A local bookstore’s legal status will change this semester after years of battling the book industry and dealing with debt.
The owners of Wild Iris Books, a feminist bookstore that has been around for more than 20 years, are pursuing a nonprofit status in order to keep the store open. The change will allow its owners to apply for grant money, as well as provide more opportunities for employees to spread its message of activism and empowerment.
Wild Iris, located at 22 SE Fifth Ave., is one of only a dozen feminist bookstores in the U.S. and the last one open in Florida, said Erica Merrell, one of the store’s owners.
Due to the changing landscape of the book industry, including the advancement of online media and electronic books, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the store to continue to operate on sales alone.
“Books are never going to make us enough money,” she said.
With monthly costs of just more than $1,500, Wild Iris has to sell about $4,000 in books a month to stay afloat, according to an online campaign the Wild Iris team hosted from July to September.
The online Indiegogo campaign, called “Wild Iris Books — Help Us Fund our Feminist Future,” attempted to raise $15,000 to alleviate some of the debt the store has accrued, which is between $17,000 to $20,000, Merrell said.
The campaign ended on Sept. 2 and raised $3,719 — 25 percent of its goal, which Merrell said has already been a huge help.
The ability for owners to get different types of funding such as grants and donations is the biggest benefit of the transition from retail to nonprofit, Merrell said.
“You wouldn’t donate money to Publix, or you wouldn’t donate money to Barnes & Noble,” she said.
Switching from a retail business to a nonprofit will also include a number of changes to the structure of Wild Iris, including dissolving Merrell and Cheryl Calhoun’s co-ownership and replacing it with a board of community members. But the shop will keep selling books.
“I thought it would be more bittersweet,” Merrell said. “But I’m really excited. I can’t wait for everything to be finalized.”
The store currently operates on a volunteer basis, and owners and staff receive no compensation for the time and effort they put into running the store.
Some of the funding Wild Iris could receive from its transition to nonprofit would go toward staff salaries, Merrell said.
Shirley Roseman, a UF psychology and sociology senior who volunteered at Wild Iris in the past and is currently an intern, said she looks forward to the change.
“There’s so much more that we could be doing for the community,” the 25-year-old said.
Roseman said she hopes Wild Iris will be able to expand some of its current programs, including its monthly Feminist Open Mic Night, a book club, the Feminist Meditation Group and various partnerships with Gainesville and Alachua County civil service organizations like Books for Prisoners and Alachua County Victim Services and Rape Crisis Center.
“It would create so much change and give us so much freedom,” she said.
The first part of the process, which includes petitioning the court to convert the store’s legal status, has already been completed, Merrell said. Further procedures include paying a filing fee for a new federal ID number.
Wild Iris’ lawyer, Adam Roark, who is aiding in the transition, was unavailable to comment.
“My understanding is that it shouldn’t be difficult for us to finish up these final parts,” Merrell said. “Minus whatever exorbitant fee there is.”
[A version of this story ran on page 3 on 10/30/2014]
Wild Iris, a feminist bookstore, located at 802 W. University Ave., is searching for a location closer to downtown after facing financial hardships and rising rent costs.
