Annual Report

2019

Brent Harris – Director/Founder

SAINT JOHN TOOL LIBRARY & DIY CENTRE INC. | 160 UNION ST, SAINT JOHN, NB
 Contents

Words from the founder ....................................................................................................... 2

A look at our team and board .............................................................................................. 3
Impact by the numbers ........................................................................................................ 4
Financials by the numbers ................................................................................................... 5
Notes about the financials................................................................................................................... 6
Final thoughts from the founder about the future ......................................................................... 8
 Words from the founder

Just a few weeks ago I set alone at the front desk of the tool
library reminiscing about early days. As I looked around at all the tools,
the floorboards, the shop space, and the sliding door I was reminded
of all the effort that went into this renovation and establishment. In my
mind's eye, I can still see Rob Giles smacking down walls with the
sledgehammer, Alex busy at the worktable working on the barndoor,
Kevin wiring a light, Nilton sending me amazing updates about our
website, and Rick pulling nails. Of course, there were others as well.
This was a community event that has come a long way from January
2018.

In two years we have made a substantial impact on our community. Businesses and
homes have been renovated, adults and children have learned essential Do-it-yourself (DIY)
skillsets, we’ve taken on two Community Build initiatives which have rallied over sixty residents,
and we’ve won three awards. We have done this without any major fundraising or
grant/foundation assistance; this was truly a grassroots and organic movement. With the help
of Economic Development Greater Saint John (EDGSJ) and the Be For Change (B4C) Cohort,
we were able to develop a framework and business plan that could achieve sustainability
financially while delivering upon our impact goals socially and environmentally.

One significant accomplishments of 2019 was the white paper compiled by the Social
Innovation Academy with students from Toronto and Vancouver who authored a paper titled
“Environmental and Social Impacts of Tool Libraries Within Communities” on our behalf. With
this paper in hand, we now have measurable details and data about our environmental, social
and economic impacts. Tool Libraries are poised to become a leading example of the power of
the sharing economy and we, here in Saint John, are one of the few cities in Canada with one.

In 2020 we need to grow our membership to finally achieve our break-even number of
300 annual members. At the time of this report, we sit at about 120 active users although we
have had over 200 historic members. We need to find better and broader ways of
communicating our impact and value to our city to do this. We know there are thousands of
homeowners in our city that need tools to maintain their homes yet they either do not fully
understand our model or have never heard of us. We need to drive home the point to our
friends and neighbours that for the cost of one tool per year we can gain access to all the tools
you will ever need for your basic DIY projects. And if that’s not enough, a membership with us
ensures we are putting our money where our mouth is to tackle climate change through the
overconsumption and inefficient use of tools.
A look at our team and board

Thank you for past volunteers and

our current volunteers we don’t have
a picture for.

Nicole Flynn Erin Hodge

Courtney Brown- Pyrke
Sierra Ramsay Jonathan Poirer
Rob Giles Trent
JF Carpenter
 Impact by the numbers

Number of members: 122 Number of tools borrowed: number of classes taught

Number to break-even: 300 4,557 47

Number of tools repaired Number of repair café's hosted Number of Community Builds
34 1 2

Volunteer hours contributed Number of shop members furniture pieces built

1270 44 50+

Business renovated Build Team Contribution to

5 SJTL Revenue: +60%

5 5
Financials by the numbers

Notice to Reader prepared by Donna Mazerolle & Associates

2019 from Feb (time of incorporation) to Nov 30

(time of year end)

Revenue

Goods and Services $147,694.00

Cost of Goods Sold

Purchases/Materials (mostly job site materials
for build team and Ecopoxy purchases) $56,955.00

Direct Wages $91,533.00

Trades and Subcontracts $15,626.00

Total COGS $164,114.00

Gross Profit ($16,420)

Operating Expenses

Advertising and promotion $1,552.00

Amortization of Tangible assets $6,125.00

Insurance $2,438.00

Interest and Bank charges $8,100.00

Office Expenses $743

Other Operating Expenses (Mostly loan
payments) $7,104.00

Professional Fees $4,677.00

Rent $13,500.00

Repairs and Maintenance $520

Travel Expenses $75

Utilities $2,187.00
 Total Operating Expenses $47,021

Income Loss from Operations ($63,441)

Other Revenue (NB Payroll reimbursements for YEF &
One Job Pledge) $35,515

Net Income ($27,926)

Notes about the financials

Rick Stephen and Mike Nicholson are the acting co-treasurers of the board with Rick taking a
more primary role and Mike taking a secondary support role. As such Rick’s role has been to investigate
and report on our finances. Rick has come up with the following observations.

1. in 2019 there are substantially fewer revenues from both memberships and classes
reflecting the focus on contract and custom work by the Build Team. This is a pivot for the
tool library and does take away from the ability of Brent to focus on growing the
membership
2. we need to put a concerted effort on memberships and classes if we wish to keep the library
and shop open. To that end, we are trying to secure third party funding as described below.
If we are unsuccessful, we need to find another way of driving memberships/classes.
3. We need to reduce our debt levels significantly which would take the pressure from the
operations and allow us to focus more on the library and shop- options to do this are being
explored.

Loans: there are three loans in place (apart from a line of credit at Bayview).

• Saint John Community Loan Fund. This loan was sought and used to replace the BDC loan
($30,000) which carried a much higher interest rate. The details for the loan:
o Amount borrowed: $ 29, 027.55 (June 24, 2019)
o Terms: 48 months at $694.43 per month payment
o Interest Rate: 6.95%
o Balance as at end of December 2019: approximately $26, 904

• Futurepreneur Canada.
o Amount borrowed: $ 15,000 (March 26, 2018),
o Terms: 60 months; first 12 interest only; then principal repayment of $312.5 plus
interest per month
o Interest Rate: 7.95% floating rate
o Balance as at end of December 2019: approximately $12,297
 • Impact Loan. (ACOA Business Development)
o Amount borrowed: $ 20,000 (March 26, 2018),
o Terms: 60 months; first 3 months payments are $50 per month followed by 57 months
at $381.49. Effectively there is no interest charged in the first year of the loan.
o Interest Rate: 5.45%
o Balance as at end of December 2019: approximately $13,581

Summary of loan position:

Starting debt of these three loans: $64,027.55

Approximate amount outstanding Dec.31, 2019: $52,782.00

Approximate Payments expected in 2020:

Interest $ 3K
Principal $15 K

Total $18 K

Funding Applications:

o Environmental Trust Fund (Province of New Brunswick) dated November 30, 2019. Applied for
a grant of $87,000 for environmental-related work that SJTL would undertake. If granted the
funds would be used for specifically identified work and result in growth in membership, class
revenues and help support SJTL. Expect a decision in early April, 202.
o City of Saint John Community Grant dated January 13, 2020. Applied for $20,000 in operational
funding for rent relieve and to help boost membership revenues (advertising and staff costs).
Expect a decision in March 2020.
o Community Foundation Investment Readiness Program (IRP) is currently being worked on.
Due by February 10. Seeking $20,000 to allow for stepping up advertising and increasing
memberships (operational funding) and research.

Expectations: grants are issues in part or full however given the size of the requests it is unlikely that
they would be full grants. The Environmental Trust application is likely radical so it is hard to speculate
as to how it will be received. The City grant will be competing against a substantial volume of requests
and the funding envelope is limited. The IRP grant – not sure of the timing or likelihood of success.
Final thoughts from the founder about the future

Although tool libraries are a terrific undertaking and have been demonstrated locally and
globally to make important impacts on the community and the environment, they do require significant
financial inputs from the communities from which they emerge. Although our tool library model is
unique in its business plan and has an easier target to hit for sustainability, we still require some sort of
breakthrough for financial support. Without this, 2020 will likely be the last year of operations for our
tool library.

We have already applied for more funding than ever before with our total to date just under
$130,000.00. If we were to get all this money, we would likely never need another grant again and
would have the capital we need to market ourselves appropriately to gain our membership target of
300. During the early days of 2020, the board and I will begin to finalize our strategy for the year and we
hope this report to be the main instrument in informing us along that journey.

As the founder, I took a significant personal risk in borrowing the money we needed to get off
the ground. I did this knowing there was a team behind me and substantial interest by the community
at large. I do not regret that decision and would do it again in a heartbeat because I believe that Saint
John is worth taking a risk on. Ultimately this must be the right thing for SJ and if it is the right thing in
the right place at the right time it will last. Let’s work hard to make 2020 our breakthrough year!