Support · Founder's Table

Help open the door.

Groundworks needs $150K – $250K to open. The Founder's Table is the first cohort of people putting that number together — not a membership program, not a perks ladder, just the people who decide this place should exist.

We're a 501(c)(3) in formation. Gifts will be tax-deductible once status is finalized; early commitments are recorded and honored.

The clear ask · three lines

01Money — commitments toward the $150K–$250K to open. Founder's Table starts at $25.
02Warm intros — Legal / Land Use, Nonprofit Finance, or a Philanthropic Connector for board Priority-1 seats.
03A fiscal sponsor that can hold funds during the 501(c)(3) determination window.

Neighbor

$25 – $250

Your name on the founders wall. Quarterly update letter, not an email blast.

Sustainer

$500 – $2,500

Founder's Table dinner invitation in the first year of operation. Early access to programming.

Builder

$5,000 – $10,000

Named credit on a piece of the build — a shelf, a table, the chalkboard. Two seats at the opening dinner.

Anchor

$25,000+

Named credit on a room or program track. Direct line to the founder for the duration of the build.

Get in touch

Email is the front door.

No donation portal yet — by design. Every Founder's Table commitment starts with a conversation.

hello@groundworksmb.org

See the numbers behind the ask

Community update rhythm

Same message, same time, to everyone.

Groundworks runs on a public build. Founder's Table members, donors, sponsors, and the "building in public" audience all hear the same progress on the same cadence — no inner-circle briefings that skip the wider list.

Cadence	Channel	Content
Monthly	LinkedIn — building in public	One gate moved, one number, one ask.
Quarterly	Email to Founder's Table + donors	Financials snapshot, gate status, upcoming decisions.
Annual (December)	Public year-in-review	Progress against the Action Plan, next year's plan, thank-yous.
Milestone	Same-day note to donor list	When a gate closes (G1 / G2 / G3), when a lead gift lands, when the site is signed.

Same message, same time

No inner-circle briefings that skip the wider list. If the board hears it Tuesday, the donor list hears it Wednesday.

One ask per update

Nothing goes out without a clear next action — a dollar amount, a warm intro, a board seat, an event RSVP.

Numbers before narrative

Lead with the number that moved: dollars raised, gate progress, sign-ups. Story after.

Each update names the current phase from the funding sequence and which gates on the Action Plan are open.