Help us grow the Minnehaha Mile!
Donation protected
Hold onto your hard hats, 'cause here we go!
In 2012, Minnehaha Avenue was best known as a blighted commercial corridor that ran along the western edge of the Longfellow neighborhood: a nature-loving and dog-friendly South Minneapolis community bordered by the Mississippi River Gorge Regional Park. and Minnehaha Park and Falls.
At that time, the businesses that did exist on Minnehaha were scattered, at best -- and most appealed as specific destinations for disparate customer bases. The street was used largely as a rush hour driving alternative to fighting the lights on nearby Hiawatha.
Fast forward to early 2015:
Thanks to the collaborative spirit of a handful of creative and enterprising small business owners, Minnehaha has rapidly become known as the Minnehaha Mile: a shopping corridor for all things reuse and sustainability.
Today, shoppers from the neighborhood and elsewhere (including tour buses!) can be seen meandering along the Avenue from shop to shop...
...and the area is now thrilled to offer not only weekend outings, but daily options for sustainable shopping, as well.
Notable as an example of successful grassroots community and economic development, the MinneMile (officially recognized in late 2014 by the Mayor and City Council of Minneapolis) has found a popular niche as 'the little shopping district that could' (it has also enjoyed some national publicity in Success Magazine ).
So why a GoFundMe campaign, if all is so rosy?
Great question!
Given that only two of the eight shops were even in existence prior to 2012, these businesses are mostly an up-and-coming, boot-strapping, entrepreneurial bunch with lots of energy, but limited capital.
It's commonly held that a new business needs 3-5 years to really get established -- which means that most of these shops on Minnehaha are still rallying to develop sustainable customer bases -- and a new, shared identity.
This is all happening, however, just as a massive, two-year reconstruction project gets underway along Minnehaha Avenue.
We know that we are appreciated and valued by our Longfellow neighborhood community and beyond!
We also know that it would be best for all of us (these businesses, the neighborhood, and our city) if, rather than buckle down for survival, we choose instead to build on the momentum that's been established leading into the reconstruction, as it'll create a stronger draw (and sooner!) for new restaurants and additional neighborhood amenities... something we'd all love to enjoy.
First, however, we have a two year challenge, in that we need to make sure that our customers (both new and current) are able to find us during 20+ months of road closures. And doing this is going to take a concerted effort.
You can help us demonstrate that reconstruction work doesn't need to inhibit small business growth (in fact, we'll need help to prove it).
We know you want to see us succeed because of what we add to our community in terms of improved walkability, livability, and property values.
We also know that what we would need to wage an extended construction-related marketing effort for this shared neighborhood amenity is beyond the pocketbook capacity of the new shop owners.
The great news? A bit of simple math tells us that doing this is actually within pretty easy reach with a little help from our friends.
And so, this campaign!
With a collection of $10 contributions from just 10% of our Longfellow neighbors, we could fund local billboards, flyers, and a modest amount of social outreach to direct people to the MinneMile between now and the end of the construction period in late 2016.
Similar help from 10% of our shared online constituency would allow us to fund a series of events and pursue PR coverage between now and the end of 2016. Think parties and energy and enthusiasm and growth instead of fear and trying to avoid failure (i.e. we can do this together!).
All financial contributions are gratefully welcomed and will be invested directly into marketing the MinneMile and greater Longfellow neighborhood.
You can also help us keep rocking and rolling by making a point to support neighborhood shops: need office supplies or sewing stuff? Stop at Junket . Clothing? Head to Time Bomb . A new lampshade? E's Emporium . A gift for him or her? Try the vintage jewelry at Paris Antiques or Family Estate Sales .
Turquoise Vintage has more Pyrex than you can shake a stick at (go ahead: nix the plastic!). Jo Jo at Plum Crabby will set you up with as many globes and doll heads as you could possibly want (along with some great handmade gifts), and Natural Built Home has added a whole roomful of architectural salvage to their sustainable product options -- perfect for your old house remodeling needs.
We also welcome all of the positive energy, enthusiasm, and word-of-mouth that you can offer! It's going to be a crazy couple of years -- but we believe that we can make it a GOOD crazy with your help.
In fact, even if you can't afford to contribute, you can help us magnify the impact of this campaign: with permission from 100 or more of you to share your support for this GoFundMe effort with your networks, we'll reach hundreds of thousands of supporters (bringing exponentially more visibility not only to the campaign, but to our beloved MinneMile).
In? Sweet! Check out this ThunderClap.
Lots of love and gratitude to all of you for supporting our efforts to get this far -- we can't wait to celebrate with all of you on the other side of this adventure in late 2016.
With appreciation,
The MinneMilers
Dallas & Andrea from Time Bomb
Toni from Turquoise 
Julie & the Junior Shopkeeper from Junket
Ella from E's Emporium
(along with the good folks at Plum Crabby, Family Estates Sales, Natural Built Home, and Paris Antiques)
In 2012, Minnehaha Avenue was best known as a blighted commercial corridor that ran along the western edge of the Longfellow neighborhood: a nature-loving and dog-friendly South Minneapolis community bordered by the Mississippi River Gorge Regional Park. and Minnehaha Park and Falls.
At that time, the businesses that did exist on Minnehaha were scattered, at best -- and most appealed as specific destinations for disparate customer bases. The street was used largely as a rush hour driving alternative to fighting the lights on nearby Hiawatha.
Fast forward to early 2015:
Thanks to the collaborative spirit of a handful of creative and enterprising small business owners, Minnehaha has rapidly become known as the Minnehaha Mile: a shopping corridor for all things reuse and sustainability.
Today, shoppers from the neighborhood and elsewhere (including tour buses!) can be seen meandering along the Avenue from shop to shop...
...and the area is now thrilled to offer not only weekend outings, but daily options for sustainable shopping, as well.
Notable as an example of successful grassroots community and economic development, the MinneMile (officially recognized in late 2014 by the Mayor and City Council of Minneapolis) has found a popular niche as 'the little shopping district that could' (it has also enjoyed some national publicity in Success Magazine ).
So why a GoFundMe campaign, if all is so rosy?
Great question!
Given that only two of the eight shops were even in existence prior to 2012, these businesses are mostly an up-and-coming, boot-strapping, entrepreneurial bunch with lots of energy, but limited capital.
It's commonly held that a new business needs 3-5 years to really get established -- which means that most of these shops on Minnehaha are still rallying to develop sustainable customer bases -- and a new, shared identity.
This is all happening, however, just as a massive, two-year reconstruction project gets underway along Minnehaha Avenue.
We know that we are appreciated and valued by our Longfellow neighborhood community and beyond!
We also know that it would be best for all of us (these businesses, the neighborhood, and our city) if, rather than buckle down for survival, we choose instead to build on the momentum that's been established leading into the reconstruction, as it'll create a stronger draw (and sooner!) for new restaurants and additional neighborhood amenities... something we'd all love to enjoy.
First, however, we have a two year challenge, in that we need to make sure that our customers (both new and current) are able to find us during 20+ months of road closures. And doing this is going to take a concerted effort.
You can help us demonstrate that reconstruction work doesn't need to inhibit small business growth (in fact, we'll need help to prove it).
We know you want to see us succeed because of what we add to our community in terms of improved walkability, livability, and property values.
We also know that what we would need to wage an extended construction-related marketing effort for this shared neighborhood amenity is beyond the pocketbook capacity of the new shop owners.
The great news? A bit of simple math tells us that doing this is actually within pretty easy reach with a little help from our friends.
And so, this campaign!
With a collection of $10 contributions from just 10% of our Longfellow neighbors, we could fund local billboards, flyers, and a modest amount of social outreach to direct people to the MinneMile between now and the end of the construction period in late 2016.
Similar help from 10% of our shared online constituency would allow us to fund a series of events and pursue PR coverage between now and the end of 2016. Think parties and energy and enthusiasm and growth instead of fear and trying to avoid failure (i.e. we can do this together!).
All financial contributions are gratefully welcomed and will be invested directly into marketing the MinneMile and greater Longfellow neighborhood.
You can also help us keep rocking and rolling by making a point to support neighborhood shops: need office supplies or sewing stuff? Stop at Junket . Clothing? Head to Time Bomb . A new lampshade? E's Emporium . A gift for him or her? Try the vintage jewelry at Paris Antiques or Family Estate Sales .
Turquoise Vintage has more Pyrex than you can shake a stick at (go ahead: nix the plastic!). Jo Jo at Plum Crabby will set you up with as many globes and doll heads as you could possibly want (along with some great handmade gifts), and Natural Built Home has added a whole roomful of architectural salvage to their sustainable product options -- perfect for your old house remodeling needs.
We also welcome all of the positive energy, enthusiasm, and word-of-mouth that you can offer! It's going to be a crazy couple of years -- but we believe that we can make it a GOOD crazy with your help.
In fact, even if you can't afford to contribute, you can help us magnify the impact of this campaign: with permission from 100 or more of you to share your support for this GoFundMe effort with your networks, we'll reach hundreds of thousands of supporters (bringing exponentially more visibility not only to the campaign, but to our beloved MinneMile).
In? Sweet! Check out this ThunderClap.
Lots of love and gratitude to all of you for supporting our efforts to get this far -- we can't wait to celebrate with all of you on the other side of this adventure in late 2016.
With appreciation,
The MinneMilers
Dallas & Andrea from Time Bomb
Toni from Turquoise Julie & the Junior Shopkeeper from Junket Ella from E's Emporium(along with the good folks at Plum Crabby, Family Estates Sales, Natural Built Home, and Paris Antiques)
Organizer
Julie Kearns
Organizer
Minneapolis, MN
