Target reached!
We're super stoked to have reached the £2000 target we set for the basic refurbishme...
Embers Non-Profit Alternative Bar: Set Up
Carlisle, England, United Kingdom
Aim
Getting Embers on its feet! - setting up a community owned and run rock and alternative bar in Carlisle - Stage 1 Refurbishment....
Getting Embers on its feet! - setting up a community owned and run rock and alternative bar in Carlisle
We're trying to run this venue for you - but if you've been in recently you'll be aware there is a lot of work to be done! We need to fix toilets, and flooring, and {almost all } glass, and seating, and bar equipment, and heaters, and chairs, and tables.......... the list just goes on and on....
This crowdfund is to support the initial development of the venue - help to fix it up and get it moving!
Overview
Embers Community Venture Ltd operate Embers bar in Carlisle. This venue operates on a non-profit basis, investing all of its profits back into the community which attends the venue, aiming to provide a long term, sustainable alternative option in the nightlife of Cumbria.
The community we serve can be loosely identified as those people who proudly identify with alternative subcultures. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Metalheads
- Punks
- Rockers
- Goths
- Geeks
- Bikers
- Hippies
Goals:
Operating the Venue
Circumstances which led to the opportunity being presented have meant that the committee needed to form incredibly quickly, to ‘rescue’ the bar from closure. Because of this we are in a position of having to run the venue at the same time as develop the venture.
The bar operates with a paid staff team, led by an experienced Bar Manager.
We are required to pay all of the bills usually associated with a venue of this type, including rent, business rates and insurances.
We operate the venue with an attitude based entry policy. A ‘dress code’ can be difficult to enforce with such a varied customer base, and a ‘give respect: get respect’ policy fits better with the overall aims of the venture.
Register the venture as a CIC, providing security for the future governance.
We have been successful in attaining some support from Cybermoor, funded by Cumbria County Council, and they are supporting the directors to develop the governance of the venture.
It is our intention to change the governance structure from the current Company Limited by Guarantee, running with a non-profit constitution, to become a Community Interest Company (a CIC). A CIC is a special type of limited company which exists to benefit the community rather than private shareholders.
We intend the CIC to operate with a membership, open to our community, who will provide direction on the future operations of the venture, and electing committee members/directors, bringing the community to the heart of the decisionmaking process, and keeping them truly in control.
Develop the offer from within the venue, improving:
The physical appearance of the venue
Unit 7 has been wholly neglected over a number of years, and as such there is a rather long list of general maintenance issues, which we are already beginning to tackle.
We also plan to address two main issues with the venue layout, removing some seating to the rear of the venue, which will greatly improve the stage area - allowing direct line of sight to a greater proportion of the venue. We will also move the DJ booth to behind the (rather large) bar area - enabling a closer symbiosis between the venue management and the DJ, as well as better use of space, and more coordinated sound desk for live events.
We would like to completely refurbish the appearance of the venue, but see this as a longer term process, and are doing what we feel will make the greatest impact to customer experience first.
The Live Music offer
The committee are determined to plug the gap for club level live music gigs in Carlisle. Carlisle has excellent larger scale dedicated concert venues in The Brickyard and The Old Fire Station - but there is a clear space for a bar, with a more informal performance space, which local bands are able to offer in barter for exchange gigs in other areas of the country.
We have a dedicated, highly experienced committee member for events and promotions, to meet this end.
The added value offer - which would be serving the community in ways outside of basic venue operations.
Our longer term aims include providing additional value to the offer to our community. This currently is an emerging picture, and we have discussed offering things as diverse as ‘Metal Yoga’ classes within the venue, to providing subsidised transport to festivals, or studio time for upcoming Cumbrian Bands - or offering free counselling to people who self-harm (of which the incidence is higher in people who identify with alternative subcultures). We see the future of the venue as a community hub, serving the community in multiple ways.
Provide support to the community of 'Alternative Subcultures' within Carlisle.
As mentioned above, we are keen to expand the offer in the longer term to supporting the community in both health and wellbeing matters - but also we understand the importance of belonging, and we want to reach out to those who are lonely, or rurally isolated within Cumbria, and enable them to be a part of Embers too. We will utilise social media and video technology to make this possible.
Attain longer term sustainability
The alternative scene in Carlisle has had a long history, and had moved venues over the years from clubs like ‘Star and Stripes’, through ‘The Pagoda’, ‘The Wheel’, ‘The Front Page’, ‘TC’s’, ‘Club Rock’ and others, but what has been apparent in more recent years, has been the instability of this offer.
By operating the venue as a non-profit, for the community, we hope to be able to provide a sustainable future for the alternative community, and to grow with its changing needs and interests over the coming years.
We want to be able to support the continued employment of it’s staff, and provide opportunities for them to develop their skills base, with appropriate training opportunities, which develop them as individuals. We want to offer opportunities for people to gain employment experience, and support them to develop a career which, longer term will benefit the economic development of Cumbria.
Based at Unit 7 Englishgate Plaza, Embers is a bar run by and for its community Members. It is operated by Embers Community Venture Ltd. A not-for-profit organisation, currently in the process of registering as a Community Interest Company (CIC).
This project successfully funded on 12th August 2017