Common Love Moving Fundraiser

Hello! 

We need your help! We're trying to raise $8,400 before September 18, 2026. Your donation is tax-deductible due to our generous partnership with our fiscal sponsor, The Supply Hive (thank you Hive friends), who is a 501(c)3. 

Why this amount? 

• New location = $600/month for a 12 month lease = $7,200
• Insurance requirements = $55/month for 1 yr = $660
• Additional expense (hotspot/wifi/etc) = unknown amount, but buffering $45/month = $540

We want to keep doing what we do -- showing up month after month, building community with y'all, offering free clothing, hygiene products, personal care products, non-perishable foods, gender affirming products, and community resources. We love you! Thank you for being part of our community. Thank you for donating any amount, no amount too small (or big!). 

Background:

Common Love began in 2023 in response to a community need for access to free clothing and gender affirming products. We are community-run (all volunteers). We've hosted monthly pop-ups for the past three years and were based at Park Fair Mall under CICIL (Central Iowa Center for Independent Living). CICIL generously donated their space to Common Love at no cost (thank you CICIL!!). In July 2025, CICIL made the decision not to renew their lease, which ended July 2026. We have been looking for a space since that time. We have written a few grants, to no avail. 

In May 2026, we met with Park Fair Mall property owners about staying in Suite 107 for free after the lease with CICIL ended. On May 28, we received an email from a Property Manager with Denny Elwell Company that read "I am fine with the continuance of the program after CICIL's exit on July 31, 2026. In the meantime, we will allow the program to continue utilizing suite 107 until the space is leased. At that point, we can discuss alternative areas for use. I may need to send you a waiver for signing, and I will aim to have that prepared before the end July." 

Based on this good news, we moved forward with planning 2026 fall pop ups, hosting a clothing drive, purchasing items like tables and chairs since CICIL was leaving, etc. Then, on July 31, that same Property Manager sent us another email that included "For August, we are all set, but for the following months, after discussing with [Name redacted] (VP of Property Management), we will need to explore alternative arrangements. As we discussed on-site, it is important to establish an agreement that protects both Common Love and the Property Owner, HPM Investments INC., in case any unforeseen circumstances arise."

We know our partners, CICIL, were paying $5,000/month for that suite. We know this was below the mall's asking price (in an abandoned mall basement). There is no way that we could afford this. The alternative arrangements discussed included downsizing and hosting events in the hallway in the basement. We didn't feel this would work for us. We had to leave Park Fair Mall by August 31.

We moved out of Park Fair Mall on August 22 to a space near Gray's Lake. We have a one-month lease that cost us $200 from August 22 - September 21. 

This new location meets our criteria with space, parking, accessibility, privacy, not affiliated with a religion, and more. We had hoped the property owners would be generous and offer the space for free or at a greatly reduced long-term rate. We met with Krause Group on Monday, August 24. By 8:40 am the next morning, we were notified:

"After very careful consideration, Krause Group has decided that they will not be able to provide a donation at this time. However, the 1,918 sq ft at Bell Avenue remains available for lease. While this space would normally be offered at $5+/sq ft, I would like to extend an offer to Common Love for a (1) year lease term with an option to renew another, without an increase, for $3.75/sq ft. This would bring your monthly rent amount to $600. This offer includes the use of another space for (1) event per month free of charge." 

And that catches you up. We have until September 18 to raise the funds for a year to feel confident signing this lease. If we don't raise the funds, we'll move again to a storage unit and reassess where we go from here. It's been a long road and emotionally taxing on our organizers. 

How else can you help?
If you are a property manager or owner not affiliated with a religious organization, and you have access to storage space (500 sq ft) in the same location as an event venue (3,000 sq ft) where we do not need to take stairs or an elevator to move items from the storage space to the event space, we want to hear from you! We also require parking for 100 that is free, access to a bus line, and accessibility for people using mobility devices. We'd love to hear from you if you can offer free or lower costs than what Krause Group has offered. Email us at hello@commonlovedsm.com!

Testimonials 
"Having a safe and supportive space like the Common Love clothing pop ups to find clothing that fits and makes me feel good makes a world of difference. As a recently out trans woman, clothing continues to be one of the most dysphoric and difficult things in my life. It can be scary shopping in the women's sections feeling judged as soon as I enter is disheartening." – Aria 

“Common Love has been a tremendous resource for me. I've been able to find clothes that help me explore and play with my gender expression freely and I am so so grateful for the work that you do.“ – Achilles 

“I went to my first Common Love event yesterday and was so grateful it existed. Outside of the UCS support group I’ve never felt safer being trans so thanks for that. I also feel so grateful I got a pair of running shoes! The ones I have hurt my knees and I’ve been so frustrated by that because I couldn’t afford a new pair so I instantly went on a run after I came home from your event and was so excited. And I got a shirt too that helps with my gender dysphoria. Which these have been hard to come by so another win. All around wonderful experience! Thank you.”  – Anonymous Shopper

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