The clock is ticking, not just for the end of 2013, but for two fundraising campaigns for independent bookstores on different sides of the country. Changing Hands in Tempe, Ariz., has eight days left to raise another $8,200 as part of its Frank ‘N Moby Build a Bookstore campaign on Indiegogo to help fund a second store in Phoenix. The bookstore has raised nearly $72,000, but chose a potentially risky course to maximize the percentage of pledged donations it will receive. Its decision to go with fixed funding means that if it doesn’t meet its $80,000 goal, it gets nothing. Earlier this week it got a boost when Indiegogo featured the campaign on its home page.
In New York City, St. Mark’s Bookshop announced that it has extended its online “Saved by the Book" benefit auction of signed rare and first editions until 10 p.m. on Sunday night, December 22. It’s a very different type of online fundraiser, for a very different type of store. The proceeds from the sale of works like Anne Carson’s Antigonick, with a cover hand-drawn by the author and her annotations; a signed first edition of Patti Smith’s Just Kids; and a signed, lightly annotated by the author first edition of Junot Diaz’s Drown will help make possible the bookstore’s move to a new, more affordable location.
