Okay, let’s get real about the finances for a minute.

We’re dealing with a very stressful funding delay. Our SBA loan has been approved, but it can’t be distributed until the City makes a decision on our matching Incentive Fund Grant. If we accept the loan funds first, we’re no longer eligible for the grant.

So we wait.

From what we understand, this is simply the City taking longer than expected, which is... not exactly shocking. But it creates a very real problem on our end because we can’t pay contractors or purchase the supplies and materials we need without the funds in hand.

What that means right now is that we’re cutting out the “nice-to-haves” and focusing on the essentials needed to open on time. We’re also working with a few community investors who are helping us cover renovation costs during this gap period, which is one of about 900 things I am learning how to navigate in real time.

We’re breathing. We’re breathing. This will happen, one way or another.

Thank you for sticking with us, cheering us on, sharing the campaign, and helping us keep moving forward.

Rutabaga 2.0 Fundraising Campaign is LIVE!

Rutabaga is moving to a bigger home in East Falls this September, and our community campaign is officially live!

We’re raising $30,000 to help bring the new space to life as one important piece of our bigger funding plan. This support will help us create more room for toy lending, play, parties, classes, and the warm, welcoming community space families count on from Rutabaga.

Your support will help with things like:

• An activity room for parties, art classes, sensory play, and messy fun
• A much larger playspace designed for a wider age range
• A dedicated library room with space for so many more toys
• A stroller path for easier front-door access
• Warm, welcoming Rutabaga touches throughout the building

If you’re able to contribute, we would be so grateful. If giving isn’t possible right now, sharing the campaign is a huge help.

Thank you for helping us build what’s next.

Rutabaga is not a 501(c)(3), so contributions are not tax-deductible.

It’s been a minute since I’ve posted an update because things have been fast and furious behind the scenes.

We had Community Volunteer Day #2, and this time there were babies! Families brought their kiddos along, we set up a little temporary play area, and somehow work still got done. Very Rutabaga.

We’re still waiting on funding, which is honestly very stressful. A lot of big decisions are hanging on that, and we’re doing our best to keep moving forward while we wait. So if you see me in the wild and I seem a little spacey, please know my brain is currently in about 59 places at once.

We’re also getting ready to launch our Givebutter campaign for donations. It’s kind of like GoFundMe, but with more flexibility for giving levels, donor recognition, and updates, and it doesn’t take a platform fee from us. We’ll be launching that this Monday and sharing all the details soon.

In the meantime, we finally found a door company to install a storefront glass door. You would not believe how hard it is to get someone to do just one door. Apparently they prefer bigger jobs? We had estimated about $8K for the door, but so far we haven’t found a quote under $13K. So that’s fun.

Next up: getting ready to paint, choosing cabinets for the kitchenette, picking flooring for the playroom, and getting quotes for the Loft Treehouse I keep dreaming about.

Our next Community Volunteer Day is Sunday, June 28 at 2 PM, where we'll be preparing the walls for paint, cleaning out closets, and STILL working on that gum!

Big news y’all: we took down a wall!

Now we can really see the full size of the future playroom, and it’s very exciting. There’s still a lot to do, but this was one of those moments where the vision started to feel a little more real.

I know I’m not at Rutabaga as much these days, and when I am, I’m usually completely distracted. But it’s because so much is happening behind the scenes.

I’m dreaming about colors and design with a mural artist, planning the front desk layout with a carpenter, calling what feels like a billion door companies for a quote on a new glass front door, and connecting with so many wonderful community members who are ready to support us in this adventure. It’s a lot. It’s exciting. It’s overwhelming. And it’s starting to feel very real.

We also had our first Community Volunteer Day on Sunday and got so much done. Huge thank you to everyone who came out, hauled things, cleaned things, figured things out, and helped us start to make the space feel more like Rutabaga. It was also great to give tours and talk about our plans.

NOTE: We’re also looking for a few more volunteers who can help with planning fundraisers and connecting with possible donors. If that sounds like something you’d be good at, please reach out to Ali at Ali@RutabagaPhilly.com.

Our next Community Volunteer Day is Saturday, June 13 from 10 AM to 12 PM. We’d love to have you there!

We’re in the very fancy phase of getting quotes for the bigger build-out pieces, like taking down a wall, building the kitchenette, replacing the front doors, and adding an awning over the entryway. Basically: lots of measuring, pricing, re-pricing, and saying, “Wait, how much does that cost?”

We’re still waiting to hear back about small business funding, which is very stressful and very real. We’re hoping to have some answers this week. Fingers crossed, deep breaths, all of it.

We’ve also hired two community coordinators to help us make the most of all the love, support, ideas, and offers you’ve been sending our way. That means you’ll start hearing from us soon about volunteer days, specific items or skills we’re looking for, and a few chances to gather in the new space so you can see what we’re dreaming up.

Also top of mind: we’re realizing we need to start advocating for a crosswalk or four-way stop near the new space. So we’ll keep you posted on that too, especially if there’s a petition or community push coming.

More soon. Thank you for following along and helping us bring Rutabaga 2.0 to life!

The lease for our new space started on Friday, and this is a surreal moment! All the memories of our first space before it became Rutabaga, the vision, the process, the late nights, and tough decisions... it’s all flooding back to me and can be scary.

But this time is different. I’ve learned so much about what it takes to create a space that is loved and to make short-term decisions with the long-term vision in mind. And most importantly, I have you all!

Big news: Rutabaga officially has a next home. We signed the lease! It was so special to announce it at the Earth Day Party on Saturday with some of you, our loving community!

This decision was exciting, scary, hopeful, and honestly really hard. We originally thought we were looking for something just a little bigger, but commercial spaces that work for Rutabaga are hard to find, especially if we wanted to stay in East Falls. So we’re stepping into a space that is much, much bigger.

That means more room for the toy library, play, parties, camps, classes, and all the ideas we’ve been squeezing into our current space. It also means a much bigger lift than we expected.

We’re working on small business financing and, hopefully, a Commerce Department grant. We’ll know more soon, but crowdfunding is still a really important part of making this move possible. We’ll share more about this in the coming weeks.

So Phase 2 is filled in, now on to Phase 3: Making It Possible and Phase 4: Design & Plan. While we’ve been planning out the space for some time now, this is where the rubber meets the road and we need to lock in some decisions!

As we move through the build-out and planning process, we’ll be sharing updates here, along with volunteer days, professional-skill needs, donation links, and a running list of things we’re looking for.

Thank you for helping us grow into Rutabaga’s next home!

We’re currently in Phase 2: Find the Right Fit and Phase 3: Make It Possible. Right now that means reviewing a lease, digging into the budget, and working through funding options to see what it would take to make this next space real.

I’m a little awkward at the whole video-update thing, but I’m doing it anyway 😅 I’m committed to sharing the journey, and I’ll keep posting updates in IG Highlights and linking them here as they come together.