This article has been updated since it first appeared in print.
The ToolBank’s thousands of blue-handled shovels, rakes and other equipment have helped build hundreds of community-led projects over the last decade.
From a warehouse in Scott’s Addition, the Richmond Community ToolBank has shepherded a decade of growth in the region, project by project.
“We’re a blown-out version of a tool library. We have a massive inventory of about 10,000 tools,” Executive Director Toby Vernon says. “We’re serving about 500 community-based organizations a year. A tool library would be serving maybe about 100 individuals in a year.”
Since its doors opened in 2015, the ToolBank has been a welcome resource for community groups who need hardware for projects. For a small fee, the group rents out its items to nonprofits and businesses looking to clean a park, improve a community center and anything in between.
“‘Friends of’ groups are by far our most frequent flyers,” Vernon says. “Friends of Bryant Park, Friends of Chimborazo Park, Friends of Battery Park … for any of these people, spring and fall are big times to do projects.”
The ToolBank’s inventory goes beyond traditional hardware such as hammers, saws or hedge trimmers. The organization also lends equipment including canopy tents, folding chairs and even cornhole sets for events such as Maymont’s Oktoberfest.
The rental fee for an item equates to 6% of a tool’s retail value for a weeklong loan. “It contributes a little bit to our budget. ... It’s a small percentage, but every dollar counts when you’re a small nonprofit,” Vernon says.
Groundwork RVA, a nonprofit dedicated to urban environmental conservation, is one of many organizations that benefits from the ToolBank’s low rates. It is currently building a community farm in South Side Richmond’s Hillside Court.
“We would not be able to do this work without ToolBank,” says Groundwork RVA Executive Director Nathan Burrell. “ToolBank provides us with the necessary tools to not only support this work, but also to engage the community in this work.”
Volunteers with Mending Walls RVA relied on tools from the ToolBank to build garden boxes for their project.
This month, the group reached an agreement with the city of Richmond that will expand its rental offerings even further. At the Broad Rock Sports Complex, the ToolBank plans to open another equipment hub to better serve groups and individuals on the South Side, so renters can pick up and return tools without needing to drive to Scott's Addition.
There’s more to the ToolBank than borrowing equipment, however. RVA ToolBOX, an equipment training program launched in early 2024, provides hands-on homeware and DIY workshops in a classroom at the back end of the warehouse. These workshops are open to the general public, not just community groups.
“It might be how to switch out a light switch with one that has a dimmer on it. Or how to install a ceiling fan,” Vernon says. “It’s a huge range of topics, from seasonal maintenance to really focused ones, like how to install a backsplash.”
Vernon says the success of the ToolBOX program, which has served more than 500 people since its founding, is the inspiration for another major change as the organization enters its second decade. Beginning in early 2026, the ToolBank is extending the services it provides community groups to individuals who have the inspiration for making home repairs but not the budget for purchasing the proper equipment.
That expansion is the first step in a new era of projects and progress for the group, which still starts every morning with the same saying: “Come to work joyful, say yes and get [stuff] done.”
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