Assabet Co-op Market Bridge the Gap Campaign

What’s the Idea Behind the Plant Our Future Project?

As part of our larger construction work, we’re excited to announce Plant Our Future, an initiative to restore the beautiful Assabet Riverside behind our community-owned grocery store and support our fundraising needs!

This is a chance for you, our co-op supporters, to join your environmental values with our co-op’s significant funding needs. We know the donation levels for this initiative do not reflect the actual costs of each planting. Each donation is an opportunity to double our impact, planting a vibrant riverside ecosystem and moving our community-owned grocery store closer to Opening Day 2023. And the need is real…

As most folks know, we’re building a grocery store that is 100% community-owned and prioritizes local farms and producers. But manufacturing delays and an 80% increase in construction costs have left a $1.75 million funding gap. More than 2,000 owners, including dozens of local farmers, are counting on our co-op. We must close this gap before we open our grocery store to avoid significant debt and achieve our mission.

Please see the images below to choose your donation category, a beautiful native tree, shrub, birdhouse, pollinator plant, or seed packet. Donations will be recognized (that’s my tree!) and are tax-deductible. Then, join us in Spring 2023 for a community planting celebration!

Donate here and please leave a note about which plant you’re gifting. To donate by check, DAF, or other financial vehicles, please email [email redacted]p.

Let’s Plant our Future Together!

*Your donation ensures this riverfront restoration is completed, with the balance of gifts applied to our overall building project.

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The Co-op is launching our Bridge the Gap Fundraising Campaign, an opportunity to make tax-deductible donations to help raise an additional $1.75 million so we can open our doors.

The Challenge

We recently learned that a delay in the manufacturing/shipping of our refrigeration equipment will push our opening to Spring/Summer 2023.

Our Co-op is also experiencing explosive increases in construction costs, approximately 80%, since the completion of our Capital Campaign at the end of 2021, which have also been seen in building projects across the country. We have the resources to complete construction this fall, but it leaves us without the funds to hire staff, fill our shelves, and meet our operational needs. 

 

It is essential that we raise an additional $1.75 million in donations to open our Co-op on solid financial footing. We can do this! It is not the first time our amazing community has banded together to move us toward opening this store!! 

 

With the launch of this fundraising campaign in September, we are committed to building a cooperative grocery store that is as strong on Day 1 as Day 1,000. 

What Will Our Donations Do?

The Bridge the Gap Campaign is an opportunity for all Massachusetts residents, including co-op owners and non-owners, to make tax-deductible donations that specifically support:

• Covering the difference in cost overruns on construction, to hire staff, and purchase product

• Raise the pre-open cash that we need to function for an additional six months before opening

To Donate Now

Click DONATE NOW to make a tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor, Cooperative Development Institute.

Thank you for your support!