FEBRUARY IS FREE

Are you tired of working alone, and wanted to try co-working but aren't sure about it?

Do you love doing something so much that you want to share it with the world by teaching a class or workshop?

Do you have an idea for an event and need a space to realize it?

Well, February is the month to get sure because using the CivicLab for co-working, teaching workshops, or hosting events will be completely free for the entire month of February.

(Well. Sort of. Technically it's pay what you can, but if you can't pay anything, then it's free to you!)

Skip to the FAQ

Here's how people are taking advantage of Free February:

(Note: links and dates forthcoming)

  • Secrets of the Guerrilla Campaign
  • Wood Photo Transfers
  • Campaign Maturity Assessment
  • Community Organizing 101
  • Books to Incarcerated Youth
  • Poll Watching Training
  • DIY Heath Management
  • Inside the Activists Studio
  • Project Night: Civic Media and Creative Computing
  • How to Get a City of Chicago Artists Grant
  • Intro to Restorative Justice
  • Starting a Childhood Daycare Center: Getting Permits
  • Alledgedly Fundraiser
  • Public Lab Chicago
  • PyLadies
  • Change IO Bookclub: How Can I Help?
  • Concert: Medicine Bear and the Herbal Remedies (and others!)


Here are some other things you could do!

  • Make pants
  • Write a birthday card
  • Play chess
  • Correct my spelling errors and grammar
  • Sit in this tiny chair
  • Crochet a lion
  • Use a dry erase board
  • Use one of our nice computers to do graphic design, audio, and video editing
  • Have a potluck (we have a full kitchen!)
  • Draw a picture
  • Learn how to use a DIY Spectrometer
  • Outfit an underwater environmental monitoring drone
  • Have your band play a show
  • Use some of our nice digital media equipment (video recorder, audio, still image)

FAQ

Hold on there. Run this by me again?

Sure. During the month of February, using the space at CivicLab to co-work, teach a workshop, or host an event will be by donation only.

What am I saving?

Normally we charge $200.00 a desk for co-working, $30.00/hr for the main space, $15.00 for the conference room, and we split revenue with instructors 50/50.

Is attendance at events/workshops free as well?

That's up to the person putting on the event/workshop but the fee will probably be lower overall due to the fact that CivicLab is only taking the cut that the instructor wishes to give us.

What's this co-working thing?

You can find out more here, and see pictures of the space here. If you're interested, contact us at cowork[at]civiclab[dot]us before stopping by so we'll know to expect you.

What kinds of things could I do?

Check out our Flickr page for past events, but don't let that constrain your thinking. If you've ever had an idea for an event in which people would get together in space that is contained by four walls and a ceiling, you should bring it to the table.

What is the capacity of the space?

Our Flickr page will give you a pretty good feeling for how it can be re-arranged to accommodate various group settings. You can comfortably you can fit 50 people for a large event (we've had more), 20 for a class in the main space, and 10 for anything in the conference room.

Where are you located?

We're located in an old fire station in the West Loop at 114 N. Aberdeen St. Chicago, IL. We're three blocks from the Morgan green/pink El stop, two blocks from the Madison 20, and six blocks from the Halsted 8.

What time can I put on the event/workshop?

On the weekdays, events and workshops begin at 7:00PM. Weekends are made on a case by case basis, but in general, not before 11:00AM.

Can I have food and drink, what about alcoholic beverages?

We have a full kitchen and you can have alcoholic beverages. The latter has some nuances about it which we can discuss when you contact us for the awesome event you're having.

Are there any rules or restrictions?

If you are co-working, you will be required to sign our membership agreement, and put down any related deposits.

If you are hosting an event or workshop, there are a few more:

  1. The thing you do should be civic related. This gives you a wide range of latitude, in fact, if you can think of something that is not civic, let us know as it remains a long standing bet we have with ourselves. At any rate, the bounds of this are blurry but a class on how to make money trading options is probably not a good contender but a class on the banking system that would explain how markets work would be. Real estate law less so, but a class on how real estate law has been impacted by government policy, sure!
  2. You'll need to have a plan. While we're not looking to curate the entire month but we will want to know that you have thought things through, and that certain aspects for success are in place, a marketing plan for example. We've learned from experience that there are a few key ingredients to a successful happening. They don't all have to be present, but having none of them present is a recipe for an empty space and that's the opposite of what we're trying to do.
  3. In the vast majority of instances, you must put down a $50.00 deposit. This deposit will come with very short, clear, achievable list instructions for how to get it back, and the deductions that will be made for each item on the list not adhered to.
  4. We will advertise to our list, but you will be responsible for posting a listing to our Eventbrite page, marketing, and all functions during the event. We will of course be there to help.
  5. You must reserve at least 20% of your spots for others to pay what they can. For the less mathematically inclined, if you have an event of 30 people, that would be 6, a class of 15 would be 3.

This makes very little sense and my brain is feeling pain from trying to put it all together.

Forget why. Think about what you will do because of the why!

This is America, charging money for things is as American as charging money for apple pie.

It's not an idea that makes intuitive sense but it's not without precedent. Chris Anderson wrote a book about it. In fact, there's a whole movement called the free-software movement that relies upon this model of doing business? Software obeys different market forces, namely there's very little cost in replicating the software. However, part of spirit is similar; we have something we love very much, and we want other people to enjoy it, too. The best way to do that is to put as few barriers to accessing it as possible, and in doing so, expand our community at CivicLab. We just want the space to be used, and instead of trying to figure out the way people want to use it, we think it's more efficient to just let it flow, and allow people to use the space as they wish.

Wait. I see what's going on. It's free, but you're going to force me to put your album on my smartphone. Is this U2?

Nope. It would be pretty cool to be U2 though, but our U2 certainly would not push anything on you even if it was free.

Ah. I see. I *do* get a giftcard for an album of my choice, but I *don't* have to get an album from U2.

You do not get a giftcard.

Okay. I'll bite. Who do I contact?

Us.

Ha ha. Good. How?

freefeb[at]civiclab[dot]us

(sorry, woke up feeling a bit cheeky)