2025 Annual Report

Letter for Executive Director

Dear Makers & Community,

As I’ve been compiling our 2025 annual report it’s become clear that MAKE Santa Fe is growing up. I’ve been amazed at the amount of work our small staff has been able to accomplish. In 2025 we leveled up our programming by formalizing our processes and internal workflows. Now, toward the end of the year, I can confidently say that we’re honing in on what a Makerspace should be in a community. 

We’re a space for makers to grow and experiment with access to tools, equipment, and community. Our educational programs give new makers the skills they need to use equipment safely and confidently. Our service contracts, intensive training, and track courses create real economic mobility by helping makers build income streams and careers around their craft. Our community outreach has sparked broader conversations about nonprofit fundraising, the role of creative spaces, and the value of failure in the artistic process. All of this work serves a single purpose: to build a more resilient and creative Santa Fe. We’re leading the conversation around creative work and offering the tools and support to make it possible.

2025 has also highlighted some things that we need to grow into or focus on. Our contributed income remains significantly low for an organization of our size, and our donor base is too small to reliably sustain the level of programming, staffing, and community impact we now deliver. As we continue to professionalize and expand, we will need to build stronger philanthropic relationships, deepen board engagement, and develop a culture of giving that matches the scale of our ambitions.

We’re also facing the growing pains that come with higher usage and higher expectations. Our facilities are being pushed to their limits, and the demand for more classes, more workshops, and more access continues to outpace our current capacity. The work of maintaining a safe, high-functioning shop is increasingly complex, and our staff, though exceptionally capable, remains small for the scope of services we provide. As we expand we will need to invest in people, equipment, and infrastructure to keep pace.

These challenges are real, but they reflect something important: Santa Fe needs this place. Our task in the coming year is to strengthen the foundation beneath the momentum we’ve built. With the support of our members, donors, partners, and board, we can continue to grow into the organization this community deserves.

Thank you,

James W. Johnson
Executive Director

Mission Statement

To empower individuals and our community by providing access to tools, training, and collaborative spaces that inspire creativity, innovation, and sustainable entrepreneurship.

Our Vision

Santa Fe is a hub of innovation, craftsmanship, and economic opportunity. We drive a thriving maker culture that connects individuals to skills, careers, and regional entrepreneurial pathways.

Our Values

We value experimentation in art and fabrication.
We value non-competitive creation, invention, creativity, and play.
We are a non-judgmental learning space that promotes failing forward. We are a safe and respectful space where all are welcome.

Impact Highlights

Total Economic Impact

Economic Impact

• Total Direct Economic Impact:$22,500 (paid through service contracts)
• Subsidized Membership Access: $29,700 
• Value of Volunteer Labor: $53,910 (1,800 volunteer hours @ $29.95/hr)
• Equipment Capital Access Value: $30,000 (12% annual access valuation on $250,000 in equipment)
• Educational Impact: $93,520 (Value of skill-building hours provided through Badge Classes and Workshops)
• Entrepreneurial & Microbusiness Impact: $280,000 (14 part-time maker businesses × $20,000 estimated average revenue)
• Community & Public Programming Impact: $50,000
• Creative Economy Multiplier (2.3×):$553,630 → $1.27M total

In 2025, MAKE Santa Fe generated a conservative estimated $1.27 million in total economic impact for the Santa Fe region. This figure reflects the combined value of direct paid opportunities for makers, discounted and volunteer-supported access to professional studios, workforce development training, and the significant entrepreneurial activity that takes place within our community. Our 14 part-time maker businesses alone contributed an estimated $280,000 to the local creative economy, while volunteer labor, equipment access, and subsidized memberships provided more than $130,000 in additional economic value. When applying Santa Fe’s creative-sector multiplier, MAKE Santa Fe’s contribution to the region’s creative economy exceeds $1.27M, demonstrating the vital role our organization plays in economic mobility, skill building, and creative entrepreneurship across Northern New Mexico.

$1.27 million in total economic impact for the Santa Fe region

Financial Information

Contributed Income (19.07% of total income)	Earned Income (80.93% of total income)

Make’s Expense Breakdown

Administration:
Office expenses, accounting, taxes, and payment processor fees. 

Payroll:
Staff pay. In 2025, Make ended the year with two full-time employees; a programs manager and an executive director. We also had one part-time employee; an administrative assistant. 

Facilities:
Includes rent, utilities, building maintenance, tool repair, and new tool acquisition. 

Education:
Instructor pay and instructor professional development. 

Professional:
Advertising, website, payment systems, travel.

Class Feedback

After every class the attendee gets an opportunity to provide feedback. These are the results of 281 responses.

Member Experience Survey

In November, 2025 we asked our membership to provide feedback on a variety of things regarding their experience at Make Santa Fe. Here are the results.

Discipline Representation

Classes and Workshops

39 Responses

What can we do better? (classes and workshops)

Across this year’s member survey, we heard a clear desire for greater clarity, structure, and accessibility in our educational offerings. Members asked for instruction and certification pathways for under-supported tools such as the printing press and hydraulic press, and many noted that badge and workshop content can vary in depth or feel rushed. 

Overall, the message was consistent: members value Make Santa Fe deeply, they simply want more structure in badge classes and more opportunities to build confidence with our tools and spaces.

In response, we are adding an entire level of classes (called 201 workshops) which build upon the curriculum taught in Badge Classes. 

In addition to this new series, we’re also putting significant effort into making our curriculum and resources available and easily accessed. This was started in Q3 of 2025 with the Make Santa Fe wiki (wiki.makesantafe.org). 

Staff is also making a concerted effort to sit in classes to better understand how they are being taught, and to provide feedback or refine curriculum. Our goal is to make sure instructors feel they can own the class, but we also need to ensure members are gaining the instruction they need to feel confident.

What do you like about Make’s classes and workshops?

Members consistently shared that they value the quality of our instructors, the welcoming environment, and the hands-on nature of our classes. Many respondents praised the revised schedule and emphasized how much they appreciate project-based learning. We also heard enthusiasm for expanding workshop-style sessions, adding more women’s-only offerings, and introducing new subject areas such as jewelry. More than one person made sure to say they’re grateful for the leadership behind the scenes. Thank you!

Equipment & Resources

39 Responses

What can we do better? (equipment and Resources)

A few members expressed concerns over some outdated and old equipment. We hear the concern and are working toward purchasing updated equipment that is both easier to maintain and more reliable.

Leadership & Staff

39 Responses

Our Community

39 Responces

What can we do better? (Our community)

While we did not receive written feedback specific to community experience this year, we’ve been actively expanding the ways members connect, collaborate, and spend time in the space. We launched new drop-in community nights (open to anyone), expanded open studio hours in ceramics, metalshop, and woodworking. We’re also creating more pathways for makers to share skills and support each other across disciplines. Regular meetups and member-led gatherings are becoming a more visible part of our culture, and we’re continuing to develop programming that brings people together around shared interests and projects. 

Programs that we offered in 2025

Membership

The “All Access Maker Membership” at Make Santa Fe is designed for a wide range of creative individuals, including artists, makers, engineers, hobbyists, educators, and more. This membership offers several benefits, such as access to shops and equipment during regular business hours, the ability to reserve shops and equipment, access to member meetings and events, and inclusion in the member listing directory. Memberships are available on a monthly or yearly basis. 

Membership costs are subsidized by fundraising and earned income. Current memberships cover just over 40% of the total annual costs. 

Volunteer Program

The Make Santa Fe volunteer program is designed to offer an alternative to paying for a membership. Memberships can be gained for free through our volunteer program, which requires 12 hours of volunteer time per month. Volunteers complete projects that benefit the Make community and help upkeep and clean the space. Some recent volunteer projects include:

• Extending the outdoor shade structure (Welding, fabrication, metalwork)
• Building organization containers for various shops (laser cutting, woodwork)
• Completing shop upgrades and new organizational systems. 
• Compiling and researching tool use guides and manuals. 

Badge Classes

Badge classes are designed to onboard makers into the disciplines at Make Santa Fe. We offer badge classes in all of our permanent disciplines: 

• 3D Printing
• Blacksmithing
• Casting & Mold Making|Casting & Mold Making
• Ceramics
• CNC Plasma
• CNC Router
• Electronics and Circuits
• Laser Cutting
• Metal Lathe and Mill
• Metal Shop
• Sewing
• Software & Design|Software & Design
• Wood Lathe
• Woodshop

Workshops

Workshop classes are in subjects we do not have permanent space for, or technique classes that build upon the skills taught in the badge classes. Some recent workshops include:

• Glass fusing and slumping
• Monoprint making
• Bookbinding
• Knot tying
• Brazing
• Ceramics and Pottery
• Intermediate woodworking and metalworking

Intensives

Introduced at the start of 2024, our advanced long-form classes are designed to build skills in the various shops at Make Santa Fe. These classes typically meet over 4 or 6 weeks and allow us to onboard makers into a more comprehensive curriculum. 

• Spoon Carving Intensive
• Hand-building in Clay
• Sewing for Your Body
• Knife Making
• Wheel Throwing
• Furniture in Metal and Wood
• ShopBot CNC
• Drafting Intensive
• CNC Metal Milling with the Fadal
• Leather Working using the Laser Cutter
• Raku
• Power Hammer

Track Courses

In January 2025, we launched a new way of engaging with our curriculum. Track Courses are a collection of badge classes designed to be taken together. These courses will onboard members and the community into multiple disciplines that work together. For example, the woodworking track class will cover the woodshop, x-carve cnc, laser cutter, and wood lathes. 

• Master Maker Curriculum
• Art & Sculpture Fabrication
• Ancient Industrial Tech
• Maker Software Suite
• Invention & Prototyping
• Fabricating with Wood
• Industrial Fabrication in Metal
• CNC For Metal Fabricators
• CNC for Woodworkers
• Full CNC Complement

Service Contracts

Make Santa Fe has assembled a facility uniquely suited for complex, industrial-scale fabrication and prototyping. As a result, mission-aligned organizations frequently approach us to complete fabrication projects. In 2023, we formalized this work by creating our Service Contracts program, allowing us to say “yes” to these opportunities while prioritizing projects that advance community impact, education, and creative problem-solving.

In 2025, we expanded Service Contracts into a clear pathway to meaningful paid work for members. Once members earn badges in a discipline, they become eligible to take on contract work managed by Make Santa Fe. As they gain experience and demonstrate reliability and technical proficiency, they can advance to the role of Fabrication Lead, completing client work on behalf of the organization. Make Santa Fe compensates both Fabrication Leads and apprentice members at industry-standard rates, creating real economic opportunity for makers while reinforcing our mission to support learning, fabrication, and creative careers.

Staff

James W. Johnson

Executive Director

Andrew Goode

Programs Manager

Lisa White

Admin Assistant

Board of Directors

Alexander Dzurec

Board Chair

Sage Morris-Greene

Vice Chair

Vanessa Garcia

Board Treasurer

Barry Kane

Secretary

Calli Beck

Owner Stark Raven Fabrication

Randy John Castillo

Hubert van Hecke

Physicist known as “Mr. Science” in local schools

John Miller

Co-founder

Emeritus

Ginger Richardson

Emeritus Co-founder

Juniper Lovato

Emeritus Co-founder

Zane Fischer

Emeritus Co-founder