They thought they could do it from their garages, then scaled from 2 to 18 nonprofits in one year

Bridge to Basics considered running operations from home garages, but they'd be ordering from wholesalers and receiving bulk shipments on pallets, and needed a central location accessible to nonprofits across four metro counties.

A friend in commercial real estate found that traditional warehouse space was unaffordable and required commitments a brand-new nonprofit couldn't make, then suggested co-warehousing. A quick search turned up WareSpace.

WareSpace St. Paul provided the infrastructure from day one: a central location, loading docks for Amazon packages and multi-pallet wholesale orders, and built-in shelving that eliminated a capital expense they couldn't afford.

Their GM, Mike, accommodated their requests while helping them figure out logistics, 24/7 access fit volunteer schedules, and conference rooms now host quarterly board meetings on-site.

Bridge to Basics started in the smallest unit, outgrew it within three months, and is outgrowing the current medium space too. The flexible structure lets them lease additional space temporarily when bulk donations arrive.

The organization grew from supporting 2 nonprofits to more than 18, with all-inclusive pricing simplifying budget management for an organization forecasting donor funds.