Facing dire financial straits, Octavia's Bookshelf in Pasadena, Calif., has turned to crowdfunding to help stay open, Pasadena Now reported.
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| Nikki High | |
Store owner Nikki High launched a GoFundMe campaign with a goal of $75,000; in just a few days it has raised $76,000 from more than 1,200 donors.
"To be completely transparent, we need an urgent influx of cash to keep us afloat right now," High wrote on the GoFundMe page. "The coffers are dry and the reserves are nonexistent. We are being faced with tremendous financial mountains to climb to get [where] we need to be to be sustainable and I need your help once again."
High opened Octavia's Bookshelf in February 2023 after leaving a job in communications, and to help get the shop up and running, she ran a GoFundMe campaign that raised about $22,000. The bookstore initially met with success, and it wasn't long before it moved from its original home at 1361 North Hill Ave. to a larger location.
However, business has been much slower than expected since the start of 2024, leaving Octavia's Bookshelf in a precarious situation. Pasadena Now noted that High considered other options before returning to GoFundMe, such as "launching a Patreon, applying for grants, and negotiating a move back to a smaller location. These efforts have not yielded sufficient results."
"Even with what I've shared," High wrote on social media, "I still know that this is a viable business and this space is crucial to our community."