10 unique ways to support your local library
Libraries are where children go to find new stories and adventures, where adults can access computers, the internet and a quiet place to work. Around 130 million adults in the US have low literacy skills, but libraries play a vital role in children and adult education, improving literacy levels, and helping to build community.
But the limited public funding libraries do have often covers little more than basic running costs, creating an increasing need to keep fundraising for libraries to help them stay open and keep serving their local communities. Here we’ll look at how to set up your own library fundraiser on GoFundMe and the different creative library fundraising ideas you can use to get started on your fundraising journey.
Why is it important to fundraise for libraries?
Libraries often rely on federal and state grants, money from local taxes, and donations to stay open. It means the budget available from local taxes is often limited and only covers basic running costs like utilities, staff salaries and buying in books. And while many schools use federal, state or district funding to give children access to libraries, thousands of public schools either do not have the money to staff it or open one at all, according to the American Library Association (ALA).
Government funding for libraries has also dramatically changed this year. In March an executive order was issued to suspend millions of dollars’ worth of federal grants usually issued by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. It has directly impacted libraries by forcing them to fire staff, suspend programs like e-book lending, or close entirely.
Fundraising for libraries allows staff to use any extra financial support to provide modern resources like e-book and audiobook libraries for children and adults, free community programs that focus on child development or adult health, and access to computers and the internet for poorer or rural households.
Non profit libraries, which do not receive financial support through federal grants or local taxes, often serve vulnerable populations and rely entirely on donations or money raised through memberships to survive. They include organizations such as Libraries Without Borders US, which focuses on helping disadvantaged communities, racial and ethnic minorities, and refugees access library and community resources, and the Little Free Library in Minnesota, which aims to improve literacy by providing children access to free books in areas where it would otherwise be scarce.
What do people fundraise for in libraries?
Library fundraisers can help pay for a range of vital services, from upgrading book collections and digital resources like e-book and audio book libraries to helping improve computers and broadband internet to aid children with class homework or adults who need to access online resources like government services or complete job applications. It can help libraries pay for more staff and to fund training for everything from HR support to improving digital literacy, outreach programming and understanding how to better serve vulnerable or underrepresented communities.
Fundraising for libraries also means staff are able to organize free library events such as story time for children or resume workshops for adults, and run classes on everything from learning cultural history to preparing for a citizenship exam. Staff can also use the funds for library promotion ideas like flyers, posters, and designing engaging mail outs to send to members and library support groups. Any money raised can also go into funding reading and digital literacy programs for children and adults, children’s reading corners, and outreach work like community workshops or mobile libraries to show people how they can better utilize the library’s resources.
Who can organize a library fundraiser?
Library fundraisers can be set up by anyone who wants to help. Library staff and directors will often set up fundraisers for public libraries, and these fundraising efforts are often supported by Friends of the Library groups. These are community groups made up of volunteers and advocates who give their time, energy and financial support through Friends of the Library fundraising ideas, events and outreach work. Friends groups can be vital to libraries when applying for grants too, as they help demonstrate the real life need and community support for the library.
Parents, students or Parent Teacher Association (PTA) groups also run fundraisers for school libraries and the public libraries that serve local schools to help pay for new buildings, new collections and services. Alumni and donor networks are well placed to help with their school library fundraising ideas to support the public and academic libraries they used during their studies, and any kind of book clubs associated with a library can help give back by helping with the organization of a fundraiser.
Where can you fundraise for libraries?
Online crowdfunding platforms such as GoFundMe offer an easy and wide-reaching solution for helping you to get your own library fundraiser off the ground. You can use crowdfunding for books, new equipment, paying for special programming and to help fund vital outreach work at your local library. Create a book fundraiser online to help your library maintain or update its book collection, or expand the books, e-books and audio books it has on offer. Set up donation stations at the library or your local school with a QR code that links to your fundraiser.
You can also set up in-person fundraising events within your local community to help raise awareness of the financial challenges your school library or public library is facing. You can set up donation tables for people to donate cash or book donation boxes for people to drop their unwanted books into during a book drive. Partner with local bookstores or local businesses for any fundraiser and ask if you can place a donation station or book donation box near the counter.
How can you start fundraising for a library?
Starting a fundraiser for your library is simple. All you have to do is decide how much you want to raise, how you want to fundraise in-person or online, and see what you can achieve for your library!
Set your goal: Be clear about how much money you want to raise and what it will be used to pay for at the public or school library such as buying in new books, upgrading library technology like computers, or helping to pay for essential renovations or a new building.
Choose your method: Decide whether you want to start an online fundraiser, organize an in-person fundraising event, set up a sales event to raise money like an auction or a bake sale, or run a donation campaign like a book drive to ask for specific items.
Spread the word: Be sure to promote your fundraising efforts widely by posting about it on social media, getting it included in local email lists, or by putting up posters or flyers around your neighbourhood to let members of your local community know how they can help support the library fundraiser.
Partner up: Collaborate with local authors, schools or businesses like a local bookshop to help spread the word about your fundraising efforts by asking them to share the information with their own networks. You can also ask if they would be willing to contribute to any library giveaway ideas by donating goods such as signed books or book vouchers as incentives for donations.
Where can people donate to library fundraisers?
People can donate in person or online to library fundraisers. Ask staff if you can set up a collection box for donations to be made directly at the library for your fundraiser, or ask if they can put a link to your fundraiser on the library’s website. Donations can also be made in person when people are fundraising for libraries at local community events like a sports day or a yard sale, or through nonprofit groups that are affiliated with the school or public library like a Friends of the Library group.
Online donations can be made via platforms like GoFundMe, which makes it easy to track the progress of a fundraiser and to share it with potential donors on social networks and in newsletters. Online crowdfunding can be a great way to track fundraising efforts in real-time when the library is in need of raising urgent funds in an emergency situation, or needs to run a large-scale fundraiser for major renovations or building works.
10 best fundraising ideas for libraries
1. Start a fundraiser online: If you’ve already got a host of book fundraiser ideas then start one to raise money for your local public or school library on GoFundMe. Set a clear goal and tell your donors exactly what the money will be used for. Keep people engaged by sending updates of how the fundraiser is progressing and build connection with your donors by sharing testimonials and stories of how people have benefitted from funds raised for the library.
2. Start a book drive: Gather together gently used books from friends, family, and neighbors that can be donated to a nonprofit library. Book drives are ideal for engaging your local community in a good cause. Alternatively you can collect new and gently used books to put on a book sale and give the money raised to your local public or school library.
3. Host a read-a-thon: Read-a-thons or sponsored reading challenges are great ways to support school libraries while getting kids engaged in reading. Every person who takes part can get pledges for each milestone they reach such as a certain number of pages or chapters while reading a book, or for every book they complete.
4. Host a library-themed event: Library event ideas for fundraisers can be themed towards the library you’re trying to help. You could host a special talk by a local or nationally renowned author and sell tickets to the event that will raise money for the library, host a literary trivia night either at the library or a local bar, or run a storytelling marathon where participants are sponsored for how long they can tell stories.
You can raise further money by having donation tables at each event, or even have a silent auction running where people can bid for prizes donated by local businesses or authors.
5. Sell book-themed merch: Everyone loves being able to buy merchandise that helps to support a good cause. See if a local artist would be willing to donate their time to drawing or designing a series of images or a library slogan that can be printed on bookmarks, tote bags or mugs that can be sold at the library. Be sure to link to the artist’s information in the library shop.
6. Create a library day: Partner with any local businesses that would be willing to donate a portion of their profits on a specific day to the local public or school library. Get the businesses to engage its customers in the library day to help spread the word about fundraising efforts for the library.
7. Run a giveaway event: You can always come up with library giveaway ideas to help encourage people to donate to the library in exchange for a tote bag or a water bottle with the library’s logo on it. Alternatively you could host a raffle at one of the fundraising events to offer prizes in return for donations.
8. Get crafty: Get a group of artistic friends together to create DIY book art from old or damaged books that you can sell at the library.
9. Library Birthday party fundraiser: Whether you’re raising money for a historic public library, a school library or a nonprofit community library, you can always throw a fundraising event to celebrate the library’s birthday, no matter which anniversary milestone it has reached. Get local community members involved by helping to plan the event and include free events on the day like a storytelling hour for children and a book reading from a local author for adults. Ask people to pay a small fee to enter the events or set up donation stations around the library to raise money.
10. Sponsor a shelf: Utilize digital naming opportunities by letting people pay to name a library shelf, a room in the library or even one of the computers. You can get plaques made to commemorate their donation and rename the item they have sponsored.
Tips to Maximize Your Library Fundraiser’s Success
Maximize the success of your fundraiser by highlighting the impact the public, school or nonprofit library has had on the local community, engage and encourage donors to donate more than once, and seek out corporate sponsorship opportunities.
Tell real life stories: Use strong storytelling to show how members of the local community have been positively impacted by the library through access to books and technology they otherwise wouldn’t have at home, how their lives have been improved by dedicated outreach programs, and how the library has helped improve literacy rates in the community.
Shout out top donors: Highlight the impact that people who have contributed large sums of money or have continuously donated to the library over a long period of time have had on its ability to serve the local community by giving them a shout out on social media or in your next library newsletter.
Post updates regularly: Let donors know what their money is helping to support and build through frequent updates posted to your fundraising page. Include pictures and videos showing the progress of a project or what the money raised has helped to buy, and be sure to regularly thank donors for their ongoing support.
Get donations matched: Encourage donors to see if their employer has a corporate matching donation program that they can utilize. Up to $7 billion of matching gift funds goes unclaimed each year, according to Double the Donation. Also see if any local or national businesses would be willing to provide corporate sponsorship for the library.
Supporting local libraries through creative fundraising ideas is vital to their survival, whether it’s for a public library, a school library or a local nonprofit library. All of these organizations help to promote and improve crucial literacy skills in the community, provide books and technology for those who would not otherwise have access to them at home, and run important outreach work from storytelling hours for children to resume workshops for adults.
You can always start a library fundraiser on GoFundMe to start raising money for your local library straightaway. Whether you’re running a library fundraiser, an individual fundraiser, or organizing local fundraising events, crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe let you track your progress in real time and send important updates and thank you messages to supporters. Be sure to share the link to your fundraiser across the library’s social network platforms, email newsletters and on its website. Ask supporters to also share the fundraiser to their own networks to maximize its impact and raise as much money as possible.
Support your library today-because knowledge belongs to everyone.