anniversary

Five years ago on September 2, 2014, we opened our doors and game library to the public for the first time. We had intended to open on September 1, but that was a Monday (we were closed on Mondays then) AND Labor Day (we were closed on major holidays then, too). With this background, we then let everyone who pledged on our spring 2014 Kickstarter as a 1-MONTH MEMBER to have their membership last from September 2 through October 31 since October would technically be our first full month of being open. Clearly a technicality, but an important point: we would not exist without the tremendous support of so many backers and volunteers.

Five years later this point remains true even though much has changed from our first days. We are now open almost every day of the year with consistent hours (9am open, 11pm or 1am close). Our library has over 2500 games catalogued – around 300 new games donated every year! And the building itself is very different – a new roof, new booths and tables, and a new gorgeous mural. But the biggest change was having Spielbound no longer run the café, something our board of directors were happy to do after having to meet monthly for a few years in our early days as we obtained 501(c)(3) legal status.

This split was difficult, and it took a couple years to fully understand how two companies could best work together for the same mission yet be independent. Spielbound Board Game Cafe, LLC runs the commercial café and has a separate website and ownership, while Spielbound, Inc owns the game library and directs all of the nonprofit programs. As we were the first organization of our kind dedicated to the benefits of board game play to apply and obtain charity status, the IRS wanted to ensure that the first organization like this did not rely upon the same business model of existing for-profit businesses.

And 5 years later, here we are, with 5 important, interconnected, yet distinct, programs (and hashtags):

1. Education #learnthroughplay
2. Spielmasons #spielmasons
3. Everybody Plays #everybodyplays
4. Stay Sharp #staysharp
5. Library #gamelibrary

Each has grown and developed through the help of donations and a ton of volunteers, of which we are constantly welcoming more to join our teams. In Education, we have several teachers who have developed lesson plans using games in our library and provide teachers with games to use in their classrooms. Spielmasons have published several games and are hosting their 2nd-annual Protospiel Omaha 2019 convention September 20-22. Everybody Plays continues to get volunteers to lead daily game demos in our library and teach games to the public at other community events. Stay Sharp has become incredibly active in the past year with an infusion of talent around occupational therapy and game modification for increasing access to playing games by those who are older or with a variety of limitations. And last, but not least, our Library is the foundation for all that we do with monthly cataloging/repair events, an on-line database, and archives in what is likely the largest playable game library in the country.

So in 5 years MUCH has changed – our hours, spaces, people, and organizations. But possibly the best example of how we have improved our community comes with the change in our mission’s purpose from “Spielbound strives to educate…” to “Spielbound educates, engages, and creates community through board games.” Our first 5 years has been us finding our footing in trying to make a positive difference in Omaha and beyond. I’m so very excited about our next 5 years! Thank you for your help, and if you haven’t already, please join us and let’s grow our community that is truly making a difference for people of all ages – Play on!