Borrow gear
Need gear for your action or event? We’ve got you covered. We have sound equipment, staging, projectors, podiums, megaphones, tables, chairs, tents, marshal vests, and just about anything else you could need to support an action.
What you need to know about borrowing gear
Borrow gear you know how to use.
Some gear is pretty straightforward to use (you don’t need a special certification to open a folding chair) but some of our equipment, particularly the higher end sound and projection equipment, is a little more complicated to operate. We can’t always provide on the spot training on equipment but we do offer regular trainings on all the tools we offer. So please make sure somebody in your group knows how to use the equipment you’re using.
If you don’t know how to use the gear (or don’t have capacity to do it on your own), let us know during the checkout process and we can try to line up an organizer who can work with you for your event. The rate for on-site support is $75/hour and to avoid burning out our team we cannot offer a sliding scale on labor.
Make a plan to pick it up and drop it off.
Generally you’re going to need to come pick up the gear and return it when you’re done. We usually suggest folks pick up gear the day before their action or event and return it the next day. When you book your gear we’ll reach out to arrange a time when you can pick up or return the gear you’re borrowing. Right now we’re all volunteers so please be ready to be flexible when scheduling your pickup and drop off.
If you need us to drop of or pick up the gear we can do that for an additional charge of $150/booking.
Let Us Know As Soon As Possible
If you know you have an action or event coming up, please put in a reservation as soon as possible so we can get it on the calendar. We can always change quantities and configurations, but it really helps us with planning to know when to expect requests.
We don’t have full time staff ready to prepare gear for you so we generally cannot accommodate gear requests with less than 48 hrs notice!
Take care of our gear.
This gear is a resource for our movement. If it gets broken, lost or stolen then other organizers can’t use it. We know that when we’re using gear at actions, sometimes things happen that can’t be avoided. But if you use the gear the way it’s supposed to be used, transport it safely, and make sure to keep track of it, it will last a whole lot longer. And if you’re planning on doing something where things might get damaged or confiscated by the police, let us know what you’ve got in mind and we can probably hook you up with something more appropriate or help you come up with a plan to keep it safe. If something does happen to gear while you’re using it let us know so we can get it fixed and not send out broken gear with other organizers.
Contribute what you can.
We make this gear available because we don’t want lack of resources to be a barrier to taking action. But by contributing what you can you can help us cover the costs of buying, maintaining, storing, and tracking the gear; replacing stuff when it gets lost or damaged; and investing in additional resources for our movement.
On the gear reservation request form you’ll see suggested donation levels. To come up with these numbers we looked up the what it would cost to rent a similar piece of gear from a regular for-profit vendor and cut the rate in half.
If you’re an organization with more than 20 full-time staff we encourage you to contribute the amount listed.
If you’re a smaller grassroots organization with between 2 and 20 paid staff, we encourage you to contribute at least 65% of the amount listed.
If you’re a grassroots organization with no full time staff or just one paid organizer, we encourage you to contribute at least 35% of the amount listed.
NOTE: To avoid burning out our team, we cannot offer a sliding scale for labor, regardless of the size of your organization.
Make sure to submit all gear requests at least 48 hours before your action!
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Make sure to submit all gear requests at least 48 hours before your action! 〰️
Here is a menu of the gear that we can share. Select what you’d like to borrow, when you’d like to pick it up and when you’d like to return it and we’ll follow up to confirm your request. NOTE that gear requests submitted through this form are tentative and aren’t confirmed or guaranteed until you’ve confirmed arrangements with a Movement Infrastructure project organizer.
The rates listed below are recommended contributions. To come up with these numbers we looked up the what it would cost to rent a similar piece of gear from a regular for-profit vendor and cut the rate in half.
If you’re an organization with more than 20 full-time staff we encourage you to contribute the amount listed.
If you’re a smaller grassroots organization with between 2 and 20 paid staff, we encourage you to contribute at least 65% of the amount listed.
If you’re a grassroots organization with no full time staff or just one paid organizer, we encourage you to contribute at least 35% of the amount listed.
Delivery and Onsite Support
If you need us to bring the gear to you and pick it up when you’re done we can do that for a $150 delivery/pickup fee.
If want us to bring the gear, set it up, break it down and return it we can do that as well! Our standard rate is $75/hr with one hour for prep and delivery and one hour for returning and unloading at each end of the reservation. Make sure to allot at least one hour for setup. If you’ve got a bigger project or want to talk about this further (or you just find our online registration form confusing!) shoot us an email at info@MovementInfrastructureProject.org
Example: Your event is from 2pm to 4pm and you want to set up starting at 1pm. You should book your reservation from 1pm to 4pm and it will cost you $375 ($75 for delivery, $75 for return and $225 for three hours of on-site support)
Note: To avoid burning out our team, we cannot offer a sliding scale for delivery or on-site support, regardless of the size of your organization.