UX Speakeasy

Almost every event we run is free to attend. That only works because people like you help cover what it actually costs to put one on — and now you can choose exactly where your gift goes.

UX Speakeasy runs entirely on volunteers — no staff, no office, no corporate backing. What started small has grown into Southern California's largest UX community, with free monthly events across San Diego and Orange County.

None of that costs nothing. Venues, food and drinks, AV, printed materials, the site you're reading this on right now — someone has to cover it, and today that's almost entirely membership dues and a small number of sponsors. A donation from you goes straight back into the community — pick which part of it you want to support below.

Two ways to give

Operating Fund — keeps the lights on: the events themselves, month after month, in both chapters.

Scholarship Program (new — help us launch it) — a program we haven't launched yet, aimed at supporting local Design College Undergraduates. Our goal is to launch with a minimum $500/year budget. Every gift here goes directly toward hitting that number and getting the program off the ground.

Operating Fund

Where it goes

• Venue space for monthly events in both chapters
• Food, drinks, and basic AV/production
• Speaker travel and thank-you gifts
• Keeping the website, check-in system, and directory running

Suggested amounts

• $25 — Covers name badges and signage for one event
• $50 — Covers a round of drinks and snacks for one event
• $100 — Covers AV and production for one event
• Any amount — nothing is too small, and it all goes straight back into the next event

Scholarship Program

Why it exists

Southern California trains some of the best design talent in the country — we don't think it should have to leave the region to find a community, a network, or its first real opportunities. Each year, this program will award one or two undergraduate or graduate design students from San Diego or Orange County a cash scholarship, connecting them into the local design community while they're still in school, not after they've already left. Selection details will follow as the program takes shape — for now, this is about proving there's enough support to launch it at all.

We're funding this from the ground up — $500/year is our starting goal, not a ceiling. The more this raises, the more it can cover, or the more students it can reach.

Suggested amounts

• $25 — 5% of our first year's minimum goal
• $100 — A fifth of the way to launching this program
• $250 — Half our first year's budget in a single gift
• $500 — Fully funds the program's first year on its own

Closing

UX Speakeasy is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation — donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Thank you for helping keep this community free, real, and volunteer-run.