| NWPC & NWPAS 2024: Opinions Needed! |
| Synopsis: The Northwest Pinball Collective (NWPC) has been actively involved in the Northwest Pinball & Arcade Show (NWPAS or “the Show”) for the past two years. This year, the NWPC Board intends to continue that support in a more “Collective” way than years past. We’re looking for feedback and gauging volunteer interest to guide our decisions about where to concentrate our efforts. We have a survey at https://forms.gle/eYxJ2Pz6oQaKazNx9, and hope you’ll take a moment to share your thoughts. More detail: The Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show (NWPAS) is set for June 7th-9th and is rapidly approaching! NWPAS is one of the original inspirations for The Northwest Pinball Collective (NWPC), and we have participated actively in the Show since we opened in 2022. Here are a few of the ways NWPC has been involved with the past two Shows:We’ve loaned 20+ Sanctuary games to the Show, and the “NW Pinball Collective Row” has been prominently placed on the show floor, both years. Roughly 10% of the pins at NWPAS 2023 came from from the Collective and its members.The Sanctuary has been a staging area for game donors, so they didn’t need to haul their games to and from Tacoma.We’ve hosted repair parties where people got help fixing their games for the Show.We’ve rented a vendor booth where we sold NWPC merch and spread the word about the Collective & our mission. Last year our booth also showcased three of our games.The Collective has promoted the show and brought new faces to the event, in many cases providing show passes.NWPC members and their families have contributed time and expertise all around the Show, including setup & teardown, game maintenance, transportation, admissions, the tournament and the prize desk. We’re proud of those contributions, and they directly serve NWPC’s stated mission: “…to celebrate, nurture, and expand the pinball hobby, in all its forms, through education, service, and community.” The NW Pinball Collective Board of Directors has reviewed NWPC’s activities around the Show, and we’re committed to supporting the region’s premier pinball event. That said, the way we’ve done it in the past won’t work going forward without more participation from our members and community. So we’re reaching out to ask for your input: What do you think we should do? What do you think we shouldn’t do? Where are you willing to pitch in? The remainder of this email outlines our initiatives and what each would take in terms of member volunteer commitments. Here are the priorities we (the NWPC Board & Key Volunteers) have agreed on:Send games to the Show Why: Roughly 10% of the pinball machines on the floor last year came from NWPC. We take pride in having a row of games on the floor and we feel that’s the best expression of who we are & what we’re about. It’s also worth noting that the majority of the entry passes that we give to volunteers come from lending games. Scope of work: To send 20 of our games, in addition to the Board members who’ve already committed, we’d need enough volunteers to fill 14 2-hour shifts packing games before the Show (most likely June 1st & 2nd), and the same number to set them up again afterward (probably June 11th & 15th). We will scale the number of games we send based on volunteer signups. Leverage the Sanctuary space (for repair parties & game staging) Why: They’re an easy and decent way to get people into the Sanctuary, and they increase the number of well-playing games at the Show. Scope of work: Ideally, none! We’ve already hosted one successful repair party (March 16th) and have two more planned (April 13th and sometime in May). And the Sanctuary is listed as a staging area for game donors on the NWPAS website, which makes life easier on both game donors and the NWPAS transportation team.Have NWPC members volunteering at the Show Why: The Show doesn’t run without volunteers, and as noted above, our member volunteers make a huge difference. Volunteering is also a good way to get a free show pass if you’re not getting one from NWPC. We have numerous members who already volunteer at the Show in many capacities. We include this here to encourage other members to consider it. To volunteer, hit https://www.volunteer.nwpinballshow.com/volunteerTime, sign in, and choose the shift(s) that work for you. Questions go to volunteer@nwpinballshow.com . What we’re asking for: Ideas for how to promote NWPC during volunteer shifts (one: Ask our members to wear their NWPC swag while volunteering. We hope you have other, better ideas!).Rent the show-floor booth Why we would do it: It’s a chance to share the Collective with the pinball-playing public, sell some merch, and spend some time with other members. Why we would not do it: We’ve put quite a few people-hours into the booth, but that hasn’t translated into much income from merchandise or many new memberships. Scope: Fully staffing the booth for the whole weekend would take:One or more people to coordinate booth volunteersOne or more people to plan and coordinate the booth itself (vision, planning, supplies, logistics, etc.)Enough volunteers to fill 29 2-hour shifts or 22 3-hour shiftsNOTE: There is no requirement that we staff the booth during the entire show; We could run the booth for limited hours if we came up a bit short. Also, there are probably better ways to run the booth. If you’re passionate about this and ready to jump in, please let us know! So this message is a call for feedback and volunteer commitments. Please respond by April 1st so that we can make a decision on how many (if any) games the Collective sends to NWPAS and whether or not we take a vendor booth. Also please chime in with your ideas for how to promote the Collective, with or without the booth! You are welcome to respond to this message directly, or to fill out the survey at https://forms.gle/eYxJ2Pz6oQaKazNx9. Thank you,Adam, Chris, Dan, Lauren & ScottBoard of Directors, Northwest Pinball Collective |
| Upcoming Events |
| Tech Tuesday (PUBLIC): Tue April 2nd, 5:30pm – 9:00pmFree Play Open House (PUBLIC): Sat April 6th, 12:00pm – 4:00pm NWPAS Repair Party with Bill Witzel (PUBLIC): Sat April 13th, time TBD.Free Play Open House (PUBLIC): Tue April 16th, 5:00pm – 9:00pmTech Tuesday (PUBLIC): Tue April 16th, 5:30pm – 9:00pm |
| Volunteer |
| The Collective needs YOU! Here are some of the areas where NWPC could use a helping hand:Membership: Point person for all things “membership”; Help NWPC grow its member base, attract new members, engage with existing ones, etc.Event Committee: Our vision is to host regular tournaments, member social events, flipper skills classes, rules clinics & tech seminars, and we’d love to have more enthusiastic members making it happen!Game Techs: Games are the Collective’s lifeblood, and we could definitely use more hands keeping them playing well. If any of these appeal to you, or if you have an idea of how you’d like to contribute to the Northwest Pinball Collective, please respond to this message and let us know about it! |
| Donate |
| Here are a few of the items that we could use to improve the Sanctuary:A printer; It’d be useful to be able to print on-site!A locking file cabinet; We’re currently storing documents in multiple places. It’d be nice to have them all on-site and secure.A laptop with an HDMI port. Did you know that we have an app for people to show off their high scores? We’d like to be able to display them on the screen in the space, and need an HDMI-equipped computer to do it. And of course, cash helps as well. Here are some ways to contribute to the Collective financially.Direct Donations: We accept donations via our website and the red cash box near the door inside the Sanctuary.Corporate Matching: NWPC is eligible for corporate matches. Some companies only match financial donations, but others (like Microsoft) will also make contributions for each hour their employees volunteer. If we’re not already in your company’s giving directory, please let us know and we’ll do our best to get there!We’re also looking at changing our dues structure so that some portion becomes a donation (and therefore tax-deductible and employer-matchable). Keep your eyes peeled for that announcement. |