Starting, operating, and growing a collaborative space is hard work. Leaders who step up need a backup. That's where the Space Federation comes in.

We coach and mentor leaders, founders, and board members of collaborative spaces through:

• Ad-hoc Q&A
• Strategic planning facilitation
• Conflict resolution
• Succession planning

If we work together, sharing our successes and failures, we can build a strong community of spaces that will last for decades to come.

To help foster an open source and inclusive ecosystem of spaces, we coordinate:

• The monthly Space Federation online hangout
• The Make-a-Space Kit, a resource library for spaces with project plans, sample budgets, and more
• An open online community, sharing information and ideas

We can also work directly with your community to help facilitate the creation of a new space on-site and remotely.

If you've been in a makerspace, hackerspace, or collaborative space yourself, you know why it works and why it's valuable. But explaining the experience to others--especially to civic leaders, insurance companies, and banks--can be difficult.

The Space Federation is here to help you find the allies around you:

• Insurance and liability support
• Working with minors and creating a safe space
• Communicating with civic leaders

We want to link all the spaces to the communities around them, to create broad support and engagement.

In 2008, we put our 501(c)3 organization at the disposal of non-profit spaces across the United States. This means a new space can take tax-deductible donations of money, equipment, and materials on the day it is incorporated--a huge boost that can accelerate a new space.

• Fiscal sponsorship: get your space a 501(c)3 on day 1
• Tax filing: we do your annual federal return
• Receipts and financial tracking: we mail your donors verifiable documentation of their contribution

To learn more about getting your space sponsored, check out the Sponsorship Guide and get started!

Making a space healthy and sustainable takes money and support from individuals, corporations, and foundations. By acting together and sharing our experiences and resources, we can make the most of the what is available to help us pay the bills beyond membership and rental fees.

• Grant application support and coaching
• Collaborative multi-space grant applications
• Program ideas and documents
• Budgets and example grants

The Space Federation talks about these topics through live forums such as the Fund Development Hangout and in the Space Federation online community.

Open source software is to the digital world what collaborative spaces are to the real world. Using open and free hardware and software helps make our spaces accessible while keeping costs low.

• Access control (doors, locks) discussion and events
• Rackspace cloud hosting for your space
• OpenAtrium project management for your leadership / board
• Non-profit technology discounts and packages

We are always on the lookout for ways to share technology and open to all to join our community.