Keep MidMoveCollective in North Monroe

Midwest Movement Collective (located in West Michigan) is Grand Rapids' intentionally inclusive dance & movement space for adults. Since opening our doors June 12, 2022, we have enthusiastically welcomed folks of all identities & abilities in our studio. We offer a large variety of movement styles including pole dance, ballet, contemporary, tap, aerial silks, yoga, and more - our space intentionally invites diverse movement for diverse bodies. MMC is stewarded by a staff of ten skilled instructors and two co-founders: Hannah Mico & Paige Gabert. We are celebrating our first anniversary this week in June 2023.

Today, June 8, 2023, MMC received a Notice to Quit from our Property Management Company. This means that we have to choose between vacating our space in North Monroe OR rectifying a past due rent balance by June 15. We have one week to raise over $15,000 in order to maintain our residence in our studio space. This balance was accrued over months of making good faith partial rent payments, long before MMC breaks even (as of now, MMC is still not breaking even and covering our costs); it includes $12,800 in past due rent, as well as $3,700 in rent due July 1, 2023.

If we are unable to pay that balance, our Property Management Company will pursue formal eviction and we will lose our space. Not only would eviction displace the studio, but we would lose $160,000 in custom construction investments made to the space, funded by a regionally located Community Development Funding Initiative. Co-founders Paige & Hannah have been attempting to self-fund studio costs throughout the first year of business, but are no longer able to assume additional debt to keep the doors open. 

The reality of small business ownership is this: small businesses are owned by real people. Real people who are single parents, first-time homeowners, recent college graduates, working multiple jobs, and piecing together income to cover the ever-rising costs of living; all the while, keeping the doors to their businesses open at all costs. Midwest Movement Collective needs significant community support to stay afloat: we are humbled that as we celebrate our first anniversary, we are also battling for our position in Northwest Grand Rapids. 

We are not offering any gifts, incentives, or praise: we are simply asking for support. 

We promise we will persist just as voraciously in our second year, should we make it through this week, and be here to celebrate in June 2024 with each one of you.