Policies and Procedures

• Code of Conduct
• Privacy Policy
• Weapons Policy
• Donations
• Photography
• Forms
• Incident Report
• Reinstatement Appeal
• Security Cameras

Code of Conduct

Bellingham Makerspace is committed to maintaining a creative community in which all individuals are treated with fairness, respect, and dignity. This policy applies to all within the Makerspace: employees, volunteers, members, and guests alike -- within our walls, on Makerspace owned and managed communication forums and online spaces, and while representing the space at outside events.

By participating in the Makerspace community, you agree to abide by any such changes. It is your responsibility to stay up to date on the latest changes to our Code of Conduct.

Changes to the Code of Conduct may be made periodically, with or without notice.

What we expect:

• Embody and support our mission through behavior and communications
• Embrace and advocate for inclusion and diversity
• Ensure safety in the space
• Respect yourself, other people, and property in the Makerspace, at Makerspace events, and in Makerspace electronic communications channels, such as Slack
• Be respectful of those around you; avoid language or actions that might reasonably make others uncomfortable.
• Be respectful of the Makerspace hours of operation and the posted hours of Makerspace events.

What our community will not tolerate:

• Sleeping, smoking, vaping, or consumption of alcohol or illicit drugs in Makerspace spaces or within 25 feet of a Makerspace entryway. Alcohol consumption may be permitted for special events approved by the Board.
• Using a complex tool without receiving proper training from Makerspace staff or volunteers. Training received outside of our space does not replace the requirement for Makerspace-approved training/certification on our tools and systems.
• Performing maintenance on a tool without permission from the designated tool champion or area lead
• Any form of harassment, including but not limited to that based on sex, race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law.

Harrassment

Behavior that will be considered harassment includes, but is not limited to:

• Deliberate intimidation, stalking, or following
• Unwelcome physical contact
• Unwelcome sexual attention
• Comments directly intended to bully, belittle, offend, or otherwise cause discomfort including telling others they are not welcome and should leave
• Individually photographing, videoing, or making sound recordings of members without their consent (this does not include Makerspace operated overhead ceiling cameras)
• Sustained disruption of talks or other events
• Sexually graphic or otherwise inappropriate images in public spaces
• Persistent and deliberate misgendering of other people
• Threats of violence
• Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior

Harassment does not include such things as:

• Reasonable communication of boundaries, such as "leave me alone", "go away" or "I'm not discussing this with you"
• Communicating in a "tone" you don't find congenial
• Criticizing racist, sexist, cissexist, or otherwise oppressive behavior or assumptions

Consequences

Failure to comply with this policy shall result in disciplinary action, up to and including cancellation of makerspace membership, dismissal from paid/volunteer positions, and/or barring from the makerspace premises. Should a federal, state, or local law be violated, the infraction will be reported to the authorities.

How to report

If you witness infractions listed above, immediately fill out an Incident Report form and report it to any staff members, board members, area leads, or tool champions present at the time in the space.

How to appeal

See the Reinstatement Appeal process.

Privacy Policy

Weapons Policy

This page details the policies on carrying and creating weapons at Bellingham Makerspace.

Firearms

• • No type of firearm may be crafted at the Makerspace or with Makerspace tools.

  • Firearm paraphernalia (e.g. holsters, engraved grips, etc.) may be crafted on a per-project basis with advance notice to, and permission from, management.

    • In general, only personalization projects - e.g. engraving someone’s name or association on a grip - and carriers (holsters, mag pouches, etc.) may be allowed for members in good standing.

    • Aftermarket accessories - extra magazines, rails, any attachments (scopes, laser sights, silencers) - will not be allowed.

    • No firearms may be brought into the space for the purpose of referencing, sizing, etc. while crafting approved firearm paraphernalia.

  • Attempting to craft firearms, or firearm paraphernalia without advance permission, is grounds for immediate termination of membership and banning from the space.

  • Bellingham Makerspace does not permit the carrying of concealed firearms on its premises. 

Replica Firearms

• • No replica firearms that are made to look like realistic firearm models (real or imaginary) may be crafted at the Makerspace or with Makerspace tools.

  • Replica firearm paraphernalia is subject to the same restrictions as real firearm paraphernalia.

  • Examples include “80% lower receivers”, 3D-printed lower or upper receivers, BB pistols that look like real pistols except for an orange tip, dart pistols, etc.

  • Attempting to craft replica firearms, or replica firearm paraphernalia without advance permission, is grounds for immediate termination of membership and banning from the space.

Tension Weapons

• • Tension weapons includes bows, crossbows, ballistas, catapults, trebuchets, etc.

  • No type of tension weapon may be crafted at the Makerspace or with Makerspace tools.

  • Attempting to craft tension weapons in the Makerspace or with Makerspace tools is grounds for immediate termination of membership and banning from the space.

Melee Weapons

• • No type of functional melee weapon may be crafted at the Makerspace or with Makerspace tools. 

  • Melee weapon paraphernalia (e.g. sheaths) may be crafted on a per-project basis with advance notice to, and permission from, management.

    • No melee weapons may be brought into the space for the purpose of referencing, sizing, etc. while crafting melee weapon paraphernalia.

  • Examples include sharp-edged blades and weighted blunt weapons.

  • Attempting to craft melee weapons, or melee weapon paraphernalia without advance permission, is grounds for immediate termination of membership and banning from the space.

Exotic Weapons

• • Exotic weapons include apparatus powered by chemical, pyrokinetic, explosive, compressed gas, electroshock, or other means intended to cause personal harm or property damage.

  • No type of exotic weapon may be crafted at the Makerspace or with Makerspace tools.

  • Attempting to craft exotic weapons is grounds for immediate termination of membership and banning from the space.

Toy/Prop Weapons

• • Toy or prop weapons may be crafted at the Makerspace and with Makerspace tools.

  • This includes Nerf-style foam dart blasters, cartoonish 3d-printed melee weapons, foam melee weapons, and non-functional fantasy/sci-fi cosplay weapons clearly meant for play (bright colors, exaggerated proportions, etc).

    • If a toy projectile weapon is powered by means such as compressed gas, tension, electricity, etc. assembling and/or testing the power source may only be done after providing advance notice and a safety plan to management and receiving approval of the scheduling and safety plan.

Bellingham Makerspace will proactively and voluntarily cooperate with law enforcement regarding any violations of our weapons policy and, in particular, violations of the law regarding weapons.

Donations

This page outlines the guidelines for accepting and managing donations at Bellingham Makerspace. We appreciate your support and contributions to our creative community. Please read the following carefully to ensure that your donation aligns with our needs and capabilities.

Please note: Donations can only be accepted in person by the operations manager or an area lead. Donations that are not delivered directly to the operations manager or an area lead will not be accepted (read: unceremoniously put in the dumpster), and the donor will not be issued a tax receipt.

Donations we will accept

We welcome donations of items that are in good working order and align with our objectives. Acceptable donations include:

Donations we will not accept

We cannot accept the following items:

3D printers

While we generally accept items in working order, we may make an exception for non-functional 3D printers. Donations of non-functional 3D printers are accepted as they can provide valuable learning opportunities and projects for our community.

Donation drop-off

Donations can be dropped off during our regular operating hours. Please check our website or contact our staff for the most up-to-date information on drop-off times.

Tax receipts

Tax receipts are available upon request. Please notify our staff if you require a tax receipt for your donation.

Right of refusal

Bellingham Makerspace reserves the right to refuse any donation for any reason. We appreciate your understanding and support in ensuring that our makerspace receives items that contribute positively to our community.

Photography

The Bellingham Makerspace reserves the right to take photographs of people and projects in community spaces for promotional purposes. However, we also respect the privacy of our members, and any members can opt out of photography of themselves or their projects. For members in the space, we request that permission be obtained from people before they are recorded or photographed, and if the pictures/video/audio/etc will be posted anyplace online, permission to do that should also be obtained.

Forms

Incident Report

Fill out an Incident Report for injuries, equipment damage, property damage, and Code of Conduct infractions. If completing a paper version, send a photograph of the filled form to board@bellinghammakerspace.org 

Once a report is submitted you will receive a claim number for your Incident Report via email within 5 days of submitting this form, then a fact finding will occur (each person listed on this report will be contacted and asked to share their narrative of the event), deliberations will be made, and actions may be taken.

This entire process should take 2 weeks.

All progress will be tracked here

Reinstatement Appeal

Fill out a Reinstatement Appeal form to request overturning decisions made regarding an Incident Report.

If completing a paper version, send a photograph of the filled form to board@bellinghammakerspace.org

Reinstatement Appeal process: Once an appeal is submitted, submittee could expect any of the following:

invitation to interview, request for additional documentation, and/or letter of reference.

This entire process should take 2 weeks.

Security Cameras

To ensure the safety of our members and the security of our shared space and equipment, we use a video camera system with audio recording capability. We want to be transparent about how this system is used, who has access, and how we protect our members' privacy. Your trust and safety are our top priorities.

Our Guiding Principles

• Our camera system is in place to augment existing safety and security measures. Its primary role is to help protect members, their projects, and makerspace property, especially during un-staffed hours when the space is most vulnerable.

• This system is not for monitoring member activity in real-time. We respect the privacy of everyone in our space.

How We Handle Camera Footage

To balance security with privacy, we follow these strict guidelines:

• Situational Awareness: We provide live feeds of some cameras at publicly accessible video monitors in the makerspace in order to give each other additional situational awareness. For example, we display the feed from the back-door camera so that members who are in the space by themselves can be aware that other people have entered the makerspace. 

• Recording Access is Limited: Only current Board members and makerspace staff (including Area Leads) have access to the camera system and its recordings. 
  

• Investigating Incidents: The Board and staff members may review camera footage to investigate specific events, such as:

  • Determining the cause of injury to a person.

  • Identifying how equipment or property was damaged

  • Identifying why a tool area or common area was left messy or unusable
  • Identifying the owner of lost or missing property
    

• Code of Conduct: Video evidence may be used as part of a formal Code of Conduct investigation.

Data Retention

Camera footage is automatically deleted after 30 days. The only exception is if a specific clip is needed for an active Code of Conduct investigation or legal matter, in which case it will be securely retained only for as long as it is needed.

Sharing Footage with Outside Parties

Protecting our members' privacy is a responsibility we take very seriously. We will not share footage with outside parties except under specific legal circumstances:

• Law Enforcement: We will not provide footage to any law enforcement agency without a valid judicial warrant issued by a judge related to an active investigation.

• Civil Matters: We will not provide footage to any other person or organization without a legally binding subpoena issued by a local, state, or federal court.

Warrant Canary

A warrant canary is a regularly published statement that a service provider has not received a secret government subpoena. If we are ever served with such a subpoena, we will be legally prohibited from telling you. However, we can stop publishing this statement.

As of July 8, 2025, Bellingham Makerspace has:

• Never received a National Security Letter or a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court order.

• Never been subject to a gag order by a FISA court.

• Never been asked by any government organization to provide access to member data or camera footage in secret.

If this section is ever removed from this policy, you should assume that we have received a secret warrant or subpoena.