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Dear Friends and Supporters of Omni Commons,

As we approach Giving Seaon, we reflect on the crucial role Omni Commons plays in our community. We stand as one of the largest collectively owned and operated community buildings in the East Bay, a beacon of cooperation and mutual support. Our collective is home to transformative projects like Counter Culture Labs, which pioneers in citizen science and DIY biology, and Food Not Bombs, which has been delivering free food across neighborhoods since 1991.

Last year, thanks to the extraordinary generosity of individuals like you, we raised over $60,000. This remarkable feat enabled us to continue our critical grassroots work, fostering a more equitable sharing of resources and meeting human needs over private interests. Our recent initiatives, such as the body-positive Sketchboard project and the development of Omni into a community resilience hub, exemplify our commitment to community engagement and care.

As we move forward, the need for our collective efforts only grows. The Omni Commons is not just a building; it’s a vibrant hub where ideas, resources, and passion converge to create a healthier, more resilient community. We are again turning to you, our valued supporters, to help us sustain and expand our impact.

Your contribution on this Giving Tuesday will be more than a donation; it will be an investment in a community dedicated to radical collaboration and social change. Together, we can continue to champion initiatives that make a tangible difference in people’s lives.

Please join us in this journey of community building and social transformation. Every donation, big or small, brings us closer to our vision of a more equitable and connected world.

Donate

This Giving Season, join us in supporting Omni Commons, a pivotal collective in the East Bay, as we continue our mission to foster community resilience and innovation. Last year, your generosity helped us raise over $60,000, fueling projects that bring vital resources and creative spaces to our community. Your contribution today will help sustain our efforts in empowering diverse collectives and initiatives. Together, we can build a stronger, more connected community.

As community spaces are becoming more and more rare as rents rise and developers sell out, OMNI Commons is serving a crucial role:

• Diverse Collective Support: By donating to Omni Commons, you’re directly supporting a unique collective housing 8 different groups dedicated to frontline work, addressing the needs of the East Bay’s most vulnerable and underserved communities.
• Community Nourishment: Your contributions help sustain Food Not Bombs, a vital collective based at Omni Commons for 8 years, which feeds thousands annually, demonstrating our commitment to food security and community care.
• Affordable Event Space: Omni Commons is a hub for emerging artists and nonprofits, providing them with affordable venues. This includes hosting diverse events such as fashion shows from our own sewing classes, day-long dance fundraisers, and innovative art exhibitions showcasing local talent.
  
• Mutual Aid and Community Solidarity: Your donation bolsters our mutual aid efforts, evident in our tri-weekly free store, where we distribute clothing and essentials, demonstrating our commitment to practical support and solidarity in both daily life and emergencies.

Resilience Hub in Action

Omni Commons demonstrate its vital role as a resilience hub during January’s atmospheric river, providing shelter and safety to over 50 unhoused individuals. This response underscores our facility’s crucial role in bolstering community resilience during emergencies.

• Rapid Community Response: The quick mobilization of Omni volunteers during this crisis reflects our deep commitment to community support and readiness. It highlights our ability to act swiftly and compassionately in urgent situations, embodying our principles of solidarity and mutual aid.
  
• Broad-Based Community Support: The generous influx of donations from the region in response to this crisis highlights the strong community backing for Omni Commons. It showcases the collective’s significance as a key resource and support system in the broader community network.

This incident serves as a compelling example of Omni Commons’ multifaceted role – not just as a space for events and collectives, but as an essential emergency response and support center, pivotal in times of community need.

We are proud of our work, but are a turning point in our history and are asking for your support again.

As we look towards a sustainable future for Omni Commons, we face crucial immediate and long-term needs that require your support. In the short term, we urgently need to address essential repairs, such as fixing our leaky roof before the winter rains, enhancing accessibility by making our building ADA compliant, and ensuring the continuation of our vibrant events through funding part-time staff.

Our long-term vision expands on these foundations. We aim to secure the future of Omni Commons by purchasing the building, enabling us to hire permanent staff. This step is vital in establishing ourselves as a Resilience Hub, dedicated to providing ongoing programs and services to vulnerable populations, not only in times of crisis but consistently throughout the year.

Your contribution today can make these goals a reality. With your support, we can continue to be a haven for community engagement, support, and resilience. Help us maintain and grow our capacity to serve as a vital resource in our community.

Please consider donating today to help us reach these important milestones.
Donate Here!

“I imagine a place where everyone -  from families with young children to anarchist collectives -  love to visit and feel included.�

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