Just a few months ago, the Vera Project was in a bit of a financial crunch, putting the call out for donations and hosting benefits around the city. In order to start the new year with enough money to continue the same level of programming as it had in the past, it needed to raise $20,000. That's a lot of cash. But the venue did it, and thanks to community response (and amazing benefit shows with Pearl Jam and Built to Spill), $24,000 was raised by the end of 2003. That's great news, but the fix is only temporary. What most might not realize is that the Vera Project is in constant need of donations in order to continue pulling off the weekend rock shows and variety of workshops (Sound 101, screen-printing, yoga, etc.) it houses for the public.

So the Blood Brothers are going to help get the message out there, loud and clear (the only way the Blood Brothers could do it), by playing two benefit shows with a bunch of other bands at Vera on Thursday, February 12, and Friday, February 13 (both start at 8:00 p.m. and are $8 with a club card).

But what exactly is Vera hoping to gain from these shows? After all, the venue did just get $24,000. James Keblas, one of Vera's superstar programming directors, was kind enough to break it down into numbers for us. "In 2003, Vera's budget was $236,620," says Keblas. "With that money, we held 113 events in our space. The City of Seattle contributed $55,410, which is enough money to have about 25 events per year. But we are trying to do more than that, like create a youth music community center, education opportunities, civic engagement... so we use the city's money as the foundation. The city's contribution is important, but we wouldn't have much of a community impact if other funds didn't come in."

The other funds can come in many forms--grants, donations, benefit shows--the important thing being that they continue to come in. "On average, it costs Vera $17,000 a month to operate," says Keblas. "Vera relies on about $6,000 to come from community contributions."

Of course, Keblas and Stewart (and all the volunteers) don't need to work their asses off to constantly raise money in order to keep Vera afloat, but if they didn't, the venue's entire mission would change. That doesn't interest Keblas at all.

"This is a community-driven organization, not a profit-driven one," he says . "I know how to make a profit. We could sell alcohol or charge $15 per show, but all that would undermine our mission.

"I think people give to Vera because they know how important it is for a place like Vera to exist," continues Keblas. "It has to be paid for somehow, so we either change our mission or get continuing support from the community."

You can make a donation at any Vera event or send it to The Vera Project, 1122 E Pike St #849, Seattle, WA 98122. MEGAN SELING

megan@thestranger.com