Contribute to an AAPI & LGBTQIA Space in the HV

Harana Market is doubling-down on our commitment to the Hudson Valley and we are excited to invite our community to help us reach the finish line. Learn more about us and this project by watching this 4m video - and check out below for more words on how to participate in the fundraising campaign.

The Beginning

When we started Harana Market we cautiously signed a three-year lease and bootstrapped our way to opening with $20,000 of self-funded savings. We didn’t know much but we knew our “why” --

These “whys” have been our guiding light. We’ve poured our bodies, minds, and souls into this project and we are so proud of everything we’ve accomplished. We’ve fed over 10,000 of you - and over 1,200 of those meals were given away! Our space has become a gathering space for the community - hosting everything from plant exchanges to Filipino folk music to Queer Makers Market, Filipinx Tambay (social hours), kids’ Easter egg hunts, and more. People have day-tripped from as far as New Hampshire for lunch with us. Filipinos have cried tears of joy on our shop floor, Queers have come on small-town-picturesque dates, we’ve met and fallen in love with your kids… and we’re ready to keep doing this thing. But, our three-year lease is coming to an end and we are faced with the decision of “what’s next” for Harana Market.

Our story isn’t over yet AND it is time to move on from the almost 100-year-old country store where it all began.

Our current building in Woodstock is cute! Yes. But functional? No. If you’ve visited us, you already know that parking is barely there and that we have nowhere for customers to eat in cold or wet weather, and these fluctuations are disruptive. We don’t have adequate storage space and that means that we sell out of things too early and that everything is like a big game of Tetris, which costs us time, money, and team morale. The almost 100-year-old building is not ADA-friendly. We don’t have a proper place for our team to take breaks and we have to use our car parked outside the store as an office to take calls. We don’t have space or electrical capacity for a walk-in cooler. Shoot, we don’t even have space or electrical capacity for the fourth rice cooker we need. We make it work but not without a lot of inefficiencies, frustrations, and wasted dollars.

We know that if we are going to re-commit to the future of Harana, then we have to do it in a different and more sustainable way. So what’s next?

The Future Of Harana

We began looking for a new home in January 2022. We felt like Goldilocks - everything was either too small, too expensive, or too old. But when we saw the property at 5125 Route 209, we both knew immediately that this was the future of Harana.

This location checked every box on our wishlist - more capacity, adequate outdoor space, waterfront, room for indoor seating, commercial-grade infrastructure, and more. We quickly worked to secure a community-based loan to purchase the property and set off on the process to open Harana Market 2.0.

And… it’s happening! Our goal is to open Fall 2023. We’ve been meeting with the Town Planning board since the end of last year and we’re close to finished with that process. Simultaneously, we’re designing the space and working with our architect on schematics and construction specs. The site is in good condition but we have some work to do on the building between now and when we open to build out the market space, add a bathroom, and re-outfit the kitchen with commercial equipment and all the plumbing and electrical to support it.

Moving into this new space is a necessary next step for a sustainable Harana Market. We’re at the phase of the project where we need to raise the last chunk of money to help us finish the project.

This is why we’re here today asking directly for your help. We are clear on our vision and the future we’re investing in. We just need a little support to get there.

Community Funded Project

We have been a community-driven business since day one and our mission has always been much greater than our food. We are literally working to build the world we want to live in and our community has shown up to support and participate in that dream since the beginning. Proud doesn’t even begin to describe how we feel when we think about everything Harana Market has accomplished and the community of people that have done it alongside us. Thank you for contributing to and cherishing this space. Thank you for believing in us.

We’re putting a lot of ourselves on the line and believe deeply in Harana and we know, and are driven by, the social impact we are making on the area where we live. Yet, still, being this vulnerable on the internet is a reach outside our comfort zone - as much of the last few years have been - so we thank you for graciously receiving this call for help.

This is an $840,000 project and we are just almost 75% funded thanks to community-based loans. These community-based loans were offered with generous financing terms in the spirit of care for the Asian, Queer, and Trans Communities in the Hudson Valley. We are honored to have received this funding opportunity and it is because of these generous repayment terms that we have made it to this point in this project. We've never taken a loan for something like this before - and sure, it's a bit of a risk - but we know deep in our bones that who and what we're investing in continues to bring us closer to that type of world we want to live in.

That leaves us with the remaining 25%. We are looking to raise the necessary funds to put towards the finishing of this project which will contribute to the larger all-in budget required to complete the project. Whatever we don’t raise here, will come from more traditional loans. We are starting the goal for this campaign at $80,000.

We are raising money for:

You can support us by amplifying this campaign. Share this on your social media, email it to your friends and family, maybe even text it to your 3 closest co-workers. It will help us however you choose to get the word out. Strong engagement at the beginning of the campaign will help it pick up traction within the GoFundMe algorithm.

The odds are if you’re reading this, you’ve already supported us in so many ways - rooting us on and showing up for us during 1.0, donating to our community feed programs, showing up at the shop with surprise treats, or reminding us to take care of ourselves - but if you’re able to help us take this major next step, we will make sure that the impact of this contribution is truly felt.

Maraming, Maraming Salamat <3

With Love,

Chris & Eva

Harana Market

THE GOODIES

Unfortunately, we are no longer allowed to distribute goodies for this campaign.

If you have contributed an amount that qualifies for the goodie, you will still receive it. Please email us via our website if you have any questions.

Per GoFundMe’s Terms of Service (https://www.gofundme.com/terms), GoFundMe is not responsible for any offers, promises, rewards or promotions made or offered on GoFundMe fundraisers."