Our Mission
We provide communities the tools they need to create the change they want.
By sharing tools with our neighbors, repairing more of the things we own, and caring for the spaces we share, The Tool Library is working to build a new economy in Western New York.
We are a volunteer-powered nonprofit tool-lending library located on Main Street in Buffalo, New York. At The Tool Library, we believe cost shouldn’t be a barrier to fixing up your home, growing your own food, and improving your community.
As a community-driven nonprofit, a membership to The Tool Library gives community members access to thousands of tools and free educational programming. Whether you’re a renter on a budget, a homeowner with a fixer-upper, or a block club organizing a cleanup, The Tool Library provides the tools and resources to turn ideas into action!
Since 2011, The Tool Library has grown from a small storefront helping neighbors fix up their homes to a region-wide resource center helping individuals and organizations make a significant impact in their community through the power of sharing.
This TEDxBuffalo talk from 2015 shares the story behind The Tool Library, formerly known as the University Heights Tool Library.
What?
A tool library is a non-profit program set up to lend tools out to community members to help them maintain and fix up their homes and gardens. Tools can range anywhere from hammers, screwdrivers, and shovels to power drills, circular saws, and sanders. Individuals and businesses can donate tools to the program which will then be circulated throughout the neighborhood for a small annual membership fee. This revenue stream helps cover much of the overhead associated with the service.
Where?
The Tool Library is located at 2626 Main Street in Buffalo, New York. Located at the crossroads of multiple neighborhoods, The Tool Library’s home is walkable, transit accessible, and has an on-site parking lot.
Why?
The Tool Library will be open to all residents of Buffalo and its surrounding suburbs, whether homeowner, or renter. Thus, people looking for an alternative to buying expensive tools that get little use now have this resource at their disposal. Also, a tool library, in its most basic form, exudes the ideals of sustainability and community by lowering reinvestment costs while also fostering greater cooperation and collaboration among neighbors.
How to Join
Membership to The Tool Library is open to residents of all eight counties of Western New York (Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, Wyoming) who are 18 years or older.
You can sign up for a membership online by clicking the orange ‘BECOME A MEMBER’ button or by stopping into the shop located at 2626 Main Street, Buffalo, New York.
When visiting the shop for the first time, please be sure to bring a valid driver’s license or photo I.D. to confirm your identity.
Strategic Planning For A Shared Future
Founded in 2011, The Tool Library formally incorporated as an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in 2018. After two years of significant growth and development, The Tool Library found itself at a crossroads. Operating as an all-volunteer organization for nine years, the board recognized that in order to grow beyond a neighborhood-based service provider, the organization needed to bring on paid staff. Operating in a small 650 square-foot storefront since 2012, the organization was bursting at the seams. A new and larger home for The Tool Library was needed.
This document is not meant to be a static snapshot in time, but rather a dynamic tool that The Tool Library can use to identify assets, develop plans, and work with community stakeholders and residents to implement solutions over the next five years.
What Went Into This Plan?
More than a year in the making, The Tool Library’s Strategic Plan came a long way since an initial afternoon spent by the Board of Directors gathered round a living room imagining what the future might hold for the small but mighty organization.
With participation at the heart of what The Tool Library does, we also wanted this process to be more than just driven by the Board. That’s why we organize a bi-annual Members Roundtable where Tool Library members get a chance to weigh in on what is important to them and where they’d like to see the organization go. This is accomplished through post-it note exercises, walls covered in kraft paper, and group discussions.
This was also reinforced at our annual Borrow, Build, and Brunch fundraiser, where a community brainstorming session on the year ahead helps cap off the event.
Finally, as The Tool Library worked to pivot its operations in the face of the COVID-19 crisis, feedback from our members was not only critical in shaping new day–to–day operations, but also reinforcing the organization’s long term needs.
We want to thank and acknowledge everyone who had a hand in crafting this document no matter how big or small. To our board members, volunteers, members, community partners, and funders – you are helping us build a better, more resilient, and more responsive organization.
Download the Plan
Click the thumbnail below to download a PDF of The Tool Library’s 2021-2025 Strategic Plan.
The Tool Library 2023 Annual Report
Putting the Sharing Economy to Work in Western New York
While we oftentimes get caught up in the day–to–day operations of The Tool Library and our numerous community projects, it’s important to look back and reflect on our impact, measure our successes, and look for opportunities to improve. That’s why each year we release our annual impact report.
From tracing the history of The Tool Library and exploring who our members are and where they come from, to celebrating our partnerships and putting a dollar value to the work we do in the community, the Tool Library’s impact report provides a window into a world we can create together thanks to the power of the sharing economy!
The Tool Library is a volunteer-powered community-based non-profit. If you love the work we do, consider joining us in putting the sharing economy to work in our communities by volunteering, donating, or becoming a sustaining member. Together we can ensure cost is never a barrier to fixing up your home, growing your own food, or improving your community.
Download the Report
Click the thumbnail below to download a PDF of The Tool Library’s 2023 Annual Report.
The Tool Library Board of Directors (2025)
- Melanie Rushforth (President)
- Kellyn Torres (Vice President)
- Shannon Johnson (Treasurer)
- Laura Alexander
- Adam Blair
- Barbara Bono
- Eric Borenstein
- Dylan Burns
- Drew Canfield
- Tho Dinh
- Zack Glick
- Cole Lowman
- Paige Mason
- Antionette McClain
- Becca McGowan
- Michael McManus
- Jon Mrowczynski
- Braden Pritchard
- Robert Townsley
- Lauren Turner