Save The Forest Cafe!
See also: Online Petition, Latest Updates, Fundraisers, Frequently Asked Questions.
Info & Donations
In October last year Edinburgh University Settlement, who owned the building that The Forest occupied at 3 Bristo Place, were declared bankrupt and forced into administration. The administrators put the property on the market and are currently trying to sell it. As part of that process, they terminated the Forest’s lease, giving us six months notice. Our last day is Wednesday 31 August.
We do not want to leave our home of eight years in this listed historic building. We have launched a WeFund campaign to raise sufficient funds to allow us to buy 3 Bristo Place. We have raised well over £30,000 so far.
You can be part of this hugely important campaign: read below to find out how best to donate, and how to offer your time, energy and skills to the campaign.
Donate
You can pledge money towards The Forest’s WeFund campaign to buy our building at 3 Bristo Place and the money won’t be taken out of your bank account until a mortgage is secured. You’ll also receive a gift from The Forest: a signed postcard from Forest artist Magda Boreysza, a personal thank you letter from a Forest volunteer, an infamous Forest burrito meal, or a goodie bag from Forest Records and Forest Publications.
Or you can simply donate to The Forest’s future regardless of whether or not we succeed in buying 3 Bristo Place. The best way to donate to us is to set up a monthly standing order to support the Forest via JustGiving. Think of it as buying Forest a monthly pint (£3), or a bottle of cheerful wine (£5), or a family size takeaway pizza (£10). Give what you can afford, and know that it’s the most effective possible way of supporting Forest: it gives as a safe income, which makes us more able to do the stuff you love us for doing, and which puts us in a much stronger position for approaching other funders.
If you just don’t feel you can make a regular commitment, then you can still make a one-off donation to The Forest via our JustGiving page.
Become a Fundraising Volunteer
We’re building a strong and varied fundraising campaign, but we need more people! We need people to help run events, to work with the press, to smooch celebrities, to do research admin, to make art, to plan strategies, to offer legal and financial advice, and to bring their own ideas forward. Whatever you’ve got, we want to hear from you. You’ll become part of the regularly-meeting Fundraising Team (great experience, great skill-building, great CV-fodder), help plan and execute our campaign, and be entitled to oodles of love and discount/free food when you’re working.
Email fundraising@theforest.org.uk to tell us about how you’d like to be involved, or just to express an interest. We want to hear from everybody!
The Forest is a unique space. We have existed for a decade on the sheer enthusiasm and effort of thousands of generous and committed volunteers. People commit to Forest because they believe in the importance of a space that offers an alternative to bland, identikit coffee franchises and cookie-cutter art galleries that only expose the work of the already successful. These exist in abundance. For over a decade we have stood apart as an open, free, artistic, social space.
Our aim is not to make money, or to become an institution, but merely to exist as a space where people can gain access to art, culture and skill-sharing free of charge; a space that supports people who are disenfranchised and struggling, and which promotes and supports the creativity of thousands of people from all over the world.
Further Reading
Ryan Van Winkle, Reader in Residence at the Scottish Poetry Library and Edinburgh City Libraries: Buy A Building, Save A Forest
Claire Askew of One Night Stanzas: Help Save The Forest Cafe!
Rupert Thomson in The Scotsman: Saving two key Edinburgh arts venues: An open letter to Creative Scotland
The Guardian Edinburgh:
How I went from volunteering in Forest Cafe kitchen to become a charity director
With its history of free events, can the Forest Cafe hold on?
‘Small victory’ as Forest flats plan is withdrawn after 150 objections
A chance meeting at Edinburgh’s Forest Cafe resulted in Sarajevo marriage
Fourth Wall Magazine: Save The Forest Café!
“A shining free beacon in the middle of an inevitably money sucking Edinburgh Fringe Festival”
Spread The Word
If you have ever enjoyed something in this space, spread the word: tell the world what Forest means to you. Tell your relatives and friends, people who will support something you care about. We feel we are vital to the city’s cultural landscape - we need your help in convincing others that this is true. Your personal enthusiasm really can make a difference. We will add testimonials here too - so write to us with kind and inspiring words.
Thanks.