We Gave Away $7,000+ Worth Of Memberships in 2022

We did the math and we gave away $7,240 of memberships to individuals and groups in 2022! Thanks to DHS and individual contributions from y’all, we were able to give free Tool Library Memberships to all 45 groups and people who applied in 2022.

We are planning on getting these numbers much higher in 2023! If you’d like to contribute to our Financial Assistance Fund, give our Donate page a visit. If you’re interested in a free or discounted membership for you or your group, you can apply via our updated Tool Library Financial Assistance page.

Check out some quotes from people who received free memberships…

“After much struggle to get here I have finally bought a house! There are some home improvement things I’d like to work on and my yards are blank slates so need to work on those too! I like building things, I’m pretty handy for a single mom, but being such I don’t have much money to spend on tools. I’m also very interested in learning some new skills and having my son do so as well!”

“My spouse and I are both queer and he is trans. We have social work/therapy backgrounds abcs are trying to save money and pay off debt. We really want to preserve the things we have and some of those things need repairs! Having access to the tool library would help us save , reduce waste, and learn new skills in the meantime. We don’t usually feel comfortable going to big box tool stores so having a place we could go where there might Be other people like us would be a relief.”

“We recently bought a a condo that needed A LOT of work done so the tool library has been a dream for helping cut costs on renovations and DIY projects, allowing me to actually make it start to feel like a home. Unfortunately, my job let go of 500 staff two months ago, so I'm unable to afford a renewal this year as I'm currently unemployed.”

“As a disenfranchised elderly person, I could greatly use the tools offered on my house as it needs work done to it.”

“A membership would give me the tools (literally) that I need to finally finish 3 types of projects that I've been putting off for far too long: (1) projects to fix issues that are potentially harmful to my physical health - like repairing the holes that mice have been getting inside through, something I'm mostly capable of doing myself (if I had the tools), but that a professional quoted me almost $4,000 for, (2) projects that will save me money in the long run - like repairing cracks in my walls and sealing windows that I can't reach without a ladder, to make my home more energy efficient, and (3) projects that improve my mental health - like putting up shelves/clothing rods in my closet (which fell almost 2 years ago).”

“Having this opportunity would allow me to finally make my dream a reality and give me something to look forward to doing moving forward.”

A Miracle? Our Very First Tool is Still With Us! DTL1

Enjoy this emotionally charged photo of DTL1 - the very first tool we ever inventoried - a Makita circular saw. DTL1 has been checked out to 159 different people and has collected $265.75 worth of late fees in the almost 8 years it has been with us. I don't know whose terrible sharpied handwriting is on it, but it's good to see that a heavy finger on a teal spray can has marked our tools with careless abandon ever since day one.

Slim doesn't come close to measuring the chance that this tool should still be with us. At this point in every other timeline this saw's motor is seized, its plastic cracked, or metal shards from its own organs fill its casing. By now it should have been lent to a neighbor and never returned, bounced out of the back of a pickup truck on i-25, or thrown into a fire out of frustration during a project. But as fate would have it, DTL1 is still with us today, and it works pretty dang good.

Be Kind Bench Workshop - Building Recycled Bus Benches for Denver

James Warren builds bus benches out of recycled materials for the Denver Metro Area, and he just hosted his first Bench Bulling Workshop in our Community Workshop on 1/31! His group completed two benches that will allow people to take a load off while waiting for the bus.

“He saw a woman sitting in the dirt at a bus stop. So he began making benches.” -The Washington Post

James Warren is a mobility advocate in Denver who recognized one of the big issues with the transit system in the city: lack of bus stop amenities. Whether it be cover, trash disposal, or seating, bus stop amenities are crucial to the health and wellbeing of those who ride, as well as to making public transit a dignified experience. To that end, he's created benches for bus stops around the city, made from recycled materials, and is hosting the Be Kind Bench workshop to both teach the basics of woodworking as well as create new public amenities. Outfitting bus stops with benches will create a better public transit experience and shines a spotlight on where the city is failing, making this both a practical workshop and an act of advocacy. 

James has been featured in the Washington Post and the Drew Barrymore Show. You can follow him on Instagram @J_M_Warren

Unfortunately, there are no Be Kind Bench Workshop scheduled at the moment, but if you’re interested in potential future workshops, you can reach out to James.

Brand New Class! Intro to Knitting // 3.8.23

Our First Intro to Knitting Class is Wednesday, March 8th // 5:30pm - 8pm

We’ve added another brand new class to our Fiber Arts Department: Intro to Knitting with Diana!

Learn the fundamentals of knitting while making a basic scarf that you can start in class and take home to finish. Become familiar with basic techniques including casting on, casting off, and basic knitting stitches. Understand the language of knitting patterns, get yarn and needle recommendations, and gain the confidence to continue your knitting journey. No experience required.

Knitting has become the new go to art for new brain development and relaxation of the 2020’s. These classes are conducted in a friendly and inviting manner and you will come away feeling like you’ve joined a community of artisans.

Teacher Bio: Diana has been knitting for over 50 years off and on. She now calls it her passion and loves teaching beginners through advanced.

Brand New Class! Drywall: Knowing Your Home Renovation Series

Our First Drywall Class will Be: Friday, March 10th // 5:30pm - 8:30pm

We’ve added another class to our Knowing Your Home Renovation Series, and this one is covers the exciting art of drywall! It will be another home improvement class with our hilarious and super knowledgeable resident home guy David Cooke. He will cover installing, repairing, patching, cutting, taping, mudding, and sanding sheetrock, as well as what tools from the Tool Library you’ll need to do it all yourself.

Five Easy Ways to Help the Denver Tool Library

We don’t all have time to be a regular volunteer and we aren’t all rich beyond our wildest dreams, so here’s five super easy ways to help us out (if you’re rich beyond your wildest dreams, skip this article and click here).

Way One: Amazon Smile

Look, we all know Amazon isn't great. We’re not trying to convince you to use Amazon if you don't already, BUT if you do, they have a program called Amazon Smile where we get a small percent of every one of your purchases. It's easy to sign up.

  1. Make THIS your new bookmark for Amazon shopping. It’s Amazon SMILE which is important.

  2. Sign in there with your regular account info and select a charity, which might I highly recommend the Denver Tool Library?

  3. As long as you start shopping from that new bookmark, anything you buy makes Bezos have to shell out some fraction of some clams to the DTL. Yay.

Way TWO: King Soops

King Soopers has a program similar to Amazon where they kick a non-profit of your choice a small percent of all of your purchases. If you get groceries/ gas/ beer there on the reg, consider putting our name on your account.

  1. Create an account at their website. It's quick - you can skip the little setup wizard that comes second if ya want.

  2. Go to this Community Rewards page of your Account Dashboard and search for Denver Tool Library.

  3. Click enroll. Easy peasy! Now a really mathematically obscure percentage of your spending will be donated to the DTL! Hoorah!

WAY THREE: LEAVE A 5 STAR REVIEW ON GOOGLE

Not into those shoppy choices of how to help? Leave us a Google review. It’s super helpful in convincing people who say “wtf is a tool library” that we are cool and they should take a chance and try us out.

WAY FOUR: TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW THAT WE’RE AWESOME.

Tell your friends how much we’ve helped you! Tag us in stories about your project or just be that annoying "crypto bro" but instead of crypto talk about what a cool concept a tool library is.

WAY FIVE: SEND us a couple buckS.

And who can’t forget the last easy way to help - Venmoing us a few bucks @denvertoollibrary, or kicking a tax-deductible donation our way! For those who have the means, even a little money can go a long way in repairing/buying tools and subsizing memberships for people/orgs.

THANK YOU, YAY, GOOD JOB, WOOHOO!!

Updated: DTL Financial Assistance

We’ve made Financial Assistance for Tool Library Memberships and Classes easier to apply for than ever (Open Workshop Hours coming soon)!

We only have a small bit of funding at the moment, but we are always looking for grants and donors to contribute to our Financial Assistance Fund. As that fund grows, we will update these new pages to reflect who we can help and how much assistance people and organizations may able to receive.

If you would like to learn more about these programs, check out our updated Tool Library Financial Assistance page and our updated Classes Financial Assistance page.

Colorado Village Collaborative - Red Vest Day 2022

We are Raising Prices a Bit on 2/15. Lock In Our Current Prices Before Then!

It’s time for the DTL to raise some prices a bit to keep up with the times. Tool Library Memberships and Open Workshop Hours are going to be adjusted so we can continue to pay our staff fair wages and keep up with rising costs (see below). Classes will stay the same.

The good news is, the increase for a Standard Individual Membership is only an extra $2.50 per month (is that even a cup of coffee anymore?). Hopefully that’s a small impact on your end,* and it adds up to a big impact on ours. With this extra income we'll be able to do a lot to keep the DTL community strong, including....

  • Increase wages for the librarians and shop monitors you know and love.

  • Hire skilled staff to repair/maintain our heavily used tool inventory.

  • Keep up with this year’s rent increase, plus the rising cost of utilities, tools, and supplies.

  • Continue providing discounted and free memberships for low income folks and local organizations doing important work in our community.

*If these new prices are a strain to your economic situation, you can apply for Financial Assistance on our website.

You can also lock in our current prices if you’d like! From now till FEBRUARY 15th, you can buy a Tool Library Membership or buy an Open Workshop Punch Card at 2022 prices and redeem when you’re ready. If you have a current membership, we can add a full year to your current expiration date. Feel free to reply to this email if you have any questions about it!


As of February 15th, our new pricing will be…

TOOL LIBRARY MEMBERSHIPS

Standard Individual Membership: $150

GOLD Individual Membership: $250

Standard Household Membership: $200

GOLD Household Membership: $300

One Time Checkout: $40

Group Membership: $400

Group Membership GOLD: $600

*If you're a local nonprofit doing good work with a small budget, you can choose to apply to our Rad Orgz Membership Fund before you purchase! 



Open Workshop Hours

Open Workshop 10 Hours Punch Card: $165

Open Workshop Hourly - Members: $19/h

Open Workshop Hourly - Non-Members: $22/h

*Your current punch card will still work through 2023

2022 Impact - We've Saved Members $$$!

Well the math isn’t the BEST, but with about 10,000 tools checked out of the library in 2022 we estimate we’ve saved Denver Tool Library members about half a million dollars over the year! That’s not only a ton of money back in our members’ pockets, but it’s a lot fewer unused tools eventually ending up in the landfill, it’s a lot more home repairs made possible that otherwise would have been unaffordable, and it’s the ability for some members to pursue creative endeavors that they otherwise couldn’t.

We’re stoked y’all allowed us to make such a big impact in our community. Thanks for such a good year, and cheers to many more!