Grants

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[edit] Topics for Grants

Dorkbot tools
Grokist - community education, contingency trees, etc - software developed by Jigsaw member at Jigsaw. est $3000 for dev support, $100/mo for use
development of educational outreach, so that members would have time to develop curriculum and take it to schools and other community groups (necessarily at least 10 hours a week for a year I would think)
Project-Based Learning using FREE Open Source Web-based elearning environment such as: Moodle. --Wise.Cricket 19:14, 1 March 2011 (PST)

a supply of free-use consumables around, avid jigsawians and nebz alike would be less driven towards closed off person projects and more likely to collaborate without the concern of "can I use this?" like bandsaw blade shortage on mutant toy night
Tools & Materials
Buy some weird tool that people normally have no access to. Perhaps a beginners' lampwork (glassblowing) station? A little bitty inexpensive TIG welder (or do we already have one?) Spotwelder. Speaking of which, I can loan my big abrasive cutoff saw if the space sets aside a "really filthy" section, or finds a rental space with an outdoor paint/sawdust shed area.
Get a flyer from Harbor Freight Tools
A cnc. Or maybe some welding equipment.
decent tools, ie drill, circular saw, COMPLETE screwdriver/ wrench set (metric and standard) small welding station
A working Reprap mendel would be nice. That's only ~$1k each. You could then spend another 3k more on parts and supplies and the rest on classes and workshops.
Consumables: wire, connectors, craft metal, wood, bolts and nuts, jellybean components (LEDs, resistors, common transistors), easily-worked plastic, glues, heatshrink, small motors or servos, batteries and battery holders.
Tools: Good wirestrippers, soldering irons, a crimp tool, bench supplies, multimeters, a heat gun; small files, drillbits, nibblers, pliers, tweezers, clamps, grinding/etc tools (eg dremel or foredom).

To create an 8-hour per week position for someone to maintain the space and operate a front desk for a year.

Hire a video blogger, editor, and web designer to document, evangelize, and help build the community around Seattle and online.
Put in some amount for "promoting buzz" and a couple of paid ads for getting word out that Jigsaw exists. Perhaps get feet wet by experimenting with a few weeks of Stranger classifieds? Or those free offers for $100 of Adwords ads.
Online word-of-mouth campaigns work slowly, so perhaps consider placing an ad on makezine.com or boingboing.net. See what happens, then try it again (or not.) How much funding is needed to compete with Digikey and Qwest for makers' eyeballs on the biggest sites? :)
Weekly open discussion on popular topics.--Wise.Cricket 19:14, 1 March 2011 (PST)