Hive Mind Market is growing — not for profit, but for people.

We give our 45+ local makers 100% of their sales totals, support mutual aid every day, and create spaces where community thrives. Since 2022, Hive Mind Market has hosted over 5,000 small business pop-up shops, and with your help, we can transform Abner Orchard — our 3.5-acre regenerative farm — into a year-round home for small businesses, fresh food, families, and community celebration in Marion, Indiana. Your investment in this space is an investment in the future of our neighborhoods, our entrepreneurs, and the next generation of dreamers.

Our Community Is Growing — and We’re Asking You to Grow With Us

Hive Mind Market began with a simple need: support for small business owners who were starting with nothing but a dream. When we first began our own small business journey, resources were scarce. Opportunities for makers were few, and getting started felt impossible. Hive Mind Market was created to give others the support we never had — a place where their ideas, talents, and courage could take root.

Today, Hive Mind Market has grown into two powerful branches of community:

1. The Hive — Marion’s Indoor Year-Round Farmers Market

A downtown storefront where 45+ makers grow together, keeping 100% of their sales totals — every dollar goes directly back into their dreams, their families, and our local economy.

The Hive is also home to our Mutual Aid Hot Spot, providing canned goods, hygiene items, bartering opportunities, volunteer exchange, and direct community support. We fill Little Free Pantries around Marion and host ongoing drives for those who need a hand.

2. Hive Mind Art & Farm Market at Abner Orchard: 3.5-acre regenerative orchard on the west side of Marion — apples, walnuts, gardens, and now our future. It’s a place for summer markets, concerts, gatherings, community partnerships, food trucks, workshops, and creative joy.

And now, with your help, it can become so much more.

Why We’re Raising $1,000,000

Hive Mind Market runs like a non-profit — giving makers 100% of their earnings — but we are not a non-profit. Every dollar we earn goes back into sustaining the spaces that serve our community. To grow sustainably — and ensure our future — we need to transform Abner Orchard into a year-round, fully equipped community hub.

Your transformational investment will help us:

This creates a year-round home for small business owners to thrive without losing a percentage of their earnings.

This creates safe green space for families.

This creates opportunity, stability, pride, and connection in Marion.

Who Your Investment Helps

Hive Mind Market exists for:

Many makers at The Hive are helping us sponsor and support kids' sports teams, school fundraisers, and local community events such as the Marion High School Marching Band, Lotus House Recovery Home for Women, Marion Humane Society, Grant County Pride and Guardians of the Children. They donate, they give back, and they show what small business really is — the backbone of America.

Shopping local keeps money here.

Supporting makers builds confidence and mental health.

Connecting with community reduces loneliness and lifts us all.

We’ve Survived Storms — Literal Ones

In July of 2022, during our very first outdoor market season, 39 makers were set up with Hive Mind Market in the Kohl's parking lot when a sudden windspout hit the market without warning. The storm destroyed nearly every tent and booth, flattening businesses in seconds.

Click here to watch a clip of the storm

Within hours, Hive Mind Market rallied.

We purchased brand-new pop-up tents for every single maker who lost one that day, and makers supported each other by sharing resources and proving for one another. This was the day we turned into family. The newspaper shared our story, and the next week a kind woman arrived with $50 in cash for every maker — just because she believed in us.

This is what community looks like.

This is what we’re fighting to protect.

Why This Matters Now

Rising costs, equipment breakdowns, and a challenging economy hit small businesses hardest. Farmers markets operate season by season, and growth is often painfully slow.

And another challenge is approaching:

Hive Mind Market is funded in part by the founder’s small business, Cultivate Hope Chemovar, which operates inside The Hive. Due to the upcoming Federal Hemp Ban, this business may be forced to close in 2026 — putting Hive Mind Market at risk.

Reaching this goal protects our community’s future.

If we don’t reach our goal, we will continue as long as possible — but our impact will grow much more slowly, limited by our current resources.

But if we do reach this goal…

Our Hope for the Future

Abner Orchard will become a historic gathering place in Marion:

Your investment will impact Marion, Grant County, and surrounding areas for generations.

We are ready.

Our community is ready.

And we believe you are too.

How You Can Help Right Now

Thank you for believing in community.

Thank you for believing in local.

And thank you for believing in us.

Together, we can build something extraordinary.

HIVE MIND MARKET — TRANSFORMATION MILESTONES

A community-owned future built step by step, dollar by dollar, with radical transparency.

Every milestone represents a concrete investment in land, infrastructure, food access, and the creative economy of Marion.

These aren’t abstract dreams — they are real projects, real equipment, real costs, and a real path to a fully built community hub.

$25,000 — THE GROUNDWORK YOU ALREADY HELPED CREATE

This milestone honors and secures the foundational work already completed through personal investment, volunteer hours, and the determination to bring Abner Orchard and Hive Mind Market back to life.

This level stabilizes the costs of essential groundwork, including:

Site Cleanup + Land Restoration — $6,000

Brush removal, tree trimming, debris hauling, leveling, and bringing 3.5 acres back into usable condition.

Fruit Tree Additions + Orchard Rehabilitation — $3,500

Purchasing new trees ($50–$90 per tree), soil amendments, compost, and annual feeding of existing heritage trees.

Soil Health + Ground Cover Restoration — $2,000

Compost, mulch, cover crop seed, soil amendments, and aeration.

Community Garden Bed Construction — $4,500

Lumber, hardware, tools, 30 yards of soil, organic matter, and irrigation hoses.

Mutual Aid Restock + Community Support — $4,000

Canned goods, hygiene items, household staples, emergency food bundles, and refrigeration storage.

Tools, Fuel, and Early Equipment Costs — $5,000

Chainsaw repairs, mower blades, fuel, shovels, rakes, hoses, totes, and safety gear.

This tier honors what already exists — and ensures that the foundation you’ve built is recognized, reimbursed, and protected so the project can grow sustainably.

$50,000 — BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE BEGINS

At this level, the land begins converting into an operational space through critical infrastructure upgrades.

Water Line Extension (Phase 1) — $12,000

Trenching, piping, meter installation, frost-proof hydrants.

Initial Plumbing Groundwork — $6,500

Trenches, drains, valves, frost line protection, and backfilling.

Temporary Event + Safety Lighting — $4,500

Solar event lighting, battery towers, extension runs, and installation.

Orchard Equipment + Tools — $8,500

Tractor, orchard sprayer, pruning equipment, wheelbarrows, safety supplies.

Maker Micro-Grants Fund — $5,000

Emergency funds for small makers when ovens break, printers fail, or supplies run short.

Landscape Stabilization + Erosion Prevention — $3,500

Gravel, fabric, edging, and drainage.

This milestone is where the land truly begins shifting into a functional community asset. Water is life — and this level brings it one step closer.

$100,000 — COMMUNITY ESSENTIALS INSTALLED

Reaching this level allows us to solidify utilities, access, and safety — the backbone of public use.

Permanent Water Line Installation (Final Phase) — $18,000

Line extensions, frost-free hydrants, hookups to future bathroom locations.

Electrical Upgrades + Panel Installation — $22,000

New service box, upgraded circuits, outdoor outlets, safety disconnects.

Parking Lot Grading (Phase 1) — $10,000

Gravel, grading, drainage trenches, and ADA-friendly surface preparation.

Mutual Aid Storage Expansion — $6,000

Shelving, sealed food-safe storage, refrigeration, climate protection.

Orchard Fencing (Phase 1) — $7,500

Post installation, wire fencing, gates for equipment and visitors.

This tier brings reliable utilities and safer public access — setting the stage for larger structures and regular community events.

$250,000 — SAFETY, ACCESS & YEAR-ROUND USABILITY

This is the point where the property becomes accessible, inclusive, and safe for large-scale public use.

ADA-Accessible Bathrooms — $65,000

Concrete pads, septic installation, plumbing, ADA fixtures, ventilation, permits, inspections.

Perimeter Wood Fencing — $28,000

Full 3.5-acre secure perimeter, gates, privacy sections near neighbors.

Security System + Monitoring — $12,000

Cameras, motion lights, recording server, remote access.

Permanent Event Lighting — $18,000

Poles, LED fixtures, trenching, wiring, dusk timers.

Irrigation for Orchard + Garden Zones — $22,000

Drip systems, timers, hose bibs, winterization protection.

Tree Mulching + Orchard Expansion — $9,000

Mulch delivery, tree rings, root barrier installation, new varieties of trees.

At this tier, the property becomes accessible to all — safe, well-lit, and structured for high community involvement.

$500,000 — COMMUNITY HUB PHASE BEGINS

This is the turning point where Hive Mind Market evolves from outdoor space to multi-functional food and maker hub.

Commercial Kitchen Buildout (Phase 1 & 2) — $110,000

Plumbing, electrical, fire suppression, stainless steel, code requirements.

Greenhouse + Aquaponics System — $85,000

30x72 greenhouse, tanks, pumps, grow beds, climate controls, insulation.

Zero-Turn Mower + Tractor Attachments — $22,000

Brush hog, tiller, front loader, orchard bucket.

Covered Outdoor Seating + Shade Structures — $28,000

Timber frames, roofing, anchors, benches, community tables.

Fruit Wash + Walnut Processing Equipment — $16,000

Washer, huller, dryer, racks, food-safe processing zones.

This level brings food production capacity, business incubation, and reliable year-round growing potential to life.

$750,000 — THE GATHERING GROUNDS: A CULTURAL DESTINATION

This is where Abner Orchard becomes a year-round gathering place for art, food, music, education, and community.

Performance Stage + Lighting + Sound — $45,000

Raised stage, rigging, speakers, mixers, outdoor-rated lighting.

Heated Pavilion Upgrades — $62,000

Insulated roof, heaters, roll-down weather protection.

Covered Dining + Community Gathering Structures — $35,000

Timber structures, lighting, seating, accessible pathways.

Outdoor Classrooms + Skills Workshop Areas — $18,000

Teaching stations, storage, benches, chalkboards, electricity.

Beehives + Pollinator Habitat Expansion — $7,000

Hives, suits, tools, pollinator plants, signage, educational materials.

This milestone transforms the orchard into a cultural landmark — a place where community happens naturally, year-round.

$1,000,000 — FULL TRANSFORMATION COMPLETED

This is the moment a community legacy is fully built.

A sustainable, multi-generational home for makers, families, farmers, and neighbors.

Permanent Indoor Community + Event Space — $240,000

Insulation, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, kitchen access, gathering hall.

Full Commercial Kitchen Certification — $95,000

Ovens, mixers, refrigeration, fire suppression, ADA prep tables.

Structure Upgrades + New Roofing — $40,000

Re-roofing barns, sheds, storage buildings, event structures.

Parking Lot Paving + Lighting (Final Phase) — $85,000

Asphalt, striping, poles, LED fixtures, ADA parking.

Lighted Signage at Entrances — $22,000

Permanent signage, solar lighting, wayfinding markers.

Winter-Capable Event Spaces — $60,000

Heating systems, insulation, enclosed gathering areas.

Expansion of Trees, Gardens, and Green Spaces — $8,000

Perennial plantings, fruit trees, community beds, shade zones.

Maker Support Infrastructure — $20,000

Booth materials, storage, shared equipment, micro-grants.

At $1,000,000, the vision is complete: a self-sustaining, community-owned sanctuary for food, creativity, mutual aid, and growth. This milestone is historic. It builds a legacy of community-supported growth that will benefit Marion for generations.