Once Upon a Seed...
Story & Seed is a vision for a community-rooted bookstore in Tigard, Oregon where books and people are cultivated together to create opportunity, belonging, and lifelong learning. We will provide inclusive access to community work-shops, skill-building, and volunteer or employment pathways for individuals who experience communication differences, disabilities, or other barriers to traditional job training, while also serving the broader community through books, programs, pop-up collaboration events, and shared learning experiences. At its heart, Story & Seed is about expanding access: to books, to skills, and to a community where everyone has room to grow
The Founders Campaign:
Help Plant the First Seed
Every big dream starts small... with a single idea, a little courage, and someone willing to believe in what it could become.
We are currently raising seed money to establish Story & Seed as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and build the foundation for what comes next. These first gifts will help cover the legal and operational costs of getting Story & Seed off the ground and create the capacity needed to begin building programs, partnerships, and a sustainable future.
Whether you give $25, $50, $100, $500 or make a larger investment in this vision, your support helps this nonprofit grow.
Founding Supporter Levels:
$25 — Founding Seed
You’re helping plant the first tiny pieces of Story & Seed, supporting materials such as handmade seed bookmarks, candle-making supplies, creative materials, and other items that will eventually become part of our programs and shop.
$50 — Founding Sprout
You’re helping us grow the beginnings of our plant propagation program, providing plants and supplies that will eventually support hands-on learning, creativity, and future plant sales.
$100 — Founding Reader
You’re helping plant the very first seeds of Story & Seed: supporting the initial supplies, materials, and small steps that begin bringing this vision to life.
$250 — Founding Book Club Member
You’re helping us begin building a future centered around books, literacy, language, creativity, and connection, while supporting the supplies and resources needed for our earliest programs.
$500 — Founding Bookshelf
You’re helping create the foundation for the resources and materials our future community will access, including books, furniture, program supplies, and the first pieces of our physical space.
$1,000 — Founding Chapter
You’re helping write the next chapter of Story & Seed by investing in the infrastructure needed to grow…from nonprofit formation and technology to marketing, inventory, equipment, and preparing our future space.
$5,000 — Founding Book
You’re helping turn an idea into something tangible by building the capacity for programs, partnerships, job-skills training, inventory, furnishings, signage, and the many details that will help create a welcoming community space.
$10,000 — Founding Series
You’re making a transformational investment in the foundation of Story & Seed and helping us reach our first major milestone: establishing the nonprofit, beginning the process of creating our physical space, and putting the infrastructure in place to begin serving our community.
$25,000 — Founding Bookstore
You’re helping bring the dream of a physical bookstore and community space to life. This level represents approximately one year of projected rent for our future space, creating a home where books, literacy, language, play, creativity, employment skills, and community can come together.
You are a part of the story.
And someday, when Story & Seed is a thriving community space, when a child chooses a book, when a young person with a communication difference gets their first opportunity to build job skills, or when you gather with your community for a book club, you will be part of the story from the very beginning.
Help us plant the first seed.
Venmo: @svann82
PayPal: https://paypal.me/svann82
Email at storyandseedcommunity@gmail.com
Story & Seed is currently in the process of establishing its 501(c)(3) status. Contributions made during this formation period do not yet have assurance of tax deductibility. When Story & Seed is subsequently recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and its exemption is retroactively effective for the date of the contribution, we will provide donors with appropriate documentation for their records. Please consult your tax advisor regarding your individual circumstances.
Additionally, in the unlikely event that Story & Seed is unable to obtain 501(c)(3) status and cannot move forward with establishing the organization, contributions made during this founding campaign will be returned directly to the original contributors.
A Future Tigard Nonprofit Bookstore & Community Growth Space
Story & Seed is a future community space in Tigard, Oregon where learning, opportunity, and connection are cultivated together. While rooted in a thoughtfully curated bookstore, our vision extends into plant propagation and sales, hands-on workshops, book clubs for all ages, and inclusive skill-building and employment opportunities designed for individuals who experience communication differences, disabilities, or barriers to traditional job training.
At its core, Story & Seed exists to expand access. Access to meaningful work, to learning experiences, to fun, and to community participation that builds dignity and independence in those seeking it. Our model also includes sliding scale access and donation-supported programming (including products for sale) to ensure inclusivity for individuals and families with limited resources.
We are also developing a long-term vision of community impact through school partnerships, including efforts to help ensure every child can participate in school book fairs by receiving support to select a book of their choice. Through books, plants, skills, and shared space, Story & Seed is designed to cultivate something lasting for the entire community.
Rooted in Community Experience.
Inspired by Life.
Story & Seed was born at the intersection of Sarah Vann's lifelong dream of opening a bookstore and her career as a speech-language pathologist, nonprofit founder, and community advocate. As a proud Tigard resident of nearly 20 years and mother of four children, Sarah has spent more than a decade helping individuals and families build communication, skills, and opportunities for meaningful participation in their communities. She is also the co-founder and Executive Director of Camp More, a Pacific Northwest nonprofit serving youth who stutter since 2016.
Throughout her work with children, teens, and adults, Sarah observed two persistent gaps in the community. First, individuals with communication differences, learning disabilities, neurodivergence, and other barriers often face significant challenges accessing meaningful employment opportunities. Second, during her eight years working in public schools, she witnessed far too many children miss out on the simple joy of choosing a book at a school book fair because their families could not afford it.
Story & Seed was created to address both challenges. By combining a community bookstore, inclusive employment opportunities, educational programming, community partnerships, and giving initiatives, Story & Seed aims to create a place where learning is accessible, work is supported, and every person feels welcomed and valued. Whether through a first job, a free book, sliding-scale services, or a gathering space for neighbors, Story & Seed exists to cultivate belonging, opportunity, and community for all.