This is not about what's in it for you, but for everyone – we’re in this together
It has come to our attention that some people don’t understand why they should become a member, and why we have a membership based concept to finance our Center. Here comes our explanation.
think.dk is a place for creators. For people who have the bigger picture in mind, who want to share knowledge, try new concepts, and let ideas and creativity unfold. For people who believe that it is time that we start caring about others, our local communities and our planet. For people who are ready to carry a part of the weight, and to be part of the solution instead a part of the problem. All of these points perfectly describe the mindset of our members – our big challenge is to find enough of them to keep this place alive.
We aim to be independent of foundations or state support that is only granted for limited periods, and of investors who connect their giving with demands on how we do things. We do not want to suffer from financial insecurity forever, but instead we want to build a stable way of carrying this place – by many small contributions from the people.
There are thousands of initiatives out there who survive like this. But here at think.dk, we are continuously met with concerns from people who feel like it ‘wouldn’t be worth it’ for them to sign up for the membership. It seems like the benefits that come with paying each month – free access to many events, 50% discount on the others, the possibility to use the space for your own passion project and so on – are not worth 100,- DKK. We’ve been struggling for some time to understand this, especially because at the same time other people express that this is incredibly cheap for the value think.dk provides.
Recently, however, this perspective has become more understandable: people still argue from a consumer’s perspective. Of course, why would you pay 100,- each month, if you might only make it here once every second month to an event that costs only 80,- DKK? That seems like a waste of money, right? Especially if you have a full-time job, a family and live at the other end of the city, it might be hard to see how investing 100,- DKK each month will pay out for you.
It is not surprising that this is how most people are arguing. We are, after all, made to be and are treated as consumers in all areas of life, so it has become our default way of looking at things. So, let us explain to you why it is time to switch glasses:
We believe that spaces like the one we created here in Østerbro, Copenhagen, are vital for the survival of humanity. We believe that we have to start looking at the world through a different lens, if we want to ensure a future for our children that is worth living. And we believe that each of us carries that spark within ourselves, that drives us to create something meaningful instead of being degraded to being just a consumer. The human potential is so much bigger than that, and we are not ready to give up hope in humanity yet.
We also believe that think.dk has the potential to grow into a sustainable business, employing several people – perhaps 10s, 100s or even 1000s of people all over the world – in a network where all experience and infrastructure is shared. Where our kind of change thrives.
We are convinced that there are enough people out there who want to step into their power of co-creation, who are ready to act from a creator’s mindset. People who want to support a space where we allow humans to experiment in order to unfold their potential, where we implement new ways of approaching problems and sustainable solutions from a holistic perspective. We hope they will find us before we run out of breath.
So please consider becoming a member of think.dk so that we can continue with our collective quest to create a sustainable future.
Insistently hopeful,
Rosa, Anja & Martin
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