Episode 11: Inside 10Bitworks: San Antonio’s Nonprofit Makerspace Built on Community

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Welcome to another episode of Beyond Giving, the best nonprofit podcast on the Boost Network sponsored by Nonprofits HQ. Today we’ve got an exciting conversation with San Antonio’s largest member-supported nonprofit makerspace, 10 Bit Works.

00:17

Awesome. Thank you so much, Greg and Connor for joining us on Beyond Giving. It’s really great to have you on the show and I’m really excited to learn a little bit more about Tenbit and kind of your backgrounds.  Let’s start with some introductions. Like, tell us who you are and how you ended up at the Makerspace. Sure. Yeah,  I’m Connor. um I wound up in the Makerspace because I was working on a shuttle bus conversion and um

00:46

buying a lot of tools  and a lot of those tools were expensive and I only needed  once  for like one project.  And um I was like,  and why can’t we just share tools, know, like a library or something.  And then I remembered the concept of a makerspace, which  was not something that  I had anywhere near me when I lived in rural Jersey. So. um What is a makerspace?

01:14

Makerspace  is a place.  It’s kind of like a library of tools and machines and equipment um Except it’s some of them you check out but  we don’t really have that you go there and you work on your stuff there Which is  great that ten bit works is downtown where a lot of people have apartments and don’t have room or garages or anything like that um And so you have  a little bit of everything you got wood shop metal shop 3d printing uh we have

01:44

Other things like ceramics  and laser cutting and there’s a lot of stuff that you probably wouldn’t have um access to. You probably couldn’t afford on your own and probably don’t need to use every day. So it just really makes sense to share. um It’s kind uh of uh like a gym membership or something like that.  know, could have a much bigger gym than you would have at home, but. Call it a community workshop.

02:14

Basically a community workshop with all the tools and equipment you might need to build practically anything. So you just buy a membership and then you have access to the tools and the different things to work on your projects? Yeah. And on top of that, there’s, you know, with our membership, we have a lot of mentors, you know, so if you don’t know how to do something like when I first came to the makerspace, I, I had an idea in my mind  and I knew that it could be done with the CNC machine, but I’d

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didn’t know how to operate that equipment or really what was involved. And so when I got there,  Don was there and he was like, well, you gotta do this and you gotta do that and you gotta learn this software and that, and, I was like, okay, well,  um, and he was like, well, I’ll teach you. And so he sat down and he taught me how to do  exactly what I needed to do. And I didn’t really learn much the first time. Um, but it kind of gave me the bug.

03:11

And I had, you know, other things that I wanted to do. And one thing led to another.  And I was like, wow, this is, this is great. And I build all kinds of stuff in the space. That’s such a super important component too, right? Cause you’re going to have access to all these tools and all these machines that you can hurt yourself or hurt somebody or burn down the building or whatever. Right. But learning, uh having the support from experienced people to understand how to use them correctly and safely to complete your projects  is, is amazing.

03:38

So what about your background a little bit, Greg? How did you wind up on the board at 10 bit works? Well, my background is in marketing.  I  was a marketing consultant for years and prior to that kind of just been in a lot of different forms of marketing over the years. um And so  I wound up on the board just because  I wanted to give back to the maker space. You know, I wanted to be part of

04:08

making sure that the makerspace lasted and was there for a long time because I love it. I love the community. I love being able to enjoy what we have available to everyone. And I wanted to help to make sure that we were around for a long time.  that’s how I… So then you leverage your marketing skills probably through your board service? Yes.  Absolutely. And that’s kind of like we just…

04:37

We just had a big fundraising event that was our 15 year anniversary. 15 years, wow, congratulations. And that went off really well. And I  utilized my, not just marketing skills, but just skills as  a business owner in the past and as someone who’s been involved in community outreach in the past. I  used those skills to help us find donors  for some of the… um

05:06

the items that we had at our auction and to get cash donations, et cetera, et cetera. Okay. And so how did you come across 10 bit works just in general? Like you’re this marketing guy, right?  Oh, Google. So you found it online. You’re working on a project.  Yeah, I was actually building  just, it was something really simple. was just a face plate for an amplifier. kind of into hi-fi and I was, build, I DIY speakers and amplifiers  and I was making a

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wanted to make a wooden faceplate that had  some curves to it and had a name engraved and stuff like that. um first I started reaching out, was like, oh, I can just maybe have somebody do  this for me on the CNC machine. And it was like  really expensive to have something, a one-off like that done, you know? And I was like, huh, well, I guess I’m not going to do that.  And…

06:03

Then  I thought, well, I wonder if there’s some kind of, oh, I remembered  learning about a makerspace some years prior. It just popped into my head. was like, oh, this library that I used to be a member at had a makerspace and they had like a little CNC machine up there. I wonder if there’s a makerspace near me.  Nice. That’s pretty much the same. I did a search and there was, you know, there’s actually three in San Antonio.

06:32

One of them, wasn’t, they were only open on Fridays or something and I don’t know, the other one didn’t have a CNC machine or something like that or I could try to call and they didn’t answer. So when do you have access to 10-bit? Like when can members come in and work on their projects? 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 24 hours. Wow. As long as you’re familiar with the tools that you need to use.

07:00

You can come in and use them anytime. We provide our members with an access card and they can just come and go as they please, which is one of the nice things about bake space. Cause you don’t, even if you work a nine to five and you’re busy on the weekends, maybe you want to just come at night or early in the morning before your job. Lots of people do that. it’s funny. There’s members that I’ve been around for almost three years now and there’s members that I’ve just met for the first time.

07:29

because they only come at night and I’m  hardly ever there at night. know, definitely. that’s such an interesting  benefit too. So, you know, full disclosure, I am a member of 10 bit and that’s how I kind of, um,  uh, uh, uh met you guys. like when the first time I went through or toward the space, I was like, wow, this is amazing. But the problem is I work all day. Right.  And then, so when do I actually get to work on these projects? And then as we toured the space and learn more about this, the, different tools can go in at one o’clock in the morning when I

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wrapped up whatever work I procrastinated on in the day, you know, to get it done, which is exciting. But on the track of kind of interesting projects, Connor, you mentioned that you’re rebuilding your, you’re doing your van rebuild or something. And that project is kind of how  you found 10 bits. So tell us a little bit about that and like the scale of that project and what 10 bit makerspace has kind of enabled you to do with that. Oh yeah. Cool. Um,  I got interested in like van life  many years ago  and was watching a lot of videos and stuff like that.

08:29

I certainly can afford like an RV or something like that, but  the van was a little too small. You know, I wanted something that would be  big enough to stand up in and have bathroom and shower and stuff like that. And then I discovered people converting shuttle buses. And I was like, that’s perfect. Shuttle bus can still fit in a normal parking spot. So I brought it here today. uh the process has been  pretty crazy because I like to customize everything.

08:58

Um, so I stripped it down,  took all the walls and ceiling and floor and everything out and then put in,  uh, it’s closed cell spray foam insulation. then, um,  I’m seeing,  seeing CNC-ing my floor right now. Um,  I have a lot of ideas of, of soundproofing. I’m trying to make the  interior sort of like studio quality soundproof,  um, both for recording,  uh, but also for, uh, sleeping.

09:28

And um so,  yeah, I guess the biggest  story with that when I realized this was a good idea is when, um first of all, at the time that I joined, we still had an automotive section. We had the downsize, so we don’t have that anymore, but  I could pull in there and  do some welding. um But also,  we were talking about  the community. I feel like people come for the equipment, but stay for the community. um

09:58

I learned  metalworking just from members, just from other members. um And so I had this project of trying to cover the roof with solar panels and there’s no mount points on the roof. The roof is curved. There’s a whole lot of reasons why this was hard or  inadvisable. um But  I learned how to  order metal cheaply from suppliers.  I learned how to cut it up.

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Even some welding and then I made a roof rack for my shuttle bus  and filled it with solar panels. So  I’m pretty proud of that. And it’s like aluminum, so it’s light. It’s the whole thing costs way less than if I were to buy something, even if I were to buy something that was templated for an actual van, which I can’t do because  this is a specific roof shape and has no mount points and all that kind of stuff. So  I’m really proud of that.

10:55

And I’m still interested in getting better with welding. That’s one of the skills I just did not have before joining 10-bit because I have some experience in wood shop and engineering and 3D printing is really my jam. I’ve been doing that since it started to get big over a decade ago. But…

11:20

but I really liked the idea of having everything metal so that it’s strong and like aluminum so that it’s waterproof and yeah. Then CNC, oh my gosh, can totally make custom parts. both have mentioned the CNC machine. What is that for our listeners? What is a CNC machine and what can you do with it? It’s my favorite tool. Yeah, Greg’s gonna give some classes on CNC. Yeah, I’ll let him answer that. The CNC machine is a…

11:50

This particular CNC machine is a uh CNC router, is uh kind of like a drill, has a bit at the end and it carves into  material. So  you can cut  and or carve different materials, primarily wood uh and some uh lighter metals  for the one that we have.  But the cool thing about it is that uh it makes building

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complicated or even simple, well,  wood pieces or metal pieces,  just a thousand times easier than like traditional methods where you would have to like really tightly measure everything and  figure, you know, make sure that your huts were exactly straight and stuff like that. This, the machine does all that for you. Design it in the software. going to come out exactly like your design. Right.

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It’s like  a drill, but it’s a drill on  a small, huge, trying to two axes in it, like a 3D printer.  Up and down, left and right. So you can very easily get some pretty precise cuts to then assemble your project or whatever it is after. Okay.  It’s also real sidearm with the drill. Yeah. And so we’ve kind of, we’ve already established the CNC machine is your favorite, right? And so

13:14

My next question for you folks is going to be, you know, all the things in the maker space. got 3d printing, you’ve got the CNC, you’ve got laser burning, you’ve got table saws, all this welding, glass blowing, all this stuff that happens at 10 minutes. What is your favorite area to work in and what is, what is the favorite tool that you have in the space? Yeah, for me, it’s the CNC machine for sure. Um, and I, and I still like, I, it’s my favorite now just because probably, probably because I use it the most. Um,

13:44

But I’m definitely interested in  using some of the other stuff more. really want to learn to weld,  use the 3D printers a little more.  I I can fiddle my way around,  but not very  fluid with those machines yet. But… Cher,  I don’t think I’ve ever thought of what’s my favorite tools in the shop.  If we had done even better at the anniversary, we were going to buy a laser welder, which…

14:13

would definitely have been my favorite.  And especially because the one we picked out can also be put on the CNC so you can use it to cut stuff precisely, which would be game changing. still still open for that. But what I’ve used the most probably is  the  vertical bandsaw in  metal shops. it’s kind of like a bandsaw  that,  you know, a blade that stays

14:41

vertical and is moving except this one  is on  a gantry.  basically it falls.  It falls onto your material and then basically chops it  with its own with gravity. Oh, really? So when I cut up the metal for my refract, I had these like 20 sheet pieces of aluminum like crazy long figured out the exact length. And then I put them in this machine  and it’s super slow and casual.  And it just like

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slowly carves through it. Interesting. With its own weight until it’s done. And then what I thought was really cool because I ended up fixing up and repairing them. got a second one. Like this was a big part of the project is that when it hits the bottom and it’s gone all the way through the piece, it actually has a little tab that pushes its own off switch. So you can tell from distance up it’s done. So.

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Probably not a popular pick, but that’s  something I’ve used a lot and  I haven’t gotten to use the CNC or the laser that much yet.  But eventually  I’ll definitely get there because I’m good with computer design of  stuff. Yeah. One of the things I like too is that  when I first started going there, one of the things I was told was, might want to just bring your own  hand tools and stuff like that.

16:07

Now we’ve gotten a space so well organized and  we have tons and tons of tools. So I never even have to bring my tools anymore. There’s pretty much  anything you need, tape measures and hammers and you need uh a certain kind of fastener. It’s like, swear we have a thousand different kinds of fasteners or screws and nuts and bolts. That’s a development. It’s to be printing all different colors and calipers. um

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I don’t know all the different kinds of air tools. So all the stuff you can need to complete a project. Oh, yeah, that’s pretty cool. That’ll take a round enough. You’re gonna find a tool. And that’s all included in the membership. Awesome. So you have all of these benefits with Tenbit makerspace. You’ve got 24 hour access. What does it actually cost to become a member? Yeah, so our dues for membership are $75 a month right now.

17:05

It went up a little while ago and probably won’t go up for a long time. But everyone pays the same and it’s sort of the benefit of being a 501c3 nonprofit we have, which not a lot of makerspaces are and some of them don’t last as long as we have. But if you have a bunch of people in your house and you want to let them in, then I think that’s 85. 100. Oh, it’s 100.

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a hundred a month and then there’s also a business membership, which is 150. And that’s pretty much it right now. So almost everyone is just an individual member, seven, five dollars a month and you can come never, which would be fine by us to just be a sponsor. We appreciate the donation or you could come every day and it costs the same. Yeah, that’s awesome. So we’ll go.

17:58

I had never 3D printed anything and I used 10 bit, I used 10 bit a lot for like 3D printing and playing around with that. I had never 3D printed anything. And then I spent an afternoon with, it was Beans and then there was another guy in there and I can’t remember the name. Ken maybe? Ken. Yeah. I spent an afternoon with them and now I’m like understanding how to set the trees supporting and how to actually plan these 3D printing things, right? So that’s really cool. And all for that $75 membership is solid.

18:28

So how do  you guys are a nonprofit? Which means you’ve got to think about what funding looks like you’ve got a you know You have these incentives to bring funding in this tax incentive, you know deductibility for donors things like that How aside from memberships do you guys fund your space and what does that currently look like for 10-bit? Well,  I think historically what’s happened at 10-bit has been  members

18:56

become donors as well. And  that has kind of been typical for the space for the most part. um We’re trying to change that a little bit more now and to be more proactive in uh reaching outside of our membership for donations  and the like. so that’s, especially now that our,  we had a rent increase this year  and it’s looking like we

19:23

We really, it makes more sense for us to move into a  newer space.  So we’re looking at that possibility, which inherently is going to create  this  situation where we need to fundraise more.  We need more money, not just  to make the move, but  also moves are just expensive in general. The move you’re going to need, we’re going to need thanks once we get there.  And so, yeah, that’s…

19:53

That’s uh part of what we’re working on as  relatively new members of the board we’ve been since July. Something like that.  It’s hard and uh we don’t necessarily have an answer to that um because yeah, our rent pretty much doubled  and we have uh our membership,  our member dues come in and go to rent. So.

20:21

All of, most of our equipment was donated by members over the 15 years.  Um, so it’s pretty much like this very much a break even operation right now.  I think that’s like speaks a lot to what the space is and the community,  uh, kind of impact of the space too though. Right. You have these members that pay memberships to be there. Right.  Um, they’re actively involved. They become donors as well to support the space even beyond their membership. Like that’s pretty amazing, uh, just by itself.

20:50

Um, so you mentioned this, uh, need to move, right? What does that currently look like? You’re currently located near downtown in San Antonio, right? So where are you kind of looking to move and what are the, what is the stuff you need to kind of cover or fund for that move? Well, ideally, I think we would find a space that’s nearby  where we are. think part of, well, definitely part of the community that we serve as the arts community and being in South town.

21:19

in the arts community in San Antonio has been a, I think it’s been good for us and good for the community itself. We have a lot of people come in, you know, when Luminary is going on or coming up to build, you know, big projects like that for those events. We have a lot of arts members who are in the arts who come in and create their crafts that they go in and sell at shows and.

21:48

weekend markets and stuff like that. So being in the, the arts area, you know, is,  something that’s important to us. So we hope to find a  place  that’s, you know, that will, that’s suitable for our needs in the, in the area. That said, you know, we’re, we’re open to moving, you know, not too far, but somewhere within San Antonio. Our  ideal situation will be.

22:17

would be someplace that has climate control. That’s one of the things that makes holding onto members difficult, especially in the summer. Yeah. Is the fact that we’re, the majority of our space is not climate control and you know how hot it gets here. Definitely. Yeah. We might not be able to afford a building that has climate control already, but we were looking at just having a normal building.

22:46

wall, brick walls or  concrete or you know, there’s a lot of industrial space that has like these strong sturdy walls that just don’t necessarily  radiate heat like our tin wheel of wheel in a tin can or this this warehouse with with metal there’s no  there’s a gap above it like there’s it’s just basically outside but a hotter  um  and so yeah  this is Texas there are several months during the year where outside but hotter means that nobody wants to

23:16

be there  working on their projects. so uh we have people leave because of that and that,  sinks. um the number one  ask would just be  a real building. um Ideally not shared with like three or four other businesses because we had this crazy situation where we pay the electric  and the water and  for everybody. um But um

23:45

Also,  it’d be nice to have the automotive section back. So it’d be nice. A lot of the places we’re looking at do have day doors. um And uh it would be nice to um have three-phase power. There’s a couple of things that would be nice to have, um but yeah, right now  the cost is looking like no matter what we do, if we want a similar amount of space,  it’s going to cost more.

24:15

So we got an increased membership. And then one thing that we can do that  was done apparently uh many years ago before I was here before COVID um is to  allow renting of some of the space to members who want their own station, especially if they’re business members and stuff.  So then we can sort of like…

24:36

recoup some the cost if we get a place that’s actually a little bit more square footage than we need then that’s perfect versus the opposite so yeah because that can generate some additional revenue help fund things um you might also have space for like a shop right people use wood people use things like that maybe you can kind of sell those  uh on site as well things like that could be really cool so total cost what it’s going to take you guys what you need to raise in order to get into a new spot what are we looking what are we like the move itself is probably in the in the neighborhood

25:05

$17,000 is um what we’re estimating. um We’re  shooting for around $30,000 to,  and that would give us the move plus  a new kind of piece of, a new piece of equipment that we could use to entice  new members. um

25:32

something that would replace or be would augment our current laser engraver, um which is about 12 years old. So it’s not, mean, even though it is like uh a industrial machine and something that you couldn’t, you oh can’t buy as a consumer model of, um it  is getting a little long in the tooth. So  we want to, you know, augment that with

26:01

a newer piece of equipment that we can also attract new people with. But at the end of the day, our dream is to raise $45,000 and that would give us a little bit of cushion after the move and give us some breathing room so we can focus on things like fundraising and like making the space more attractive and inviting to, you know, certain types of members. Right now,

26:30

I think in order to be  a member at 10-bit, you have to be willing to accept that the place is not, you know, it’s kind of a gritty workshop.  It’s like a garage. It’s a garage. It’s a place where you go and build stuff and it’s, you know, um, there are other maker spaces like assembly and Austin that are beautiful and have, you know, tons of

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really nice new equipment and all that kind of stuff. course, no dirt on the ground. charge double we do. So $45,000 is your fundraising goal. So how can people contribute to that? Where can they donate? If you go to our website, there’s a button at the top that says donate. 10bitworks.com slash donate. Yeah, 10bitworks.com slash donate.

27:20

Perfect. And so people can learn kind of more about what the transition fund looks like, how, what you’re trying to do and contribute there. Yeah. Um, that’s awesome. Now, so changing gears just a little bit.  Um, you guys have talked through like several different components of the maker space, right? You both serve on the board of directors. So what  is, what is it like just a day to day kind of managing this and keeping everything like running, right? Chaotic.  Yeah.  Um, the.

27:49

Board of Directors is sort of  what it’s called for being a 501c3, but at least right now our Board of Directors is our staff, basically. So hopefully I’m hoping to  get a lot of the willing volunteers involved and to just call that staff and sort of like separate from the board.  But  historically it’s basically just been the board is, yeah, the people who are our

28:18

working and running the place. uh And it’s a little bit  chaotic. um There’s a lot of people to meet. um Generally,  we have to be around more than anyone. um And  we have to stop what we’re doing to introduce  ourselves to new people and to hopefully onboard them or give them a tour or whatever,  which is just super important. um And I feel like I’ve gotten

28:47

pretty good at it, but it’s now been long enough that I’ve started to forget some of the things that. But then we have meetings. One of the things I did when I became president is I doubled it. We had meetings every month. Now it’s every two weeks. we still go over every time. It’s like, there’s just so much to talk about and so much to do. And

29:15

It’s uh very, everyone’s got different schedules.  So while we do have a lot of asynchronous communication on our Slack, uh there’s just a lot of things like brainstorming and whatnot that just more efficient in doing in-person. So we talk about um things like we want to route new power, um where we just started  various projects to route 220 volt power to  some  new machines and old machines that can have them to run better.

29:44

Um, we talk about what to do about rent  and,  um, and looking for new spaces.  Um, we spent the whole, you know, last month,  uh, planning for this anniversary event. So,  um, that kind of took over everything for a while.  Um,  and, uh, we had food  vendors, we had,  uh, t-shirts like these,  um, made on the spot. Oh, cool. Yeah. This, this is, uh, this is pretty sick. That was, that was Greg’s idea. Um.

30:14

And there was all sorts of shirt colors and sizes available. But since he was screen printing them on the spot, which I’ve never seen that before, it was like a shirt microwave. I just took one of my shirts and I added it to him. I’m like, can you put it on this? And he’s like, yeah, sure. but that event took all of us and it was a planned.

30:42

last minute, it was fine like, you know, a month before. So, and now we’re gearing up for the winter. We have a conditional gracious donation from our landlord for a thousand dollars a month. Once after you raise the rent that lasts a year. so

31:09

Whether we move or not, it’s going to cost $1,000 more in a couple of months. So we’re really trying to uh figure out that move. uh No matter where we go, probably be a little bit further away for some people, unfortunately, but it might be closer to others.  And there’s a lot  of good industrial zones. So  I totally forget the question on…

31:33

Yeah, so we’re just talking about kind of the chaos around keeping things organized and moving in a space like this. Well, I think  the other thing that I want to say is,  um, and I think we do a pretty good job at it, but you know, we are 100 % volunteer run organization. don’t have, there’s no one who works for the makerspace. We don’t have a payroll. No one gets any money for anything.  Matter of fact.

32:01

those of us who are the most involved and spend the most time also tend to come out of our pockets the most for different things. That said, I would love, you know, I would love it if we were able to onboard more members who were more engaged. And so if you’re someone who’s listening, if you want to be engaged in the community,

32:30

that  is all about  building stuff  and including the community itself.  We are here with open arms to accept you. So  that’s a really big  aspect of who we are and  our most favorite members are the ones who are the most involved. Yes, if you get involved, we will love you.

32:57

That’s probably the biggest thing from difference from like a library or something like it’s not just come in and use tools or read books and leave like Preferably you’re also Answering you know you’re helping other people maybe you’re really good at ceramics or you’re really good at woodworking and other people out that that’s what I get out of it is you know that Don Don is a one of longest term members of our community was part of the founding of group and he

33:27

He’s there every  Saturday,  Thursday, um every morning um and just like kind of waits for someone to walk in and then like teaches them how to do their own project. because he’s got a lot of like, had a line today.  Yeah. So sometimes he does line, but sometimes he doesn’t and no one comes in, but he’s there like, like Cockburg, very reliable. um And,  and I’ve m

33:56

Like I mentioned, I learned a lot about metalworking from the  metalworking uh experts. um I’ve helped a lot of people  from the very start with 3D printing because I came in knowing that, but I’m also excited because I’ve never had so many 3D printers and like so much filament. uh And my 3D printer is like old, so I use this filament that’s a lot thicker than what we’re using today. But…

34:25

Yeah, becoming involved in the community is also something that I’m thinking about  finding ways to incentivize as well,  because it’s  not quite a net neutral when um we have a member that comes in,  uses their whatever,  they’re like,  usually it’s just the one machine that they came for, maybe it’s a laser or something, and then leaves and then, ah and then we never see them.

34:53

Usually it’s fine because they’re paying member dues and whatnot. But sometimes they break something or sometimes they leave a mess and then we have to know 10-bit police. And so, so like when we’re talking about how community can evolve, how people can get involved. So becoming a member is kind of the first thing, right? That’s what, you we really want to drive for 10-bit is new membership. And for those that want to get involved or have the bandwidth or capacity, whatever it may be to get involved.

35:23

beyond just being a member and using the tools,  what are the specific things? You mentioned people with skill sets that can maybe teach classes or whatever, right? You mentioned 10-bit police, right? Helping keep the  space running and organized and ensuring that things cleaned up. What are maybe the few biggest needs that you need physically in the space for that? 10. uh Physically,  I think right now,

35:51

Currently we really need members who  are  electronics oriented. That’s an area that’s kind of declined over the last few years. It’s the area like upstairs directly over the office. Right, and that area’s kind of…  It’s missing a steward. Someone adopt that area. Yeah. The steward of that area because it’s kind of  a little disorganized now and not as like inviting for members to come in and are like, oh I…

36:19

would like to figure out how to fix my  whatever. em But I,  this  is  intimidating and I don’t know, it looks a mess and I don’t know what to do with it. We don’t really have anybody there  to assist. I may have found someone. I may have found someone. More members in that area.  But  if I had to be honest, the area that we could use the most help in is advisors for our board.

36:49

You’re a community member and you know how to, you know, you’ve been a member of a  professional board in the past, especially around fundraising. Please  come and meet with us and,  and help us grow.  I would probably say that no, we need manual laborers. That too.  People, know, one of our, we each, have these 10 rules and one of them is like,  is basically about leaving it better than you found it.  And.

37:19

That gets followed sometimes, um but uh unless everybody follows it, there’s always going to be some need for cleanup. so, um yeah, most people, again, leave when they’re done and that’s that. But a lot of  what I do, and it’s not like  a job of a Ford president or anything, civically, it’s cleaning up.  And so  we’ve…

37:46

gotten some cool new organization systems.  We had a member who uh was  very big on making uh efficient ways to have everything on display neatly, and so we made that big partition in the middle.  And uh we also have  another member who built a giant uh air filter.  So we’re trying to get…

38:13

cleaner in all these various ways and certainly it’d be easier in a newer space. But you don’t need to have any particular skills for that, right? You just need to have an eye for, you know, that’s out of place or that could be clean. So really there’s a lot of space to create whatever impact you want in 10-bit in the makerspace and then kind of that community. You just got to show up and be there. And the first step is signing up for a membership, which can happen at 10bitworks.com. Awesome.

38:41

Cool. what is, so you talked about the move, like before we kind of wrap up, what is like one final important bit of information that people should know about Tenbit? We love making stuff. Come  and make it.  Yeah. If you want to make it, we’ll help you. And so when are people typically available for, you know, potential members to stop by, learn more about what the space looks like, do tours? Weekends.

39:10

Yeah, the weekends are the best Saturday and Sunday from 9 till you know 3 o’clock in the afternoon usually  sometimes later um But if you can only make it during the week  come one of the days when dawn is there uh and that would be Saturday Sunday  Tuesday Tuesday Wednesday  Thursday like 9 to  1 ish now  and and we do have a phone

39:40

um It will rain a lot of people soon in good it  is uh And if you don’t get  anyone then do leave a message. Yeah, we have outs in the website We’re pretty good about responding to yeah Awesome. Cool. Well, thank you so much for joining us um Connor and Greg  on Beyond giving the best nonprofit show on the boost network sponsored by nonprofits HQ It was great getting to know you guys and learning more about 10-bit

40:09

um For all our viewers can get involved with 10bit at 10bitworks.com slash donate, help contribute to that donation fund, help contribute to that fundraising goal. uh yeah, awesome. Thanks for joining us guys. Thank you. Thank you. I like a shout.