Help Gnu Books Survive COVID-19

Hey folks. Brendan here. If you've shopped with us before, you may recognize me as the ridiculously tall fellow who primarily specializes in comics knowledge. 

Obviously things are rough right now. There's a global pandemic happening that's forced us to shut our doors for the safety of everyone. It was the right call even if it wasn't an easy one but here's the honest truth: We're a small business and like a lot of small businesses, we're month to month. A prolonged shutdown comes with the real risk that we won't reopen on the other side. 

I know things are tight financially for a lot of people right now and a lot of things are uncertain. However, I'm also passionate about reading. I've felt down at the fall of nearly all used book stores in the region and I've been sad to see a lot of comics retailers shutting down as it is with COVID-19. So I'm asking you to do what you can to help make sure our doors will reopen again on the other side of this. If you can't donate, please share this and help make sure we can keep serving Oshawa and the Durham Region on an ongoing basis. 

GFM no longer provides rewards options in Canada due to security reasons, so I've set up an e-mail address for rewards management. Feel free to e-mail proof of donation to [email redacted] which has been set up as a dedicated address for this campaign. You'll get a gift card value equivalent to your donation amount applied to your account (one will be created if you don't have one). We're also offering discounted credit amounts on your choice of used books or bin comics with the following tiers:

$20 donation = $30 credit

$40 donation = $70 credit

$100 donation = $200 credit

Anything above $200 can be applied on a $2 credit:$1 donation ratio for used books or bin comics. 

As the campaign continues, other bonuses may arise. 

Cost breakdown: $4,000 is about one month's rent/associated costs for the location. Approximately 10% of the costs will go toward transaction fees and any potential chargebacks. Additionally, 10% will cover my pay for this campaign. 

While I've set this up based on one month's costs, anything past that is absolutely helpful. With some estimates saying this could go until August or longer, every $5,000 is another month of keeping the lights on. 

Risks include that this fails, obviously, but also that it succeeds but the shutdowns last longer than we raise money for. One way or another, we have enough existing book/comic stock and potential alternative delivery methods available that we can find a way to work with you for any fundraiser rewards. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to message me.

It's an honour to serve such an awesome community and I genuinely hope we get to keep doing so. 

Thank you. 

Brendan