DancingFish Events is Born

Everyone comes into our lives for a reason or a season. This week was a big week for forming new friendships and rethinking old ones.

I first heard about Mount Inspiration from another passenger who was also delayed 16 hours on our Allegiant flight from Minneapolis to Asheville on Sunday (well, Monday, in the end). She told me about a quintessentially Asheville establishment where the beer is always free and the dogs are always excited to have company. Kate and I entered the store on Monday and were almost knocked over by five overly enthusiastic slobbering puppers. We met Evans, the perpetually in motion Gemini behind the successful apparel brand called Mount Inspiration.

Evans took us under his wing this week. He told us where to get pizza and beers, and invited us to community nights at the store, which are held every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday night. At tie-dye night on Wednesday, I met three other amazing members of the Asheville community and started to feel like I had a sense for the place that I hope to one day call home.

Evans implements a pay-what-you-can model in his store - you are welcome (and pretty much required) to pay what you think an item is worth, although there a suggested retail price is listed to help you out with the decision.

Learn more about Mount Inspiration

As a nonprofit fundraiser and natural networker with an excess of mental energy, I started brainstorming ways to make Evans’s community nights even more successful and well-attended. The result is an idea for a new small business, which I am calling DancingFish (the name came to me during a massage at Urban Exhale Massage). DancingFish is here to help businesses and nonprofits spice up their events and fundraising events. I am proud to have adopted Mount Inspiration’s pay-what-you-can ethos.

If you or your business are looking for a little extra help planning your next community event or fundraiser, please reach out. I would love to support you in making your community feel as loved and supported as possible.

Peace, love and dancing,

Sarah

Antiracist Space Review: MBP

I've been avoiding MBP for a few months despite the glowing reviews from friends because I assumed that it would be out of my price range, being a climbing gym and all. But GREAT NEWS Y'ALL!! It's not nearly as expensive as I feared! Membership includes lots of bouldering options, yoga classes, a gym space, a chill space to work, a sauna, and even free towels to borrow. I mean seriously. They even throw in free shoe rentals if you ask nicely.

I have never seen a gym take accessibility (and antiracism) so seriously before. Everything that happens at MBP seems to be intended to increase the comfort of its diverse members. The yoga studio requires shirts to be worn. At first, I was confused, having come from CorePower Yoga most recently. But then I realized that not everyone likes being around shirtless people and that requiring shirts might be a way to make the space more comfortable for people.

I've been sad lately that I'm no longer able to afford membership at CorePower Yoga ($175

/ mo). Incredibly, MBP costs about half of what CorePower costs. In addition, they have different prices for different ages. The craziest part, in my opinion, is that I know that they could charge more than they do, and yet they choose not to. I've attached the price breakdown for Feb 2023 here, though, of course, it could change anytime. I especially love the young adult discount idea.

Adult Monthly Membership (24+) : $79

Young Adult Monthly Membership (14-23) : $69

Youth Monthly Membership (13 & under): $45

Start-up Fee : $50

So this brings me to my point: a gym (ideally a community space) cannot fully commit itself to antiracism without making its prices affordable enough for historically disadvantaged and marginalized people to afford. In my opinion, MBP has succeeded on this front - its facilities are exceptionally well maintained, affordable, and welcoming.

In more good news, I hear that Minneapolis does have such an antiracist and affordable yoga studio. It's called Radiant Yoga - go check them out!

Charity

"Too often charity is about the redemption of the giver, not the liberation of the receiver." Robert Egger, DC Central Kitchen

What is charitable giving and what does it mean to give? Who can we ethically ask for large donations? As a newly minted fundraiser, I'm thinking through all of this. I had a great conversation recently with a more senior fundraiser who told me about the concept of community-centric fundraising. It made me think more about the ethics of wealth management. If your money is sitting on a DAF accruing interest rather than in a mon-profit's bank account, is that ethical? How do we, as fundraisers, convince more people to leave less money to their children and more money to organizations that support their communities?

There's a lot to unpack there, but in case you're feeling the love, make a contribution to my work here: www.givemn.org/story/Vobs.