Support Our Event Staff At Northwest Marketplaces
My name is Ryan Reiter, organizer and second generation owner of my family business, Northwest Marketplaces, organizers of Seattle favorite marketplaces and festivals for 30 years.
I know there are so many small businesses people impacted and we are certainly no different, or more deserving, but I am personally asking for your help us look after our amazing staff and their families during COVID-19 to keep them employed.
On Monday, March 16th at 9:00am, Governor Jay Inslee signed a Proclamation that forced all Seattle Events and Markets to a screeching halt to effectively cease operations curbside until April 13th.
As a result and in the name of Public Health, we were forced to immediately close down our weekly Fremont Sunday Market, as well as cancel two Seattle Night Markets on March 21st and April 11th.
With more possible delays on the way, we aren't giving up, but we're running out of time. While we are hopeful that we will return as early as April 13th, Governor Inslee has made no promises that the ban will be lifted and allow us to return curbside, which is scary for all of us.
We love our small (but mighty) team (Jerry, Erik, Nate, Dan, Ray, Joy) and we want to avoid the reality of laying them off and throwing them into fire of chaos to fend for themselves during this uncertain time.
Many of you have had the privilege to work or interact with our talented event team at the Fremont, South Lake Union and Magnuson Park Hangar 30 events. They are a big part of our success and family to us.
I am working tirelessly to hold on to them to provide them a living wage and ensure they can support their families.
As a market & event organization, our small business solely relies 100% on our curbside existence weekly and in our 30 years in operation, we have never experienced a situation that could cripple our markets so quickly and beyond our control.
With our markets coming out of the slow winter season; like most small businesses - our profits are marginal due to the cold weather and had our sights on the warm summer months to help us balance out.
With Washington Unemployment Services at an all-time high and over capacity, there is no promises that our staff will get approved and even if they do, they are likely to receive less than 50% of their wage weekly, which can put a huge stress on their ability to pay their bills and impact their families.
If we lose them now, we greatly limit the opportunity for Northwest Marketplaces to rebound and maintain the same quality of customer service and flavor to support our awesome community events year round.
NWM works on the behalf of the 800+ small businesses to keep our markets and events accessible & affordable for all that activate our respective communities.
Last year, our organization welcomed over 900,000 attendees curbside at our events and generated an estimated $3.2 million is gross revenue for our participating vendors and neighborhoods annually.
With most of our events operating free to the public and vendor fees averaging between $50-$75 per day, our organization focuses our priority to remain affordable to allow small business to launch their business and help reinvest their profits back into their own families and business.
So the ask is simple - we need to ask for your help if you are reading this and ask you to donate $20 to keep our gang alive and well, share it and support our event staff and show them love these next two months.
100% of the fundraiser goes directly to keeping our staff employed and working at Northwest Marketplaces to be a resource and advocate for small businesses.
Help us and show your support for our tiny staff that work to support so may small businesses and communities.
Thank you for your donation and wish you all a safe and prosperous 2020.
Sincerely,
Ryan Reiter
Executive Director
Northwest Marketplaces
[email redacted]
www.nwmarketplaces.com
