I would use $1000 to purchase lab reagents and host a class teaching participants how to sequence a short segment of their choice from their own genome - for free!
They are pooling their money together to entice smart, creative individuals of their choice to spend one month each at their coworking office by giving them recognition and paying them $1,000 to be there. This will be a great way to meet and learn from such people who they might not ever hear about or meet otherwise, never-mind work alongside for a month. It also gives the house some publicity as well as a list of cool people who were "guests".
