Modern Mouse Needs Your Help to Stay Open!

Hi there!

My name is Magpie and I'm the owner at Modern Mouse in Alameda. You may know me as Matt, and that's okay too, I use both, pictured 3rd above! If you love our store, you'll be familiar with Angel & Madz, pictured 2nd & 1st, who our my two fantastic Core Team members out front most days. There's also Leah, who is a vendor, volunteer, and part-time Mouse, pictured last. And if you're really in the know, you'll know Mynt as well, my lovely partner (in life & "crime") who I originally bought and ran the business with 2017, but has in the last few years pursued new passions. <3

Now that we've all been properly introduced, I'd like to give you a little info and then ask for your help. Though Modern Mouse survived the crisis of the 2020 pandemic, we haven't been thriving since 2019 because of it. Similarly, the new political & economic difficulties brought on by the 2025 USA administration are starting to seriously compound those residual issues. I've chatted at length with a number of fellow small business owners + operators, and we're all kinda thinking the same thoughts: Trump, his lackeys, and the impact they all make are making all of us very nervous. Nervous consumers are less likely to spend money on non-essentials, especially with reduced "disposable income" caused by increased cost-of-living.

I met with the team and informed our vendors of the rough spot Modern Mouse has found itself in, and the response so far has been overwhelmingly heartwarming: we want to stay. We want to continue to support artists, host events, give back to non-profits, and be an intersectional safe space for the community.

In order to do this though, we're going to need your help! We're making a big push to drive sales, traffic, & fundraising in the hopes of staying open for years to come. This GoFundMe has been put together with milestone goals starting at $10,000, going up to $80,000. Realistically, we would love to be reaching about $7,000 per month here if we want to not only survive, but thrive through this storm. That would cover the cost of our overhead expenses and give us some breathing room with the money we make from sales. Though we're all very hardworking, dedicated, and skilled, none of us have the monetary ability to dedicate measurable personal funds to this business we love and bleed for.

If you're able to contribute to our GoFundMe and share it with your friends + family, I would be eternally grateful to you for your support! You never know how far word could get and who has the means to assist in your circle. You can also shop with us directly at our storefront in Alameda (address below), or online at www.modernmousegifts.com 24/7.

If you're unable to monetarily contribute but want to support us in other ways, sharing our GoFundMe and social media pages is a great way to get involved! If you have other ideas about how you or someone you know can help us, you can Contact Us via our LinkTree.

We'll be dropping in with more information here & there, including details on how funds are used for overhead, updates on how we're looking, and stories about Modern Mouse.

Without hesitation and regardless of how this turns out, Modern Mouse loves you!

- Magpie, Head Mouse

Modern Mouse (est. 2009)

2223 South Shore Center

Alameda, CA 94501

510 - 814 - 8830

www.modernmousegifts.com