an email to info@makernexus.org giving us the person's name
  3. We will set up a family add-on membership and send them a welcome package
  4. Log back in to the self service portal and use the left menu to go to Invoices / Open Invoices. Supply a credit card to pay the invoice.


On a side note... When we talk about needing a number of members to become self sustaining, that assumes members paying $150 a month each. The family membership is a deal. If it is within your means, families might like to consider making a regular monthly tax deductible donation to Maker Nexus.

Student

  • $100 / month
  • Requires proof of current full time enrollment
  • Largely the same as Hobbyist
  • Age restrictions on some equipment

Day Passes

At this time we do not offer day passes to the makerspace. We have considered this but we have several concerns. Many of our members only use the shop one or two days a month so our financial model would require a day pass to be so expensive that we feel no one would actually buy them. Secondly, if a person were to "save up" a number of projects and then buy a day pass we think they would expect a lot of machine access in that one day, which could block regular members from using the equipment. Imagine a person who buys an expensive day pass to use the laser cutters - how much time should we give them on our busy lasers? Would a day pass user expect six hours of laser time that one day? Or a day pass user comes into the woodshop - would they monopolize the space making it uncomfortable for regular members?

For these reasons we do not offer day passes.

Other Levels

We have considered other Maker Membership levels that would cost more and give access to more equipment hours per week, or access to specialized equipment. We have called these levels "Pro" and "Start Up" but we have not come to any hard decisions. Your feedback will help us design these to suit the community best.

New Members

If you are new to Maker Nexus, welcome. All the communication tools can seem a bit overwhelming at first. Please visit our new member page.

Clubs and Groups

We have a number of groups running within our organization. Read about them on the MN Clubs and Groups page.

Event space & meet ups

We are making our Event room available for use to non-profit organisation - if you want to have a meet-up, conference, presentation - you can book it for free: https://www.makernexus.com/reservearoom

How to Help

We have a flier you can put up anywhere you think potential members will see it.

More Details

Finances

If you are into finance details, our member reports have info on the last month's income and expenses. If you want a peek at the more full financial model for the year, ask and we'll supply it to you. It changes periodically and we will want to get you the latest version.

Organization's History

Maker Nexus History