How Indie Bookstore Revolution Books Raised $32,299 This Summer

By Dianna Dilworth 

revolutionbooksRevolution Books, a community driven indie bookstore, successfully raised more than their $30,000 fundraising goal over the summer, in a fight to keep its West 26th Street location in Manhattan. Their outreach efforts helped the store raise $32,299, and they raised it just before their deadline.

To raise the money, the store did a lot of outreach and fundraising including hosting a benefit author series called, “Hidden Lives, Human Possibilities: Authors Present to Save Revolution Books.” Authors Edwidge Danticat, Walter Mosley,  and Henry Wiencek participated. The events brought in $1,800-$2,500 each. A book sale raised $1200.

Here is more from the store’s email newsletter:

But even with all that, by mid-September, the tally was still at $12,000 — with two weeks left till the deadline to raise $30,000. Where would the rest of it come from? The staff and volunteers stepped up calling, emailing, Face-booking and tweeting potential supporters and talking to everyone who came in the store. Right about then, a $10,000 donation came in from someone who had never contributed to the bookstore before. This put the goal well within range, brought in more donations, small and large, including one for almost $4000, which took the total to $32,299 by midnight on September 30.