This is Hailey. I will be known as Fearful Symmetry in the blog (see here to read the poem that the name came from). I would like to give you a quick run-down as to the process that we will be going through in order to make Marion's Ledge into a reality. I am numbering and labeling these phases as if they were linear and easily defined. In actuality, they are neither, but this will help us all get our minds around the tasks that must be accomplished.

Phase 1: Initial Plan Development and Groundwork - This stage in the process lays the foundation for what is to come. We will be to focus on expressing our vision and building our beginning network. Hank's last post talks some about this stage.

• Creation of a Master Plan
• Mission and Vision
• Market Research and Planning
• Strategic Plan
• Fundraising / Financial Planning
• Initial Network Building
  
• Website that expresses our vision as best as possible.
  
• Visual Representation
  
• Initial Presentations on Marion's Ledge
• Just telling everyone that we know about the project to start building support and interest.

Phase 2: Beginning Marketing - This phase is the beginning of a long line of marketing that we will have to do. It builds on the network that we started in Phase 1. This phase will continue throughout the other phases, changing a little as we go. I will revisit this phase a little later.

• Spreading the Vision
• We will be sharing what we created in phase 1, hoping to spark people's interests and to gain support.
  
• We will use many different mediums to do this, including the internet.
  
• Formation of a Core Group
• In the process of Spreading the Vision, we hope to find some people who fall in love with the project as much as we have and who want to get more involved.
  
• This includes formation of our initial Board of Directors, which is needed before we can file with the government in the next phase.
  

Phase 3: Legal Formation - We can't do much in terms of fundraising and gathering official support until we become an official entity. This phase is a very important phase as it allows us to proceed to the following stages legally.

• State Filings
• We have already composed first drafts of many of the state filings such as Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws. These need to be read by a lawyer for completeness and accuracy and then approved by our board.
  
• Federal Filings
• We plan to opporate as a non-profit and therefore must apply for 501 c(3) status with the IRS. This is a long and tedious process (or so I have heard), and we will be asking for the help of a lawyer in this process.
  

Phase 4: Fundraising - Once we have a non-profit status with the government, we can begin raising money to fund the initial creation of Marion's Ledge. Our hope is that once we get the place up and running, it can become self-sustainable as far as money goes. The money that we must raise will go to the building and the initial business funds needed. We are estimating this figure to be $3-4 million due to the location and the environmental design and size of the building.

• Grantwriting
• We will be applying for various grants, including such areas as: Houston, enviromental, LEED Design, Hosteling, community and culture.
  
• Individual Donor Campaign.
  
• We are planning to launch a campaign were we try to raise as much as we can from individuals. We are currently looking into ways to honor or donors, such as a brick wall.
  
• Other Fundraising
  
• We plan to be creative in our fundraising. We have a deep seated belief that if there is a will, there is a way.
  

Phase 5: Final Design Process - Once we have enough money, we will go ahead and begin the official design of the building. We will be working with an architect, but we want to be very involved in the process

• Hostel and Green-building Research
  
• I am planning to take a trip to Europe to study Hostel operation and design so that we can improve our initial design of the building.
  
• I am also planning on taking a course in Sustainable Design at Rice that will also help the the initial design.
  
• Initial Building Proposal
• This is our main part of the design process. We will be writing a plan of what we were thinking about the building and the layout, being very detailed about what rooms are needed and the size and use of each room.
  
• Official Design
• We will get the help of an architect to do the official design of the building. We would like to be creative in the choosing of the architect, maybe trying to get more then one option.
  
• The idea is that we want an architect that understands what we are trying to do, not just designing a cool building.
  

Phase 6: Final Marketing Campaign - This is really just a continuation of phase 2, but it becomes really important here, so I decided to give it a separate stage number.

• Inviting Houston Groups to use the Space
• Spreading the word about the Hostel to travelers.
  
• Introducing Houstonians to Marion's Ledge and preparing for our grand opening.
  

Phase 7: Open for business - YAY!! Our goal will be complete. Now we will have to manage the everyday operations of the place.

• Managing the Cafe
  
• Making sure everything is running smoothly and that we are always stocked with the needed supplies.
  
• Managing Employees
• Keep inviting Houston Groups into our space and actively try to keep people engaged with Marion's Ledge and Houston
• Keeping the Bullitan Board up to date.
  
• Keep a community calendar of cool events
• Making sure there are things happening in our production space.
  
• Managing the Hostel
• Keeping the supplies stocked and the rooms cleaned.
  
• Keep the reservations system working properly.
  
• Innovating new ways to spread our philosophy and mission.
  

So, that is by no way exhaustive of all of the things that we will have to do over the next couple of years, but it should give you a general idea as to where we are headed. Feel free to comment on any of it.

Here we’re going to try to give you a better idea where Marion’s Ledge is coming from and what it is, as well as provide a chronicle of where we are in our efforts and what we’re currently trying to do. We would appreciate your comments and input and we hope you’ll stay tuned... now, on with the story:

Marion’s Ledge is a vision that began with Hank Hauffe in September of ‘03 when he resigned from the MFAH (Museum of Fine Arts, Houston) and took time (and a trip to Europe) to make what was indeed a successful “vision quest”, that is, a search for a better reason to get up in the morning than what he’d had so far. More recently Hailey Hinson fell in love with the concept and in the summer of ‘06 made it her mission to get this project off the dime... and thanks to her it’s finally gotten out of my notebook and massaged into forms like Mission Statements and Articles of Incorporation in an effort to make it in to a reality.

We thought our first task would be for me to somehow get my mish-mash of notes into a coherent Mission Statement so that I could at least tell someone what Marion’s Ledge is about without stammering or taking the whole afternoon. We are currently on our second re-write (that is, it was composed, we thought fairly well, and now been pretty completely rewritten once and then tweeked a fair bit more) and we are perhaps about 94.6% happy with it.

With the Mission we also did Articles and whatnot (Hailey’s been working on this) in an effort to lay the groundwork to begin recruiting a Board and then the quick and efficient job of fund-raising (Right! :o ).
Well, after talking to a few people, I’m not sure how good I’m going to be at asking someone to be on a Board and go out and get us $4 million dollars. I certainly don’t want to try to cajole someone into it.
I realize that no one has to do it on their own of course, but even asking someone to seriously join in such an effort is asking a lot.

What I really want is to present the vision so clearly and persuasively that he or she believes it SHould exist and they WAnt to participate and help as they can. Whether that can really happen or not, we decided that rather than trying to form a Board first off, we would focus on efforts to draw the vision as fully and vividly as we possibly can. This is a critical task anyway that will hopefully be a resource and pay dividends in many ways we don’t even foresee.

We have a number of ideas in process to fulfill this goal:

1. • first is the Mission Statement and the accompaning Questions (the Mission Pages) that we hope will express, clarify and elaborate on our vision ~
2. • a micro story or narrative “visit” to the future Marion’s Ledge ~
   Hailey did an amazing version of this that you’ll find elsewhere on this site and we hope to expand the characters some in the future to give a pair of people together - one who’s been there before and knows something about what it’s about, and the other new to Marion’s Ledge so experiencing a fresh discovery.
   
3. • Activity vignettes ~
   This is just little 2 to 3 line “moments” in Marion’s Ledge. Almost a Marion’s Ledge haiku. Just glimpses into what it might be like.
   
4. • logo ~
   I’m looking for someone who can draw & is willing to help me get my idea on paper so we can see if it has some potential.
   
5. • Image of Engagement ~
   This would take a bit to explain but it’s kind of a mural and Hailey has been working some on this. It could be GReat! I'm sure it could have a variety of valuable uses including our web masthead and perhaps even using as the basis for a billboard.
   
6. • A drawing or “artist’s conception” of what the interior of the place will look like ~
   Looking for someone with architectural drawing skills to help with this.
   
7. • the downtown approach ~
   We have some pictures that we need to format to help someone appreciate the location we have in mind.
   
8. • this website ~
   Needs a lot of work but at least it’s UP.
   
9. • a Keynote presentation ~
   This may have it’s roots in the website but it really needs to be done so we have it for people when we get around to meetings.
10. • A commercial as if the place already exists ~
    Don’t have a clear concept for this yet but it seems like a fun idea with a proven format for getting across an idea briefly.
    

We’re always reviewing details and names and wording etc. and just in the last few days we’ve been reconsidering some names and tweeking the Mission yet a bit more. We had the large space referred to as the “Workspace/Venue” and we just decided to change that to the “Production Space” since that seems to more concisely encompass both producing/working and where a production might be presented. I’d long thought about that & the only thing holding me back is that there is a portion of the Community House where Saturday Morning Cartoons might happen, or meetings might be staged, or music played, or talks/presentations given... whatever so long as it’s not too big and you want a more exposed and involved “Living Room” setting than what that larger space provides, and we’ve been calling that the "Production Space". Now I need to come up with a new name for that area and so far I’m dry, but it’ll happen (maybe “Happening Space”?... like something Happens there, or "Little Production Space (the LPS)? ... ... ... you know, “happen” is a funny word).

That’s it for now. Thanks for checking on us & if you have any thoughts we’d love to hear from you.
-hank:)