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.