Help Save the Kensington Community Food Coop

As some of you may know, KCFC opened under not ideal circumstances: Our store incurred cost overruns for construction, which required more debt-based financing and severely slashed our marketing budget to promote the store for effective launch; we opened later than scheduled, not long before the “summer slump” of the grocery industry and Philly’s exodus to the shore and vacations; our product mix and pricing have also limited some shoppers from giving us the full chance to win their favor and become repeat customers. All of these factors led to lower-than- expected sales, and a compounding financial hit of too little cash on-hand to replenish stock, pay bills, and so on.

Due to these compounding factors, we are up against a tough situation—but we have a plan.


Here’s what we need:

We must raise $20,000 from membership in the next week in order to make it through the holidays and resolve immediate debt obligations. 
 
Beyond this, we are working to raise an additional $20,000 to cover upcoming equipment and construction expenses that come due next month.
While this will be difficult, WE BELIEVE WE CAN MEET THIS GOAL.

We are fundraising in multiple ways and are using gofundme as another useful tool to meet our goal. IN ADDITION to fundraising, we are making substantial changes to our store and business structure. What we intend to do going forward with our strengthened financial position (with your help!) is as follows:

Improve product mix and pricing focusing on offering more affordable choices across the store

Enhance marketing strategies and commit more resources to drive new and repeat traffic to store, educate shoppers, and promote utilization of Co-op friendly programs

Deepen member engagement as invested stakeholders in the business

Expand customer reach in untapped communities near the Co-op through programming and outreach

Strengthen our financial position through increased capitalization, operational efficiencies, and driving more sales by improving the shopping experience