The old saying may be that if you give a man a hammer, everything looks like a nail. But for the Richmond ToolBank, if you give someone a hammer, everything becomes an opportunity. 

For 10 years, the nonprofit, which operates out of a warehouse near Diversity Thrift in the Diamond District area, has been lending out tools to groups around Richmond to carry out projects that benefit the community. 

Now, an agreement with the city will let it establish a hub at the Broad Rock Sports Complex to more easily get tools and equipment to organizations on the Southside. 

“Demand for the ToolBank continues to grow year over year. We definitely have not hit our ceiling,” Executive Director Toby Vernon told The Richmonder from the group’s home off Cummings Drive. But “right now everyone has to come here to pick up and drop off.” 

“That’s a pretty unrealistic and inequitable model for the 100 community organizations” that work with Richmond ToolBank on the Southside, he said.

Earlier this month, City Council approved a no-cost lease with the nonprofit that will allow it to set up an array of steel containers outside the sports complex where community groups can collect and drop off tools they have rented from the bank without having to drive back and forth across the city.

“We’re excited about the opportunity that our residents will not have to go further to get these types of valuable resources to make improvements in their community spaces,” Richmond Parks and Recreation Director Chris Frelke told a City Council committee this October. 

Founded in 2015, Richmond ToolBank is an affiliate of the broader ToolBank USA network. Over the past decade, it has lent out saws, drills, wheelbarrows, shovels and much, much more to nonprofits, schools, neighborhoods, churches and even the city so that those groups can get things done without having to make costly one-time investments. 

Rentals cost just 6% of the tools’ retail price, and members of the tool bank — who are currently limited to nonprofits — can get their requests filled the same day depending on what they need.

To date, Richmond ToolBank has worked with some 500 groups on efforts such as building outdoor furniture for Richmond Public Schools and city parks, removing graffiti from buildings, assembling bicycles for children in need, and conducting critical home repairs. 

As the organization has grown, it’s also expanded into classes for people who want to learn how to maintain and improve their homes.  

When ToolBank began examining where most of the projects using its equipment were being done, it discovered large concentrations were occurring on the Southside, requiring groups to invest significant time on travel that could be better spent on the projects themselves. 

“It’s a terrible pain in the butt for them,” said Vernon — a realization that led to the new lease from the city.

ToolBank will also install lighting, security cameras and locks at the Broad Rock location, and Vernon said the “modular” nature of the hub will allow it to be relocated as needed.

“It’s movable and it’s replicable,” he said. 

Contact Reporter Sarah Vogelsong at svogelsong@richmonder.org