<div>My name is Zach, and I’m the founder of Brass Monkey Bread Co. After four years of growing this bakery from a tiny home project into a beloved part of South Philly’s food and mutual aid community, I’m asking for your help to take the next step: opening a brick-and-mortar sourdough bakery rooted in craft, creativity, and community care.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I’m not asking the community to carry this alone —I’ll be taking out a loan, and I’m contributing my own money, an inheritance I received after losing both of my parents within a year of each other. Their love and legacy will live in this bakery.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>⸻
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Why We’re Raising $100,000</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>️ Build-Out &amp; Space Preparation</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>• Rent, deposits, and initial lease fees
</div>
<div>• Electrical, plumbing, and ventilation upgrades
</div>
<div>• Flooring, lighting, and accessibility improvements
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>⚙️ Commercial Bakery Equipment</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>• Mixers, ovens, and proofers
</div>
<div>• Refrigeration and freezers
</div>
<div>• Bagel kettle and production tools
</div>
<div>• Stainless prep tables, sinks, and shelving
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong> Licensing, Permits &amp; Launch Costs</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>• Health department certifications
</div>
<div>• Insurance
</div>
<div>• Early payroll to support staff during startup
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>❤️ Community Infrastructure</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>• Free community pantry, fridge, and library
</div>
<div>• Youth internship program setup
</div>
<div>• Baking classes
</div>
<div>• Artist &amp; maker display installations
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Your donations will directly match the personal $100,000 I’m investing, giving this bakery a strong, sustainable foundation.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>⸻
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>What Brass Monkey Bread Co. Will Offer</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>A sourdough bakery featuring:
</div>
<div>• Naturally leavened bagels (classic + experimental)
</div>
<div>• House-made schmears
</div>
<div>• Rotating sourdough breads
</div>
<div>• Signature Tomato Pie
</div>
<div>• Seasonal sandwiches, soups &amp; focaccias
</div>
<div>• Locally roasted coffee
</div>
<div>• Collaborations, specials, and limited drops
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>More than anything, it will be a space where people feel welcome, nourished, and connected.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>⸻
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>A Bakery Built on Community</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Our future space will include:
</div>
<div>• A free community pantry, fridge, &amp; library
</div>
<div>• Baking classes for kids and adults
</div>
<div>• Internships and job opportunities for local residents
</div>
<div>• Meeting space for community groups
</div>
<div>• A rotating gallery for local artists &amp; makers
</div>
<div>• Fundraisers supporting mutual aid and grassroots organizations
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>We don’t just bake bread.
</div>
<div>We build community — one loaf at a time.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>⸻
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>My Story: Teaching, Mental Health, Sourdough, and Finding a New Purpose</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I started baking sourdough just before the pandemic. What began as a simple curiosity quickly became a grounding ritual — something steady and alive during an unstable time. Over the next four years, I honed my skills through experimentation, late-night bakes, early-morning shaping, and endless learning.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>During this time, I was still teaching. For nearly 15 years — including 8 years at a Title 1 school in Kensington — I poured myself into my students, raising $24,000 for a media lab, building a hygiene closet, running food drives, career days and trying every day to make kids feel seen and supported. I was honored to receive the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching in 2023.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>But the emotional weight was heavy, and it eventually took a toll on my mental health. Sourdough became the thing that helped me cope — a rhythm that calmed my mind and gave me a sense of purpose outside the classroom.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>As I baked more, Brass Monkey Bread Co. grew naturally: through pop-ups, community events, collaborations, and mutual aid. I reached a point where I felt called to take a leap, step away from teaching, and see if I could turn this bakery into something real.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Not long after making that decision, I lost both of my parents within the same year. Their passing left me battered, but not broken. The inheritance they left me — which I am contributing — became my way to honor them through something rooted in care, creativity, and community.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Sourdough helped me through burnout.
</div>
<div>Community helped me through grief.
</div>
<div>And Brass Monkey Bread Co. became the place where both could rise into something bigger.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>⸻
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Why Sourdough?</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Sourdough is alive.
</div>
<div>It’s patient.
</div>
<div>It’s resilient.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>It teaches you to slow down, pay attention, and trust the process — the same lessons that guided and continue to guide me through depression, anxiety, and grief.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Bread brings people together.
</div>
<div>Bread is comfort.
</div>
<div>Bread is community.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>⸻
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Why Your Support Matters</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Your contribution will:
</div>
<div>• Help build a neighborhood bakery with heart
</div>
<div>• Create jobs and mentorship opportunities
</div>
<div>• Expand community resources
</div>
<div>• Support local artists and organizers
</div>
<div>• Keep mutual aid at the center of our mission
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>This isn’t just a bakery.
</div>
<div>It’s a community space, built with purpose.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>⸻
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Help This Dream Rise — For Philly, For Community, For My Parents
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>If I have ever fed you, inspired you, or made you feel connected, I’m asking for your support.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Your donation helps create a space where every loaf rises for the people — and where my parents’ legacy rises with it.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Thank you for believing in me and my dream. We truly are in this together.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>— Zach Posnan
</div>
<div>Founder, Brass Monkey Bread Co.
</div>
<div>Philadelphia, PA
</div>

Olivia Pelzar

Anonymous

Sashi Shreedaran

Brent Rosenthal

Ellyson Glance

Stephanie Garcia

Kelly Green

Lisa Dell

Kathryn Siegeltuch

Sarah Hastings

Julianne Amenta

Evan Poulgrain

Kaja A Manuel

Julianna Gimpert

Maggie Blackburn

Help Brass Monkey Bread Co. Build a Community Focused Bakery

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

currencyCode

Money Box Donation List Prompt Experiment Audience

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

NPO recommendations prod

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

categoryGroup

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

NPO upsell animals category

NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Help Brass Monkey Bread Co. Build a Community Focused Bakery

Still $93,357 to go. Help us build momentum.