Tool Library fundraising campaign to purchase 2626 Main Street gains momentum

For 13 years, the Tool Library of Buffalo has enabled people and organizations in Western New York to borrow the tools they need to repair their homes, grow their own food and improve their communities.

Now, the local nonprofit has launched a fundraising campaign to purchase and renovate its own home: the historic building at 2626 Main St., where the Tool Library currently resides. The building is next to the Amherst Street subway station.

The campaign aims to raise $1 million for The Tool Library to purchase 2626 Main St. and transform it into a vital civic asset, enhancing the organization’s community offerings, expanding the inventory of tools that people can borrow, creating spaces dedicated to DIY workshops, developing a small community food forest outside the building, and more.

Planned renovations – from carpentry to electrical work – will coincide with DIY workshops that will provide hands-on experiences for community members and volunteers to learn new skills using shared tools.

To donate to the fundraising campaign, visit https://givebutter.com/2626

So far, more than 250 neighbors, friends and supporters have contributed to the campaign. Major gifts include $175,000 from Buffalo Junior League And Buffalo News; $50,000 from Cummings Foundation; $25,000 from Paul and Dorothy Borenstein Memorial Foundation, and $5,000 CannonDesign. In addition, CannonDesign FOS provided in-kind facility condition assessment services, providing the organization with a roadmap for building improvement and management over the next decade.

“Thirteen years ago, The Tool Library was just an idea,” says Darren Cotton, founder and executive director. “Today, we are a community of people committed to building a more generous, kinder and more connected world. We are ready to plant our roots and make a permanent home at 2626 Main Street thanks to the support and generosity of this community.

The Tool Library actively seeks a combination of funding sources – private philanthropy, public funds, corporate partnerships and individual donors – to realize its vision. To learn more about sponsorship opportunities through The Tool Library website: https://thetoollibrary.org/2626main/

The vision for 2626 Main Street includes:

• Expanding The Tool Library’s core borrowing program to add more tools.
• Conversion of the basement to include a workshop for large stationary tools.
• Launch DIY workshops and educational programs that members have long requested.
• Expand free repair events called Dare to Repair Cafés by bringing them in-house to serve more people. These events invite community members to bring broken items to be repaired by volunteer repairers, saving money and diverting usable items from the landfill.
• Restore the historic character of the building, install new exterior signage, improve energy efficiency, reconfigure the interior layout and enhance the exterior spaces. Two pocket parks in front of the property offer the opportunity to create an outdoor educational space and a small community food forest.

The Tool Library is a volunteer-run, nonprofit organization serving more than 1,700 members. Over the years, the organization has also partnered with numerous community groups to carry out projects ranging from large-scale tree and bulb plantings to cleaning and stewardship of parks, trails and gardens. communities, particularly through its seasonal service days.

Acquiring its home at 2626 Main Street will give The Tool Library the space and financial resources to expand and invest in new and existing programs, growing Buffalo’s sharing and repair economy.