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Get The Collective Oakland from click to brick!

Help a new Black-owned bookstore raise $35,000 to scale our business up as well as open our storefront location.

$35,245
pledged of$35,000 goal
98
0Days Left

Project Description

 

The Collective - Oakland is a Black owned bookstore founded by Michelle Walton and Wesley Dawan on September 18, 2019. We are currently operating fully online, but our goal - our dream - is to open a brick and mortar location in January 2021.

 

Our motto is:

READ something DOPE

DRINK something GOOD

CHILL somewhere COOL

 

Michelle & Wesley have a shared love for literature and unique experiences, involving coffee and handcrafted cocktails, which has turned into the passion project of opening up a book bar. The Collective Oakland will not only be a bookstore, but a gathering place for people to share stories and experiences. We feel that others will appreciate and benefit from curated experiences that encourage conversation and self exploration.

While we are a small team and have been operating online only, we hit the ground running with several offerings that have found great success and have built a loyal subscriber/customer base.

  • The Collective Minds Book Club has found amazing success. In only four short months we have gained 150 online participants and a local chapter starting in the Bay Area in January.
  • Our subscription box, which we started only a few months ago, has gained 150 subscribers and each box gets bigger and better.
  • To date we have shipped thousands of books and hand delivered hundreds throughout Oakland and the San Francisco Bay Area. 
Example of subscription box including Transcendent Kingdom
Example of subscription box including Transcendent Kingdom

We are incredibly proud of the success we’ve achieved so far, but are eager to expand and have a physical space for our growing community. We believe that a physical location will address a number of problems that we’ve observed in the literary space, including:

  1. Little to no cultural representation in physical bookstores of Black literature
  2. Bookstores not encouraging community, open dialogue, nor a gathering place to enjoy literature
  3. While historical/well-known authors are highly visible, many contemporaries & independent writers find it difficult to also have a platform to be seen

This is why we’ve come to you - our community - to help us hit the ground running with this lofty goal. Securing a physical location for The Collective - Oakland will inherently address these issues by acting as a central meeting location for like-minded bibliophiles interested in the growth of Black literary spaces. We will celebrate diverse writers with a particular focus on Black literature. The Collective - Oakland will be your modern-day book bar providing literature, cocktails, conversations, and coffee, all in the spirit of community. This will be a space to highlight upcoming writers and authors through book signings, conversations, panels, etc. Our target audience is anyone that is passionate and curious about literature, with an emphasis on up and coming Black or diverse authors.

Our goal is to raise $35,000. As a thank you for supporting our vision, we are happy to gift our donors with the tier incentives listed within this campaign. Absolutely any amount is greatly appreciated and will get us to our goal.

We want to thank everyone who has supported us so far, as well as our new donors and customers. We wouldn’t be where we are without our community, and we hope that you will donate, share, and continue to patronize The Collective - Oakland.

The Campaign FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions:

  • How long have you been in business?

September 18 marked one year since we launched our online site!

  • Where will the bookstore be located?

We have a few locations in mind and will update all donors when we've secured a specific location.

  • What COVID restrictions will be put in place once the store opens?

We will follow COVID guidelines provided by the CDC, including limiting the number of people who can come in at a time, masks will be required, hand sanitizer at the front door, etc.

 

Jules Norton
03/01/2021
It's Lit(erature)
$25
Dede
02/02/2021
Blind Date with a Book
$50
01/21/2021
A Seat at the Table
$1,000
01/20/2021
Blind Date with a Book
$50
Tiana Williams
01/19/2021
Blind Date with a Book
$50
Cher K
01/19/2021
Blind Date with a Book
$50
Sharon M Moulton
01/19/2021
Monetary Contribution
$50
Jenny Chu
01/18/2021
It's Lit(erature)
$25
Tanya Maluf
01/18/2021
Blind Date with a Book
$50
Julia A
01/18/2021
Monetary Contribution
$10
Monetary Contribution

Just Because I Care

13 Supporters
Select this reward
25.00 USD
It's Lit(erature)

In addition to your name being listed as one of our literary sponsors in our 1st newspaper, you will receive a curated playlist & 10 curated coffee + handcrafted cocktail recipes for you to enjoy while you #readdrinkchill.

27 Supporters
Select this reward
50.00 USD
Blind Date with a Book

In addition to the incentives from the lower tiers, you will receive a free surprise book! Tell us your book preference, or we can provide you with a brief description of our choosing! Either way you’ll enjoy quality time having a BLIND DATE with a BOOK.

66 Left
34 Supporters
Select this reward
100.00 USD
Capsule Piece

We love good bookish items.  In addition to the previous tier incentives, enjoy a unique, thoughtful art piece that was curated for this campaign ONLY.  This will not be sold in our store or online. Here is your chance to own a piece of The Collective – Oakland history.

41 Left
9 Supporters
Select this reward
250.00 USD
Limited Edition Subscription Box

Historically our boxes have sold out fast and we don’t disappoint! In addition to the previous tier incentives, we are curating a box for campaign supporters that will be chock-full of bookish items as well as a few items from small businesses in Oakland, CA.

17 Left
8 Supporters
Select this reward
500.00 USD
You’re invited!

Help us celebrate by gracing us with your presence at our Grand Opening. In addition to the incentives from the lower tiers, enjoy an evening of great conversation. Drinks and passed hors d’oeuvres.  A swag bag is included.

11 Left
4 Supporters
Select this reward
1,000.00 USD
A Seat at the Table

In addition to the incentives from the lower tiers, you’re invited to our Grand Opening as well as our kickoff for our A Seat at the Table series! Our Seat at The Table Brunch series will be the premiere event for our site where you will read, drink, and chill with your next favorite author at this inaugural event. Enjoy an afternoon of food, great conversation, hand crafted drinks and other bookish things. A swag bag is included. This is an event that you don’t want to miss.

8 Left
2 Supporters
Select this reward
2,500.00 USD
All In!

In addition to the incentives from the lower tiers, you will receive our subscription box for 1 full year!

5 Left
0 Supporters
Select this reward

About the Entrepreneur

Oakland, CA
Created 1 Campaign
Social Good

Rewards

Monetary Contribution

Just Because I Care

13 Supporters
Select this reward
25.00 USD
It's Lit(erature)

In addition to your name being listed as one of our literary sponsors in our 1st newspaper, you will receive a curated playlist & 10 curated coffee + handcrafted cocktail recipes for you to enjoy while you #readdrinkchill.

27 Supporters
Select this reward
50.00 USD
Blind Date with a Book

In addition to the incentives from the lower tiers, you will receive a free surprise book! Tell us your book preference, or we can provide you with a brief description of our choosing! Either way you’ll enjoy quality time having a BLIND DATE with a BOOK.

66 Left
34 Supporters
Select this reward
100.00 USD
Capsule Piece

We love good bookish items.  In addition to the previous tier incentives, enjoy a unique, thoughtful art piece that was curated for this campaign ONLY.  This will not be sold in our store or online. Here is your chance to own a piece of The Collective – Oakland history.

41 Left
9 Supporters
Select this reward
250.00 USD
Limited Edition Subscription Box

Historically our boxes have sold out fast and we don’t disappoint! In addition to the previous tier incentives, we are curating a box for campaign supporters that will be chock-full of bookish items as well as a few items from small businesses in Oakland, CA.

17 Left
8 Supporters
Select this reward
500.00 USD
You’re invited!

Help us celebrate by gracing us with your presence at our Grand Opening. In addition to the incentives from the lower tiers, enjoy an evening of great conversation. Drinks and passed hors d’oeuvres.  A swag bag is included.

11 Left
4 Supporters
Select this reward
1,000.00 USD
A Seat at the Table

In addition to the incentives from the lower tiers, you’re invited to our Grand Opening as well as our kickoff for our A Seat at the Table series! Our Seat at The Table Brunch series will be the premiere event for our site where you will read, drink, and chill with your next favorite author at this inaugural event. Enjoy an afternoon of food, great conversation, hand crafted drinks and other bookish things. A swag bag is included. This is an event that you don’t want to miss.

8 Left
2 Supporters
Select this reward
2,500.00 USD
All In!

In addition to the incentives from the lower tiers, you will receive our subscription box for 1 full year!

5 Left
0 Supporters
Select this reward