The Tool Library

Our campaign to purchase and renovate our home just took another GIGANTIC step forward thanks to a $100,000 gift from our friends at M&T Bank. That means we’re more than 86% of the way to our goal of purchasing 2626 Main Street! M&T Bank has been more than a sponsor and supporter. Their employees have been an integral part of making our programs, projects, and events possible since the earliest days of tool borrowing. As volunteers with our organization, they’ve dared to repair, planted thousands of trees and bulbs, brought public art to vacant spaces, moved mountains of mulch, cleaned up tons of trash, reorganized our shop, kept our members borrowing, and stewarded the shared spaces we all love. And with a home of our own and partners like M&T Bank, we've only just begun! #campaignfor2626 #borrowandbuild #ahomeofourown

Everyone deserves to live in a safe and healthy home. Whether you’re renovating and worried about lead-based paint or cleaning up after a flood, the tools needed to quickly and safely address these hazards can be expensive. Through the generous support of Lutheran Charities of WNY, we’ve been able to add over a dozen new healthy home tools to our inventory. This includes items like submersible pumps, air mowers, a HEPA air scrubber, and industrial dehumidifier, moisture meters, power steamers, and more. Thanks to Lutheran Charities of Western New York, our healthy homes tools have already been borrowed more than 240 times by over 133 individuals, mitigating home health hazards while saving our members $34,549 in tool costs. Sharing can allow us to build a world where everyone has access to the tools they need. Won’t you join us? #borrowandbuild

Becoming the long term stewards of our 120+ year old building is no small task - even as a tool library! But the prospect of repairing, restoring, and reimagining our home at 2626 Main Street has been made much more manageable thanks to our friends at FOS of CannonDesign who have provided us a pro-bono facility condition assessment. This assessment gives us a comprehensive top to bottom view of the building’s current state, helps us pinpoint immediate needs (we see you masonry in desperate need of repointing!), and plan for future priorities (hello, restored wood sash windows and rooftop solar!). We can’t thank the FOS team enough for arming us with this invaluable long-term planning tool and we can’t wait to make this historic gem shine. #ahomeofourown #fosftw

The Plot isn’t just our venue for this Saturday’s Gather, Garden + Grow Fundraiser and Garden Party, it’s also a member-made project built from the ground up with borrowed tools. Michael, Tool Library member and owner of The Plot Buffalo (https://lnkd.in/eeTcadAX), has worked over the past four years to transform this forgotten patch of grass into a small-scale cut flower farm where he can source more of his florals locally and affordably. Join us this Saturday, August 3rd from 6-8pm and help build a world where we share more of the tools our neighbors need. Grab your tickets: https://lnkd.in/eBasDxZZ (p.s. You'll have a chance to snatch some fresh-cut center pieces compliments of The Plot as part of our raffle)

Community Build Day in Hamlin Park with our Partners in Arms (and Tools), M&T Bank 💚 There’s nothing a group of people brought together around a common purpose and armed with shared tools can’t accomplish. Fences were stained, bushes were immaculately pruned, a mountain of mulch was moved and shared with neighbors. Thank you to all the volunteers and especially to our hosts at the Hamlin Park Community & Taxpayers Association for sharing their vision for a neighborhood made great by and for its people. #borrowtools #buildcommunity

📢 Our #Give716 Campaign Page is LIVE! ⚡ When you donate to The Tool Library, you’re not just contributing to a really cool cache of equipment, you’re investing in a vision of the future where life’s material needs are met collectively and provided as a common resource. Where individuals, organizations, and communities are empowered to build, create, and share. The Tool Library allows us to take care of ourselves, our homes, our communities, and one another. Help us continue to share the tools our neighbors need, repair the things we own, and build a home at 2626 Main Street by making a contribution to The Tool Library’s Give 716 Campaign Page. No gift is too small or big! Donate via our campaign link: https://lnkd.in/etNk_CbP Swipe through to learn how we'll put your donation to work! #borrowandbuild #themorewesharethemorewehave #thereisplentyifweshare

Dare to Repair is back THIS Saturday bringing free fixes to your lamps, vacuums, small appliances, and more! We'll also have fixers specializing in laptop/PC repair AND sewing machines. Bring in your destitute Dell or busted Brother and let's get you fixed! Learn a new skill, save money, and reduce waste! You can RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/esV4BgDD

For the past 13 years, we’ve empowered people and organizations across Western New York with the tools they need to fix their houses, grow their own food and improve their communities. 🛠 When we launched our capital campaign in April we asked the WNY community to help us build our own home at 2626 Main Street. We've been overwhelmed by the support of our community and reminded of the power of reciprocity. To date, our campaign has raised $308,420 thanks to the generosity of over 250 neighbors, friends and supporters. Major gifts have included $175,000 from the Junior League of Buffalo and The Buffalo News; $50,000 from the Cummings Foundation; $25,000 from the Paul and Dorothy Borenstein Memorial Foundation, and $5,000 from CannonDesign. As part of Phase 1 of the campaign, We are working to raise $500,000 to purchase the building before July 31st, when our lease expires. Large or small, your gift can have a BIG impact! Please consider making a financial contribution to The Tool Library’s Campaign to Buy 2626 Main Street. This can be done through one-time donations, monthly pledges, or matching gifts. For those who have already made a gift to make our dream of a permanent home possible - THANK YOU!!! Visit our campaign page to make a gift today: https://lnkd.in/gCaS8dww

📌 Save the Date, y'all! 📌 Your favorite Tool Library garden party and fundraiser is back on Saturday, August 3rd from 6-8pm. 💐 🌻 ✨ Gather with your fellow members, volunteers, neighbors, and supporters for an outdoor summer celebration of building stronger communities and a better world through the power of sharing. 🛠 Hosted at The Plot, an urban flower farm built with Tool Library tools, the event features dinner, drinks, fun, friends, flowers and so much more. We’ve got A LOT to celebrate this year friends! 🎟 Tickets are just $30 and available online: https://lnkd.in/enrv5j2V

🛠 🚨 WE'RE BUYING OUR BUILDING Y'ALL! 🚨 🛠 We're coming up on our one year anniversary since our move to 2626 Main Street and what a year it has been! We've grown our membership, expanded our inventory, and built new partnerships across the City. Now we have the opportunity to make 2626 Main Street our forever home. We are launching a capital campaign to raise $1 million for the purchase and renovation of our historic building at 2626 Main Street. Our campaign for 2626 Main Street is divided into two distinct phases. We are working to raise $500,000 as part of Phase 1 for acquisition of 2626 Main Street and an additional $500,000 as part of Phase 2 for critical renovations. You helped us move 4,500 tools in under 3 hours flat. Now we need you to help more than ever to ensure we have the firm foundation to continue building a sharing economy that focuses on meeting people’s basic needs, reducing inequality, and improving quality of life for all in WNY. Make a gift, create a peer-to-peer fundraiser, or share our campaign with your community and help us realize a home of our own! Make a donation online: https://lnkd.in/gCaS8dww Super rad rendering compliments of our board member Dylan Burns #borrowandbuild #campaigntobuy2626