Hacker Dojo fights to the finish; last-minute donation propels organization to $250K fundraising goal

Thanks to an 11th-hour donation, Hacker Dojo in Mountain View will likely live to fight another day.

The self-styled community center for up and coming startups was in a battle against the clock to raise $250,000 for a series of city-mandated upgrades to the warehouse space it occupies at 140 S. Whisman Road. Hacker Dojo has until Dec. 27 to complete the work, which includes installing a fire sprinkler system and ADA-compliant restrooms, or face possible closure.

"It was certainly a nail-biter finish" said Katy Levinson, Hacker Dojo's director of development and fundraising campaign organizer. "We weren't sure what we were going to do if we didn't make it. We have hundreds of thousands of dollars of renovations which could not even be started until we could convince the contractors we could cut a check."