HPC Expansion Update - Dec 1, 2008

You may have heard that the Hampden Park Cooperative is planning to purchase the building we occupy. Owning our building has been a longstanding goal and we will be asking all of you—staff, members and other shoppers—to help make this a reality.

As we work with our bank on securing a mortgage, it currently appears that we will need to raise an additional $400,000 in loans and gifts from our members. The management and the board of directors are exploring ways to raise these funds. A fundraising campaign will begin in the first quarter of 2009. Active members will receive a letter indicating that we are purchasing the building and that we are requesting a gift or a loan to accomplish this. A phone call will follow the fundraising letter so the member can ask questions and receive more detailed information before making a decision.

Other fundraising ideas currently under consideration include:

1. A “round-up” campaign: When you make a purchase the cashier will ask if you would like to round the purchase amount up to the next higher dollar amount ($24.79 would round up to $25.00).
2. Temporarily decrease the discount percentage for volunteering members: Currently 7% of the total income of the co-op is expensed to cover member discounts. If this percentage is lowered by just 1% the savings will reach $83,000 over a three-year period. All of these savings would be dedicated to the building purchase.

No final decisions have been made and we encourage you to contribute your own fundraising ideas. Please contact a staff or board member with your suggestions. We are excited about our future and hope that you will help us achieve our goal.