As a public benefit corporation, Venture Café Cambridge has always been powered by community – from the volunteers welcoming people at the door, to our program partners, speakers, sponsors, and the thousands of people who show up every Thursday ready to connect and share ideas.
Now, we’re inviting you to support Venture Café!
The Venturer Program is the support layer behind the innovation ecosystem, giving supporters closer access, priority experiences, and visible belonging within the community they help sustain. By becoming a Venturer, you help make possible a space where founders, students, creatives, researchers, investors, and curious minds can come together every week, free and open to everyone.
What do I get as a Venturer?
Venturer Supporters receive ongoing access and recognition within the ecosystem. This may include priority access to selected events, early registration windows, curated community experiences, and updates and community insights, plus optional inclusion in supporter visibility features, as the program continues to grow.
You’ll also get access to CIC’s 5th floor coworking space every Thursday afternoon, and a growing list of partner perks. Think discounts on travel (citizenM, Marriott, Enterprise, and more) and business tools (Asana, HubSpot, Google Cloud credits).
Support us today!
When you become a Venturer, you’re investing in the people, conversations, and connections that make our innovation ecosystem thrive. There’s no tiered membership here, just one Venturer community, supported at whatever level works for you. Choose monthly or annual, then set your own contribution.
Flexible Monthly Membership
Join the Venturer Program with a flexible monthly membership. Pick an amount that feels good each month; your contribution helps us keep the ecosystem open and thriving for founders at every stage.
Annual Membership
Same pay-what-you-can approach for a full year of Venturer membership at a pace that fits your budget. Locking in annually means more time building and less time thinking about it.
WHAT YOUR SUPPORT ENABLES
Your support helps keep Venture Café open every week.
That might sound simple, but it’s what makes everything else possible. It keeps Thursday Gatherings free and accessible to anyone who wants to walk in, whether they’re a first-time founder, a student figuring things out, or someone deep in their career looking for new ideas.
It creates space for the moments that can’t really be planned: a conversation that turns into a collaboration, an introduction that leads to an opportunity, or two people realizing they should build something together.
Your support helps us:
- Create more community events and programs
- Improve the experience and accessibility of Gatherings
- Support founders, builders, and innovators at every stage
- Bring together people who otherwise may never meet
- Keep the community open, welcoming, and growing
When you become a Venturer, you are not just joining the ecosystem; you are sustaining it. And in return, you gain closer access to the community, new opportunities, and a deeper connection to the people shaping innovation around you.
WHY WE STARTED THE VENTURER PROGRAM
Since 2009, Venture Café has become a home for innovators and community builders across Cambridge and beyond as an Innovation Ecosystem Activator. Every week, the Thursday Gathering brings together people from different backgrounds, industries, and stages of life, all connected by curiosity, generosity, and the desire to make things happen. What makes Venture Café special is simple: people show up for each other.
As a Venturer, you help keep that spirit alive.
You’ll also get access to additional opportunities, updates, and ways to engage more deeply with the community as the Venturer Program continues to grow and evolve.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Do I have to be a Venturer to join Venture Café’s Thursday Gathering?
No. Thursday Gatherings will always remain free and open to everyone. We believe innovation thrives when access is open, and freely accessible Thursday Gatherings are a core part of how we activate the ecosystem every week. Becoming a Venturer is not about entry to the space. It is about supporting and strengthening the ecosystem that makes these gatherings possible, while receiving deeper access, priority experiences, and recognition within the community.
What does my Venturer support actually fund?
Your Venturer support directly strengthens the ecosystem that makes Venture Café possible. This includes improving event programming quality, supporting community coordination, enabling curated experiences, maintaining ecosystem activation infrastructure, and ensuring that Thursday Gatherings remain free and open to everyone.
What do I get as a Venturer?
Venturer Supporters receive ongoing access and recognition within the ecosystem. This includes priority access to selected events, early registration windows, access to curated community experiences, recognition as a supporter of the ecosystem, updates and community insights, and optional inclusion in supporter visibility features.