As was reported at the Annual Owner Meeting in October, the costs associated with opening the Rooted Carrot Co-op Market have increased. The Capital Campaign Committee is already adjusting its strategy to address that gap.
As building material and equipment costs increase across the U.S., the Rooted Carrot’s Board of Directors has been very proactive in doing the research to understand the impact of these national trends on our proposed community-owned grocery store. That research included seeking information from co-op consultants, other start-up co-ops, and the contractors we are currently working with. The Co-op also discussed these changes with the lenders currently involved in this project.
After reviewing the new projections as well as updated data on grocery store labor and margins, the Co-op completed an overhaul of its financial pro forma, the document that provides a 10-year projection on sales, growth, etc. While we saw a number of line items increase, we were able to identify a few areas of opportunity to scale back costs, including consulting fees and overrun allowance. We also worked with the developer to scale back the overall store size about 300 square feet to help absorb some of these costs increases.
The result of this work is that the total cost of the Rooted Carrot Co-op Market project has increased approximately $170,000, from $2.72M to $2.89M. An outline of the updated costs and the ways we’ll secure the funding are outlined here:
The Capital Campaign will absorb the bulk of the increased costs. Our committee feels confident that expanding the campaign goal to $1.75M (from $1.6M) is attainable. In fact, very doable! We’ve identified a few strategies that can address this increase and we are looking forward to finalizing those plans and announcing them soon.
We are in the process of updating the Co-op’s Capital Campaign materials, but in the meantime, the campaign continues! Community members and Co-op owners who are interested in establishing the area’s only community-owned grocery store are encouraged to support this effort. Here are some ways to do so:
- Contribute. Make your loan (members only) or donation if you haven’t yet (or increase your contribution). Please contact us for details on how you can support this effort.
- Volunteer. We are recruiting a few more volunteers for various positions in the campaign (many of which don’t involve asking anyone for money!). If you’re interested in helping, please sign up to volunteer here.
- Tell your story. Share the reasons why you contributed with friends and neighbors and social media contacts. As an owner of this business, you can help us reach our goal!
Again, thanks for everyone’s support so far. We can’t wait to launch Phase II and reach our (new) goal! Please contact Committee Chair Tom Wickersham if you have any questions.