We need our village!

If you’ve ever borrowed a toy, enrolled your kid in camp, hosted a birthday party in our space, or watched your child light up the moment they walked through our doors, this one’s for you.

And if you’ve never set foot in Rutabaga but you believe in real community spaces, kids learning to play together, families sharing instead of buying, and neighbors actually getting to know each other, this one’s for you too.

Rutabaga Toy Library is making a big move.

We’ve made our tiny Conrad Street space work for a long time, but we’ve also hit the ceiling of what we can do there. This new space gives us room to grow into the version of Rutabaga we’ve been slowly building toward: more room for play, better toy lending, flexible party space, camps and classes, and more ways for families to gather.

We’re working toward opening our new doors in September 2026, and this campaign is one of the key pieces that will help us get there.

Here’s where you come in

To open those doors, we need to complete interior construction and outfit the space, transforming a series of large, raw rooms into the warm, welcoming, joyful place you know and love.

We’re talking walls coming down, a kitchenette going in, a fresh front entrance, safer and more functional access, and a whole lot of shelving for all those toys.

We’re working on small business financing and grant opportunities, but community fundraising is a real and essential piece of this puzzle!

We know it’s a big ask, and we don’t take it lightly. But Rutabaga has always existed somewhere between a small business and a community resource, and this next chapter only works if our community helps bring it to life.

Our goal: raise $30,000 from the Rutabaga community by August 31, 2026.

Every contribution, whether it’s $10 or $2,000, helps us turn this new space into something our whole community can use.

Giving Tiers

🧸 Toy Champion ($50) Your name on the campaign thank-you page + entry into our thank-you drawing for a free Birthday Party Package.

🌱 Play Builder ($100) Founding Family status – your name permanently on the donor wall in the new space. First 100 donors only!

🏡 Community Builder ($500+) Rutabaga 2.0 merch bundle + an invitation to our exclusive donor preview night. Plus all Play Builder perks, including donor wall recognition.

🌳 Deep Root Supporter ($1,000+) A complimentary one-year Play & Borrow Membership or Birthday Party Package (a $650+ value). Plus all Community Builder perks.

💜 Forever Family ($2,500+) A lifetime Play & Borrow Membership – or fund a scholarship family's membership. Plus all Deep Root Supporter perks.

Or add a custom amount. Every little bit counts!

Be a Founding Family 🌱

The first 100 families to give $100 or more will be recognized as Founding Friends & Families of Rutabaga 2.0 – with their names on a permanent wall in the new space.

It’s a small way of saying: you helped build this!

We’ll track our progress publicly right here, so watch this space: 65 / 100 Founding Friends & Families have joined!

This is Rutabaga’s next chapter. Let’s write it together.

Rutabaga has always been powered by its community. It was built on the idea that sharing toys, space, resources, and time is good for families and good for the planet.

And we’ve seen that idea come to life again and again through the thousands of Philadelphia families who have walked through our glass doors on Conrad Street.

This move is no different. We’re not just relocating. We’re growing into the version of Rutabaga we’ve been slowly building toward, and we need our people to help us get there!

Contribute. Share. Spread the word. Every bit helps.

Thank you for being part of this next chapter.

With gratitude,
Krystal & the Rutabaga Team

Please note: Rutabaga Toy Library is not a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contributions are not tax-deductible.

Help Build Rutabaga 2.0!

A bigger home for joyful play – and we can’t do it without you.