Hello! My name is Ashley, and I am a born-and-raised Indiana resident. I am incredibly passionate about planning events and hosting gatherings to bring community members together. I am here to ask for your support in my latest endeavor: creating an Event Studio in Downtown Indiana, PA!

I have quite a bit of experience in the event scene in Indiana. I am an original founder of the Indiana Pride Festival, I've served on the board for the Northern Appalachian Folk Festival for multiple years in a row, and helped with various other projects over the years. Between concerts, weddings, business lunches, and every other event, I've participated in the planning and execution of too many events for me to count.

Most notably, I worked as an Event Manager at the Rustic Lodge before its unfortunate closing in 2022. Since then, Indiana has lacked an affordable event space that can be used for smaller events like baby showers, birthday luncheons, business meetings, etc. The Indiana Event Studio is designed to fill that need and provide an affordable, accessible space for the community.

The world has changed significantly in the last few decades, and prioritizing community spaces has fallen out of fashion. We are aiming to fix that. Creating more spaces for gathering and celebrating benefits everyone.

The plan is to create a Public Benefit Corporation, which will ensure that the community gets back its investment in this project. A Public Benefit Corporation is designed to prioritize having a positive impact on society and the environment, along with making a profit. The wishes and needs of the community take priority over the shareholders.

A few of the positive impacts this project will have are:

The positive impact a space like this could have is endless!

About the space:

We are looking at purchasing the first floor of a building located along the 700 block of Philadelphia Street. Because the space will be designed to be a blank-slate event venue, remodeling costs should be minimal. The building is already equipped with a wheelchair accessible bathroom and front entrance, along with accessible parking spots right outside along N. 7th Street. The downtown parking garage is also located about half a block away.

Additionally, there is a walk-in cooler and freezer, which would allow guests to bring their own food and keep it cold, along with an oven and prep space to reheat food. This is an ideal set-up, as it allows guests to keep costs minimal and provide their own food if they choose not to hire a caterer.

Here's our plan:

Indiana County is home to ~83,000 residents. If we can get 5,000 people to each give us $20, we can reach our goal of $100,000. If we can get 10,000 people to each give us $10, we can reach our goal.

Any businesses or individuals that donate $1,000 or more will have their name added to an engraved plaque that will be displayed inside and will be dedicated at the grand opening. Please contact me if you would like to donate via check or cash.

We're aiming to reach our fundraising goal by February 1st, 2026.

Once we raise about $5,000 we will be able to hire an attorney to file the paperwork to set up the B-Corp structure. We will also be able to hire a realtor to negotiate the purchase of the building.

Because we are asking for donations via GoFundMe, if we do not reach our goal and are unable to proceed with the project, we will provide everyone with a refund.

*NOTICE* - Any cash donations received will NOT be refunded, and instead will be donated to the Indiana County Community Action Program (ICCAP). By making a cash donation, you are acknowledging that you will not receive a refund if the project does not reach our goal, and your donation will be sent to ICCAP.

We hope you consider donating to this cause, and we hope to see you at an event in the future! Thank you all so much!

For any questions or if you'd like to get involved, please reach out via the Contact Button!