RICHMOND, Va. — Almost a year after nearly losing its home, the Video Fan at 403 Strawberry St. has secured nonprofit status, meaning the 30-year-old video rental shop can now raise money each year to stay open.
“It happened a little under two weeks ago, but I didn’t make the announcement until last week because we’ve been working on it for so long, and I kind of had to wrap my head around it,” Video Fan General Manager Andrew Blossom said.
Blossom began working toward obtaining the 501(c)(3) designation immediately after the Video Fan completed a successful Kickstarter campaign in March, which secured enough funds to keep the store in its space for at least another year.
As a nonprofit, the store can now begin raising additional funds through community donations and events to cover its $23,500 annual rent that next comes due in February.
To gain nonprofit status, Blossom had to show that the Video Fan’s future use of its library of 40,000 titles will include an educational focus and an engagement with the community.
“Having worked at the Video Fan for six years now, I have spent a lot of time in the store seeing the way in which it is an important space for the community that surrounds us,” Blossom said. “People use it as a social space; it’s considered part of the fabric of their lives.
Find out what events the non-profit has planned, onRichmondBizSense.com.
