Save Malibu's Beloved Bookstore After Fires
Donation protected
‼️Calling All Book People‼️
Can you help save the only bookstore in Malibu?!
Since the 2024 Franklin Fire & the 2025 Palisades fire, it has been very hard for small businesses in the Malibu area to survive. We’ve had to shut our doors twice, for weeks. We lost out on Holiday Business and now, with Pacific Coast Highway closed, we are unsure of when our community will be back. Without traffic, we are teetering on closure and we need your help!
Malibu Village Books is a woman-owned bookstore that caters to the community. We do this by providing a space for the local & regional community members to connect through programs & events, story times & bookclubs. We have expanded this to virtual opportunities as we realize there is a loneliness epidemic that plagues our communities & it is an aspect of our mission to combat this. But we can’t help fight the fight if we are closed due to a lack of community support and PCH closure.
Ever since the fires and road closure (PCH has been closed since Jan. 7th, 2025) Malibu remains cutoff from the rest of LA. This is our major source of revenue as it is the main road that connects the Santa Monica thru Malibu communities with residence, community members and tourists. We are SO grateful Malibu Village Books is still standing BUT we are being strangled from the road closure & forgotten on the border of this catastrophe.
Malibu has undergone much change because of this, we are hurting, some are fleeing, and many are fighting - we are fighting. We have applied for Federal or State funding but have not received anything, which is why we are turning to YOU!
WOULD YOU CONSIDER DONATING TO THIS GOFUNDME TODAY?
Our Goal is $110,000
This goal will support your local booksellers, help with rent, wipe out the deficit from these wildfires and allow us to continue “serving the community”. We planned for contingencies, created savings accounts for rainy days but these Wildfires could not have been planned for. Every penny in the bookstore industry matters. If you know us, you know we do this for the love of books and the impact that reading has on a life! (For a budget breakdown please scroll to the bottom)
BUT WAIT! But that’s not all…we want you to know that we appreciate YOU and believe in YOU as a Friend of Indies; because of your generosity we want to say: THANK YOU!
Everyone who donates gets something too!
- ALL Donors will be featured on our “Thank You” wall on our website! & at Malibu Village Books
- Tier #1: $18-$100 - You get a special one-of-a-kind “I Helped Save my Local/Indie Bookstore” Vinyl Sticker
- Tier #2: $101-$300 - You get: Tier #1 + 10% off purchases ALL YEAR LONG (5/1/25-4/30/26)
- Tier #3: $301-$600 - You get: Tier #1 + Tier #2 + VIP Seating & a FREE signed book for any author event happening at Malibu Village Books for the year (5/1/25-4/30/26)
- Tier 4: $601-$1000+ - You get: Tier #1 + #2 + #3 for 2 years (5/1/25-4/30/27).
- Tier 5: $2500+ - You get: Tier #4 AND you get your very own shelf space with 8 of your favorite reads. We will keep these in stock, promote & sell these books during the year (5/1/25-4/30/26). You will also get a sign that says: This shelf contains [Name]'s favorite books of all time. [Name] is a donor & friend of Malibu Village Books.
- Tier 6: $5000 - Tier #5 AND the BookNook will be named after you and your favorite reads will be displayed for 2 years (5/1/25-4/30/27).
- Tier 7: $10,000+ - Tier #5 AND become an Ambassador of Malibu Village Books! As the Ambassador of Malibu Village Books you get to introduce all Authors at the bookstore, we will add your business/name/foundation to ALL marketing materials (such as: bookmarks, flyers, website, etc.) & you will receive 1 free book of their choice every month for 2 years (5/1/25-4/30/27).
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The Budget includes:
- Four Months of Rent ($33,992.68) - we’ve been paying what we can for the moment and the landlords have given a 3 month no late fee, but is expecting repayment starting in April of the full amounts. This number allows us to back pay Jan-March’s rent and gives us an extra month in case PCH remains Closed till July (losing out on the tourism season)
- Four Months of Payroll ($30,031.62) - we have drained our business savings & our tax savings accounts to keep up with payroll & have limited the hours of operations and have had to cut back on employees hours (since there is no traffic). This will help keep the amazing booksellers we have from leaving and allow them to continue having a job to pay their bills & living costs.
- Reimbursements of Q4 taxes ($12,406) - we used our tax savings to pay rent & employee wages but the April 30th Q4 extension is coming due. In January, we never could have imagined that the road would still be closed in March and no traffic would be coming through to Malibu, cutting us off from our community. If it is not paid by April 30th, the state of CA starts charging interest every day until paid.
- Reimbursement for High Interest Loan taken out till the grants came through ($34,000) - because we didn’t know what was happening and landlords were not giving us a break and employees still needed payroll to make ends meet and we had run through our limited savings accounts, a fast turn around loan was taken out to pay the moment. At the end of January, we thought we would qualify for some of the economic grants that were being offered. So far, we have not received any grants and have been told we do not qualify.
Co-organizers (1)
Malibu Village Books
Organizer
Malibu, CA
Lido Village Books
Co-organizer