Yes, Chicago is a huge city, but unfortunately the majority of current coworking and shared office spaces are located in the downtown or West Loop area. 

BLEND will be a coworking and shared office space conveniently located on the northside of Chicago (in the historic Uptown neighborhood), which is easily accessible for the thousands of Chicago residents who do not live in or near the congested downtown area.

In addition to coworking and shared office space, BLEND will offer a variety of events and activities specifically designed for Chicagoans to connect with their neighbors while also engaging with and learning about: local businesses, community organizations, public officials, and more.

The mission of BLEND is to build stronger communities in Chicago by connecting people through collaborative work environments, interactive events, and social learning opportunities. 

10% of the funds raised by this campaign will be given to an entrepreneur who would like to open their business in the same neighborhood of Chicago (Uptown) as BLEND. This is our way of showing appreciation for funding raised, "paying it forward," and contributing to the economic development of our community.

Our mission is to build stronger communities in Chicago by connecting people through bringing them together...and to do that we need a conveniently located, multi-functional space to host these meetings. Just like having people over at your own house, there needs to be basic amenities on hand to accommodate your guests. We'll need those kinds of things (we certainly don’t want to make people stand or run out of toilet paper!)

Since it will take time for our community of members to grow, we need funds to purchase necessary items and cover our operating costs for a few months until we grow our network of members large enough to be fully sustainable.

- Tables, chairs, desks, and a conference table

- Wi-Fi equipment, initial wiring and setup costs

- Projector, screen, speakers

- Coffee maker, microwave, hot water pot, small refrigerator

- Coffee, filters, tea, cream, sugar, snacks on hand

- Cleaning products, janitorial supplies, hand towels, soap, toilet paper

- Rent (it's not cheap to operate a business in Chicago), we need help covering our cost of rent for the first few months, until we can grow our community network large enough to pay for all of our expenses. 

- Operating Expenses: gas and electric, water, Wi-Fi and phone service, IT support, insurance (again, we only need help to cover these costs in the beginning, until we grow large enough to cover all of our expenses ourselves).

Survey by deskmag (www.deskmag.com)