Fab Lab Maker Residency

Our Artist / Maker Residency Program is made possible through tax-deductible donations made to Fat Cat Fab Lab through our partnership with e-NABLE. This program supports artists and makers directly, so please consider donating!

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Original Sponsored Membership Page text

HOW DO SPONSORED MEMBERSHIPS WORK?

You apply for a sponsored membership through this form. Applying is easy. All you have to do is tell a little but about yourself and what you want to work on. If you give us permission, we might highlight your story on our website, and social media to supercharge our fundraising effort at GlobalGiving.org.

Once sponsored, we’ll work with the highlighted members to submit project updates to the sponsors periodically. Otherwise, our teachers and facilitators will update sponsors with general updates about sponsored members who prefer to remain anonymous. Submitting this along with data about our impact keeps us in good standing at GlobalGiving.org.

WHEN DOES MY SPONSORED MEMBERSHIP BEGIN?

Applicants are awarded first come first served (if you have a deadline, please indicate it in your application and it will be considered). We will notify you when your turn is coming up! When we receive enough funds to cover your membership for two months, we’ll send you an email to confirm and your sponsored membership starts right away!

HOW LONG DOES MY SPONSORED MEMBERSHIP LAST?

Sponsored memberships last for two months; no more, no less. We want you to have enough time to complete some projects, but can’t fund you forever, unfortunately. If we raise a lot of money — through corporate sponsorship, for example — we’ll revisit this 🤞

Again...

None of this would be possible without the support of our fiscal sponsor, e-NABLE. Thank you, e-NABLE!!!

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scratch text notes & people's ideas pasted below -----

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from Damon Hamm -----

Another option is to have the membership only partially subsidized, so at least they have a tiny bit of skin in the game or are at least serious.

Or if still 100% free, we might want to collect payment information at the start (like a 'free trial') to minimize the friction of continuing or to act like a damage deposit if they destroy the laser, et al.

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from Diana G -----

In an effort to attract new members, this maker lab offers new applicants the unique opportunityfor a 2 month free membership. The lab offers one such membership every two months. Once you receive a membership you cannot apply a second time. Does the free member have to participate in say open houses 2x, do one work shop, and if they don’t the free membership converts to a paid. Put credit card on file. Application deadlines: March 1, May 1, July 1. When you have more than enough applicants (say 5) that are qualified you are allowed to useother factors to choose that you don’t need to disclose (shouldn’t). It’s fair game to consider any other factors, such as former and present conduct, or how much they might contribute, or even whether or not they would be committed to the lab post free membership and perhaps become a paying member if possible. If someone was previously expelled from membership for violating the code of conduct, they are excluded from consideration. Also you want to maybe get this grant again so you should award it with that in mind. Sometimes these grants get reviewed.

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from Dana Bell -----

Submittable is a really great platform for folks to submit to residencies if we can rig it up for fcfl. They also list residencies on their app. We could request a small fee to apply - which could be used for funds. Definitely list the opportunity on NYFA. Maybe on Wooloo.org too? I emailed Submittable to try to find out how to make a submission form.

I would list the residency maybe twice a year. For the long term it will seem like a more valuable residency that way (as opposed to a continuous cycle of them). Email blasts should also be done to advertise them.

After I applied and was asked to come for a residency, I did stay (I had been a member but not for more than a year). I may not have stayed otherwise. It was important for me to get back up to speed with the machines there during the stay.

I'm happy to create the application and then review applications (twice a year) along with two or three others to form a concensus, I think it should maybe be awarded based on previous work and the need for the tools at fcfl, as opposed to just a list that is gone through. I would be happy to ask some people to apply who seem like they would benefit.

I don't think we should call the program a sponsored membership, it sounds like Starbucks is sponsoring you or something like that. Too corporate. Can it be called a residency (that is supported with funds by XX) or something instead? Who are the funds from anyways?

Also thinking that if there are multiple residents at one time, their chosen tools should ideally not overlap, ie: if one person is focused on the laser then another should be focused on 3D printing, so as not to clog up the members' ability to maximize their use of these tools during the resident's stay. Of course if they organically morph onto another tool that is fine.