My neighbor told me to skip the liability waiver for our tool library's opening day. That was a huge mistake.

Man, that's a rough way to learn that lesson. It's so easy to want to skip the paperwork and just get a community project going. That exact fear of scaring people off is real. We had a similar scare with a community garden, someone tripped over a hose. A basic waiver is just non-negotiable now, even if it feels silly. It protects everyone, including the people running the thing. Really glad you got it sorted, even though it cost you.