Donations Page

• Removed Post-Op Carebags for redundancy (mentioned in top summary)
• Removed original budget to clean up the page visually
• Replaced budget with summary of how funds are spent

Post-Op Care Bags: Removed

We have post-op gift bags that include medical supplies (otc, unopened) to help folks recovering at home from surgery. You can choose general or specific selections for gender affirming surgery. They also include comfort items to keep you cozy and entertained on bed rest, and a card (get well or congrats).
Each package (multiple bags) has a drug store value of $50-80 and cost us $20-30 to put together through wholesale medical suppliers! Donations, even $10, help us get supplies and offset this cost, since they’re all being given away FREE!

Original Budget: Removed

So lets break down how we’re spending our $30k goal! My addiction to thrifting is paying off to give us a good start on furniture, and my own savings is being quickly dwindled by grant applications and business permit fees.

The cash will mostly be going towards the things that are harder to source through the community; building rent, wages, and wholesale medical supplies.

Below is the expected budget. The goal amount would go towards the low-end startup costs plus a few months of operating costs while we work on securing grants, gathering local donations, and holding community building fundraising events. The number may seem high for Equipment, Furniture, and Renovations. That’s to ensure we have the budget to make the space as wheelchair-friendly as we can. They don’t really come that way in Pittsburgh!

Startup Expenses
Equipment, Furniture, Renovations	$             8,000
Rent & Utilities (Down Payments)	$             3,500
Rent & Utilities (3 Months)	$             4,500
Insurance (1 Year)	$                800
Starting Inventory (care bags, free pantry)	$             1,000
Inventory (3 Months)	$             1,308
Wages (3 Months) $15/hr, 30hr/wk	$             5,400
Exterior Signage	$                150
Contingency fund	$             5,000
Total Startup Expenses	$29,658

About Us Page

• Removed “Who will benefit the most” for a later re-write to accurately reflect current location details
• Added Accessibility information
• Edited/Removed 2 paragraphs in “The Team” to shorten the section.
• Removed “Imagine This” Replaced with details about Resource Counter/Room

Who Will Benefit Most – Removed section:

Our Low-Income Neighbors – Times are hard. Free resources are increasingly difficult to come by. Sometimes peoples’ work shifts don’t align with the food banks’ hours. Sometimes people need community in the evening and don’t have the money to buy goods/services to grant them entry. Low income folks deserve spaces to just exist without worrying about if their card will bounce.

People With Limited Transportation – There’s limited places to go at night on the T line, none of which are sober or explicitly queer spaces. Every other queer space in the city requires multiple public transit transfers from the South Hills. Even if you drive, there’s a tunnel, bridge (or two), and interstates in the way.

People With Limited Mobility – Because of our hills Pittsburgh is largely NOT wheelchair friendly. As an ambulatory wheelchair user myself, I’m all too familiar with this fact. Very few existing queer spaces offer full wheelchair accessibility… If you can get there to begin with.

People Who Don’t Drink – If you don’t like being in bars, for whatever reason, there’s nowhere else to go after 10pm.

Local LGBTQIA+ Community – Every queer person in the South Hills is familiar with either the haul to the East End, or the isolated feeling of that area being inaccessible.

The Team – Removed section:

Our experience includes 10-20 years each volunteering with non-profits across the country, including 3+ years each in Pittsburgh-based LGBTQIA+ organizations (including executive positions). We’ve also worked in finance, small business management, food service, construction (useful in ADA renovations!), and various artistic endeavors.

All of this adds up to a brilliant combination of skills that we’re going to use to make a beautiful space… Even on a shoestring non-profit budget. We can’t wait to meet you at a mixer and one day open Nightshade’s doors to the community!

Imagine This – Removed:

Its 11pm, you just got off the late shift and didn’t want to be alone. Bars are high energy and you don’t want to be around alcohol. You text your best friend to meet you at Nightshade for a couple hours.

While you’re waiting for your herbal tea to steep and humming along to the gentle music, your best friend comes in and plops down on the other side of the plush couch. Your stomach grumbles. You’re snapped back to reality as you remember the fridge at home is empty. The grocery stores are closed by now. Not that you have the money anyway. While your friend is distracted by something on Instagram you glide into the back room to grab a couple pantry items. You grab what you need, stuff them into your backpack, and duck under the curtain back to the main room.

The person behind the counter sees you and asks if you prefer (GF) cookies or Rice Krispy Treats. They hand you a cookie with your tea and remind you that payment is optional; not required.

You’re washed over by calm again as you sit back down. You have tea, a snack, your best friend, enough food to get you through the next day, and a safe warm glow to escape the night. You’re allowed to just exist for a while.

Footer

• Added Address
• Added link to this page

Removed:

June Update!

– Renovations are wrapping up and we’re just waiting for our final inspection!
– Pantry and closet are STOCKED with gf/vegan foods, baby supplies, reproductive health supplies, harm reduction, health/hygiene, and MORE!
– Come see us at DORMONT PRIDE on Sunday 6/28!

May Update!
– We locked down a spot in DORMONT!!
– More fundraising is needed to open the full tea cafe but we can still open our doors this summer as a queer, cozy, free, late-night hub for resources and queer community building in the south hills!
– We have LOTS of work to do on the space but with the help of our amazing volunteers we’re getting the renovations knocked out in record time and under budget!

April Update!
– We were approved for 501(c)3 status! Yaay! That means all donations, even past ones, are tax-deductible 
– We got SO MANY supplies for post-op care bags that they’ve taken over our volunteer’s house! Next step is getting everything sorted then we’ll open up free orders! More info on what they’ll contain here
– Gender Affirming Surgery Congrats Cards & Get Well Soon cards are available now for FREE! Order here! Don’t worry, we won’t even ask for card info.
– We know ordering queer stuff online can be scary so we put together a strict privacy policy regarding how community members’ data is handled. Tl;dr we destroy all personal info asap. 
– Chatted and made lots of connections with other local businesses AND started a resource guide on where to find queer resources and businesses in the South Hills!
– We found some amazing, fantastic locations that meet all of our criteria (wheelchair accessible, public transit accessible, south hills, etc) AND with math we decided can at least get a center up and running for $15k. This would not be the full tea lounge, but rather a venue where we can hold community gatherings and be a home to our free pantry, free closet, and post-op carebags. Because the whole point of this was community. The tea lounge is just our dream backdrop that we can build up as we go. 

The Plan:

Build a free space in the South Hills of Pittsburgh that’s sober, open late, wheelchair accessible, cozy, queer-friendly, and offers free resources.

A Pittsburgh resource guide on LGBTQIA+ friendly businesses has over a hundred entries, only 5 of which are in the South Hills. All five offer specialty services like salons and personal training. None act as a location where people can gather and build community without the expectation of spending money. In addition to this, there isn’t a single sober meeting place or resource hub in Pittsburgh, queer-friendly or not, that’s open after 10pm.

Our area is in desperate need of not only a space where queer people can safely gather, but also one that’s open late and can cater to those who don’t drink, work odd shifts, want to make connections, or need to access free resources like food, home supplies, and clothing after typical cafe hours.

Who Will Benefit Most:

Our Low-Income Neighbors – Times are hard. Free resources are increasingly difficult to come by. Sometimes peoples’ work shifts don’t align with the food banks’ hours. Sometimes people need community in the evening and don’t have the money to buy goods/services to grant them entry. Low income folks deserve spaces to just exist without worrying if their card will bounce.

People With Limited Transportation – There’s limited options at night on the T line, none of which are sober or explicitly queer spaces. Every other queer space in the city requires multiple public transit transfers from the South Hills. Even if you drive, there’s a tunnel, bridge (or two), and interstates in the way.

People With Limited Mobility – Because of our hills Pittsburgh is largely NOT wheelchair friendly. As an ambulatory wheelchair user myself, I’m all too familiar with this fact. Very few existing queer spaces offer full wheelchair accessibility… If you can get there to begin with.

People Who Don’t Drink – If you don’t like being in bars, for whatever reason, there’s nowhere else to go after 10pm.

Local LGBTQIA+ Community – Every queer person in the South Hills is familiar with either the haul to the East End, or the isolated feeling of that area being inaccessible.

That Doesn’t Sound Profitable:

It’s not meant to be! Nightshade Tea Lounge is a 501(c)3 non-profit! We’re not in this to make money. We’re in this to bring people together and provide support for those who need it.

What Makes You Qualified?

Oops! I haven’t introduced myself yet, I’m Blake (he/they)! I’m a transmasc person who was born and raised in the South Hills, lived all around the country, has been working with non-profits for over 20 years, and I hold degrees in both Accounting and Business Management. The past few years I’ve been the Executive Director of a non-profit that serves north of the city by providing free programs, supplies, and resources to the LGBTQIA+ community in that area. This has been incredibly fulfilling & I love the light and hope they’ve brought to the folks living there!
Now I’m ready to bring that to my own neighborhood! With an amazing group of locals by my side, we’re using our combined experience in non-profits, along with individual strengths in a large variety of specialties to bring that light and hope to the South Hills.

Where’s The Money Going?

Lets talk numbers. Most of the Free Pantry supplies can be acquired through donation drives. My addiction to thrifting is paying off to give us a good start on furniture, too.
The cash will be going towards the things that are harder to source through the community; building rent and wages.
Below is the expected budget. The $30,000 fundraising goal would go towards the low-end startup costs plus a few months of operating costs while we work on securing grants, gathering local donations, and holding community building fundraising events. The number may seem high for Equipment, Furniture, and Renovations. That’s to ensure I have the budget to make the space as wheelchair-friendly as I can. They don’t really come that way in Pittsburgh!

Startup Expenses
Equipment, Furniture, Renovations		$             8,000
Rent & Utilities (Down Payments)		$             3,500
Rent & Utilities (3 Months)		$             4,500
Insurance (1 Year)		$                800
Opening inventory		$             1,000
Inventory (3 Months)		$             1,308
Wages (3 Months) $15/hr, 30hr/wk		$             5,400
Exterior Signage		$                150
Contingency fund		$             5,000
Total Startup Expenses		$            29,658