RE: RE: Starting a Friends Group

Re: Friends Groups Help with Fundraising

2007-02-17T21:28:48Z

Wow that is so impressive - I want to show this at a workshop I'm doing in March 2007 - it's a great model for other libraries to follow.
Max

Re: Friends Groups Help with Fundraising

2007-02-12T21:47:03Z

We just updated our Friends Group Resources page at the Mid-Hudson Library System: http://midhudson.org/funding/fundraising/friends/main.php

We have 66 autonomous libraries in our system and over half of them have a Friends Group. So about 2 years ago we started providing support for Friends as well as our libraries - it's been great.

We've even started a Friends Support Group that meets quarterly so that Friends can learn from other Friends how they do things - notes from our first two meetings are on our web site: http://midhudson.org/funding/fundraising/friends/fsg.php

-Rebekkah

Re: Friends Groups Help with Fundraising

2006-09-27T21:42:27Z

Wow, I have to say that this is fantastic! At 80 pages, I can't imagine that you've overlooked anything. Great work.

I particularly like the appendices, which include a glossary and samples of mission statements, by-laws, and membership forms. This should all be very adaptable to other libraries. It's all about sharing and not reinventing the wheel!

Re: Friends Groups Help with Fundraising

2006-09-22T15:11:56Z

Just letting people know that the Friends of Connecticut Libraries has just published a handbook on how to start and maintain a Friends group. It was created with Connecticut libraries in mind, but of course is applicable to any library. There is a lot of good basic information here. See: http://ct.webjunction.org/do/DisplayContent?id=14177

Re: Friends Groups Help with Fundraising

2006-09-09T02:01:58Z

That's lucky to have a CPA on the board! I think one thing that is difficult for libraries these days - or rather this is what I have been hearing - is a difficulty in getting younger people on the boards after members retire. Not that just younger people are good for boards - but diversity is always good. Ok that was sort of rambly - but hopefully it made sense. It's been a long week! :-)

Re: Friends Groups Help with Fundraising

2006-09-09T01:27:08Z

We have a CPA on our board who is the treasurer.

Re: Friends Groups Help with Fundraising

2006-09-09T01:25:50Z

membership dues are as follows:

Student/Senior Citizen $6
Sustaining $15
Household $25
Non-Profit $50
Close Friend $75
Corporate $250

Many of the ideas came from various board members. A large board can come up with some interesting ideas.

Re: Friends Groups Help with Fundraising

2006-08-01T19:20:57Z

Do any of your Friends groups pay an accountant to keep the books? If so what do you pay them?

Re: Friends Groups Help with Fundraising

2006-07-29T10:35:50Z

WOW! Thanks Trek1red! Can you give an idea of membership dues? What great ideas and a wonderful success story. Fundraising means coming up with ideas and implementing them. The money won't just come to the library unfortunately - you have to do a little leg/mind work.

Love your post.
Max

Re: Friends Groups Help with Fundraising

2006-07-29T01:21:34Z

What can a Friends Group do re: fundraising?

I started a Friends Group 10 years ago in Dallas, Texas. It was the 2nd branch in the city to get a Friends Group. Today most of the 26 branches in the city have a Friends group.

Our group Oak Lawn Library Friends raises money by the following:

a) membership

b) Kroger Care Card & Tom Thumb Reward card (each grocery store chain gives us a percentage of sales generated by our patrons who have cards at their particular store. We raised $100 by this method during the last quarter.

c) Annual calendar - every year we have a calendar with each month sponsored by a local business for $500 + a back page with 10 business size card ads for $100 each. Each business that sponsors a month gets 100 calendars to use how ever they wish. The smaller advertisers gets 20 calendars. We print 2000 calendars and try and sell them for $5 each. The advertising pays for the calendar costs so every calendar sold is pure profit which we use at the library.

d) Special events - this year we had a week of cultural activities with a printed program paid by local businesses and individuals and a silent auction of donated items. We cleared $4,000 from this festival.

Also, we have a recycling table where donated materials that can not be used by the library are set out for sale to the public. Prices range from $2.00 to $.10.
In a regular month, we can generate $400. All proceeds go directly to the gift fund for that branch. One board member and a staff member take care of the table. If an item does not sell after a month or so it goes into the bargain table at the end of the month for an even lower price. These funds allow the staff to continue buying new material during the summer when city funds have already been committed before the end of the budget year.

Last year our group raised $10,000. This year, we will raise in excess of $15,000.

Re: Getting a Friends Group started

2006-02-24T19:29:23Z

They've now got a cheese tasting planned ... we're only 7 miles south of the Wisconsin border. ;-)

I suggested a single-malt scotch tasting. Of course, then there'd be the issue of dram-shop insurance ....

Re: Getting a Friends Group started

2006-02-22T21:40:36Z

Who doesn't love chocolate!

Re: Getting a Friends Group started

2006-02-13T23:27:40Z

On another note ... our Friends group just had a chocolate tasting as a part of their annual membership meeting.

Non-members had to join to be a part of this. I understand they gained quite a few chocoholics!

Re: Getting a Friends Group started

2005-12-09T18:54:53Z

I thought I might pass on something our Friends group has been doing for the past year or so.

The Friends, for a few years, had been putting together "welcome" bags that had library material in them. It also had info on schools, forest preserves, Chamber of Commerce maps, etc.

The Friends partnered with the local Chamber of Commerce a year ago with something closer to a community Welcome Wagon: the Chamber solicits ad inserts and the Friends continue to stuff bags ... but now the Friends split the ad proceeds 50/50 with the Chamber.

I think they got a $700 check last week.

Here's the thing ... new residents are worth a premium to ad buyers but are hard to find since they don't immediately pop up on mailing lists. They do, however, tend to make the library one of their first stops when they move into the community ... so we had something valuable, initial contact, to sell.

The Chamber and the Friends both win.

Re: Getting a Friends Group started

2005-10-24T13:16:11Z

That's a superb idea of course- scheduling things to accomodate the Friends. It seems like such a simple idea but I think many libraries forget how important it is. If you want them to come, you have to do it when it's easiest for them.

Getting a Friends Group started

2005-10-24T04:17:53Z

I saw someone asked about starting a Friends group. I had success getting ours started by looking for a core group of people who were already active library patrons, had a vested interest in continuing programs, and seemed to be able to get along with each other.

Who are these magical people, you ask? Well, maybe it's your toddler storytime moms, who are busy, but might not be opposed to getting together and doing work with other adults. For me, it was our monthly book discussion group. They were already meeting monthly, using the library often, and got along well (as evidenced by all the laughter in their meetings). I sweetened them up by using the small pot of money I had to buy a few copies of their next hot discussion book they could share with each other (then add to my paperback collection). I scheduled the first Friends meeting just a half an hour before their book club meeting, so they wouldn't even have to come the library an extra night that month. Fortunately, my plans worked and most of the book club members became official Friends. We moved the Friends meetings to a night seperate from the book club and we have added different members over time. That was five years ago and we're still humming along.

RE: RE: Friends Groups Help with Fundraising

2003-12-10T15:40:00Z

I've been to the DeKalb County Public Library! Such a sweet little library. Thanks for sharing this, Max. Good stuff...

RE: Friends Groups Help with Fundraising

2003-12-09T10:45:00Z

The DeKalb County Public Library (GA) has a great site for their Friends group which even has a schedule of upcoming Book Sales. What I think I like about this particular group though is that there is a section on the site called "How Do Friends Enrich the Library."

[url http://www.dekalb.public.lib.ga.us/friends/friends.htm ]http://www.dekalb.public.lib.ga.us/friends/friends.htm[/url]

Also, Via Library Support, there is a list of what you can do as a Friend to support your library including helping with funding!

And since Valentine's Day isn't THAT far away, "How to Declare Library Lover's Month": [url http://www.librarysupport.net/librarylovers/how.html ]http://www.librarysupport.net/librarylovers/how.html[/url]

Any other examples of Friends groups positively impacting libraries out there?

RE: RE: RE: Starting a Friends Group

2003-11-04T16:21:00Z

Chad, that's excellent. How did your friends group get started?

I heard something on NPR this weekend about the library in [url http://www.npr.org/display_pages/features/feature_1478538.html ]Fossil, OR[/url]. One in every four citizens is a dues paying member of their "friends" group, and they are currently fighting hard to keep their library alive due to budget cuts! Quite an inspiration & worth the click.

RE: RE: Starting a Friends Group

2003-06-18T12:16:00Z

I mentioned this in another post but we have an awesome Friends group here.

They run our annual book sale with proceeds often (not always) benefitting us in the areas of technology.

Chad