Membership FAQ

I Have A Project And I need to Access to the Shop Right away! Can I join Today?

TLDR NO Twin Cities Maker is not a rental workshop

Before going into your specific question, a quick spiel on what TC Maker is and isn’t:

Twin Cities Maker is a volunteer-run educational non-profit community with the collective goals of Teach, Make, Share. Everything that happens, from cleanup to tool maintenance to behind-the-scenes stuff like IT and Membership, happens because members volunteered effort to do it.

What we are not is a tool-and-shop-space-for-rent.

What this means, practically, is that all members are expected to help with cleaning, upkeep, builds, etc…, and things tend to take time to happen. Tools can be down for stretches of time as they wait for the person with the right expertise to get to them. Shop builds can take a while for everyone who can do it is available to get together. And trainings and such can take some time to occur.

Now, on to your questions: Our on boarding process can take a few weeks at the best of times, There simply is no way we would be able to get you joined today, or even this week.

If you are still interested in joining a community of makers, your first step would be to attend an Open House, held on Wednesday evenings from 7-9, to get a better idea of if the community and shop are a good fit for you. After that, you will need to sign up for a New Member Orientation and work through the membership Journey Checklist .

TLDR NO Twin Cities Maker is not a rental workshop

HELP!! Key access is not working for me! Or I have lost my Access Key!

How can I add a +1 (plus one) to a membership?

Please share the Registration and Waiver with your plus one so they can register and begin the new member training process. Then go to your profile and click the Add Member button under Bundle Summary and follow the prompts.

+1’s (plus one) have all the same privileges, responsibilities and training requirements as any other member.

For more information click here for the Wild Apricot Documentation for Membership Bundle Admins


Plus One Policy: https://wiki.tcmaker.org/governance/membership_1_policy

Is there an age limit on who can use the space?

We do allow minors to join. The minor’s guardian is expected to know the minor’s capabilities and limitations and provide guidance in what tools they’re able to use (for example, some 12-year-olds might not be tall enough to safely use our table saws, or might be distracted easily enough that working with a TIG welder could be dangerous).

For minors under the age of 16, there needs to be a member directly monitoring them while they are working in TC Maker (they can’t be dropped off to work on a project and then picked up later, unless plans have been made ahead of time for another member to help them with a project).

Full minor rules can be found here (https://wiki.tcmaker.org/governance/minor_policy?s[]=minor). Membership comes with a “+1,” the ability to add a close friend or family member. So if your person under 18 joins they could have you as their “+1” (or vice versa).

For More information please read out Minor Policy https://wiki.tcmaker.org/governance/minor_policy

How far do my dues go each month?

Dues alone even at full price due not cover the cost of operations to be able to have the shop available to the community. It is only with members dues and as a all volunteer organization where your donated time and effort covers the costs of what that we would be paying for staff, we are keeping the lights on.

2022 Annual Report numbers:

We are also expecting to have to cover the cost to rent or buy and move to another building in the near future so members giving what they can and investing in the org is important so that we can be here in three years and not be charging $300 for membership.


Do you offer discounts on memberships, for age, student status, or other reasons?

Twin Cities Maker is an all volunteer member supported community. We do not offer any price breaks based on age or student status, as those things are not strictly indicative of who needs the financial support, or are what they can afford to give, and we do want to discriminate if you need help to be a member, or discourage those who can afford to give from supporting the community.

We have a $30 Community Supported Membership tier for anyone who needs our community’s financial support to be a member.

The goal of the community sponsored rate is to offer the opportunity for those who need support to be able to ask for it and receive it without stigma, if you need our communities support in order to be a member of the community. that’s what Community Supported Membership is there for and we want you to use it if you need it.

If you would like us to apply this discount please let membership@tcmaker.org know as you’re signing up and we will set it up.

Can I Gift Someone Membership Twin Cities Maker?

You certainly can however it’s a little complicated.

You are gifting membership dues to a volunteer community who collectively operates a community workshop around the shared value of being excellent to one another. Our community has the expectation of 10 hours of volunteer time each year by members (Be sure they understand and are OK with gifting volunteering them for 10hours over the next year by them a membership).

Most shop areas also REQUIRE individual training courses. We encourage new members to book and take courses ahead of time https://tcmaker.org/classes/

Refunds for gift memberships are handled in accordance with our gift membership policy https://wiki.tcmaker.org/governance/gift_membership_policy

If you have any questions if this is a good fit for the person you are gifting to please reach out to Membership@tcmaker.org

To get started on the process of giving a membership fill out the form below
go.tcmaker.org/giftmembership

Can I bring a guest Or Someone to help me

All visitors to Twin Cities makers must have a completed emergency contact form & liability waiver on file https://go.tcmaker.org/waiver

Visitors (non-members) are welcome inside Twin Cities Maker facilities with supervision but are not allowed to do any of the following when not participating in a class (Sec. III) or without first obtaining a Helper Pass
a. Use tools
b. Touch equipment
c. Work on projects

Helper Pass
a. A Member may sponsor a Visitor for them to acquire a Helper Pass to assist the Member with a project
b. A Visitor with a Helper Pass may not work on separate projects than the Member that they are working with
c. A Visitor may acquire a Helper Pass by filling out a Helper Pass Application located on premises and on the wiki
d. Visitors must be accompanied by a Member at all times even when they have an active Helper Pass
e. A Visitor with a valid Helper Pass may use tools, touch equipment, and work on projects in the space with the restriction that they still must follow any and all tool usage rules and restrictions including on use of tools that require a check-off or special training to use
f. A Helper Pass is valid for 48 hours from the time it was issued
g. A Member may only sponsor one Helper Pass at a time

Visitors are expected to be be good community members, follow all shop rules, and clean up after themselves

Helper pass application:
https://go.tcmaker.org/helperpass

Full Visitor and Helper Pass Policy https://wiki.tcmaker.org/en/governance/visitor_helper_pass_policy

If you are a returning Member who has been away less than a year, you can setup your Wild Apricot account and pay your dues and manage your membership in Wild Apricot using your email address:

https://wa.tcmaker.org

Are you a returning member who has been away for more that a year? You will nee to take orientations and trainings again.

Please signup for orientation signup then email membership@tcmaker.org

Changed email addresses or is having another issue coming back?

Please signup for orientation then email membership@tcmaker.org

Covid Information and Operation changes 

PLEASE BE AWARE: Shop Access and Use is currently contingent upon adherence to our covid guidelines so we can make room for all our members to participate in the community.

You are expected to be excellent and protect everyone’s safety by adhering to the Covid Guidelines

Covid Guidelines and policy found here