The Gnu's Room is strengthening its role as a community builder by becoming a nonprofit organization.
The Auburn coffee and book shop plans to continue its mission of supporting literacy and will now have a better opportunity to serve the community as a center for the arts.
"We love doing local events around town, but the change to a nonprofit organization will open up more fund trust for us to do this for people," said Haley Bridges, employee at The Gnu's Room.
Owner Tina Tatum said this change was something she had been considering for a while.
"We knew that as a business, we were bouncing along OK, but we wanted to expand some things that we were able to offer to the community," Tatum said.
Bridges said The Gnu's Room will host events which will include local musical acts, poetry readings and book signings.
It will even offer film and documentary showings that are not available in theaters.
In addition to that involvement, The Gnu's Room is starting a small press, which will publish two to three books a year, depending on available funds.
By becoming a nonprofit entity, the shop would be in a position to accept charitable donations and apply for grants.
"The only thing this really changes is that we get funding, and then when people bring in books for us, they can get trade credit and do a tax return," Bridges said. "This change will benefit us and the customers and not really change things in terms of the way we do business."
Tatum said the business was already a well-developed model for the transformation into a nonprofit entity.
"We already had something that generated revenue, which was the coffee and the book sales," Tatum said. "So, we didn't have to rely on that except for anything to cover rent and utilities overhead."
Tatum said the community has been positive about the change, and she is happy to work with people who share her vision of serving the public.
"I feel like The Gnu's Room from the beginning had the spirit of a nonprofit organization," Tatum said.
"I want The Gnu's Room to be around for many years."
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