Beyond Book Sales: The Complete Guide to Raising Real Money for Your Library

Like library users, library donors hail from all walks of life. Regardless of the scope or complexity of library fundraising, successful efforts are always about forging and strengthening relationships with the range of stakeholders throughout the community. Dowd and her team from Library Strategies, a consulting group of the Friends of St. Paul Public Library, share proven strategies that have brought in more than $1 million annually. Believing that private fundraising is a natural for libraries large and small, they start with 12 facts about library fundraising and focus on activities with the highest return. Tips and features include:

• The gift pyramid model for developing the culture of giving that leads to big gifts
• Overcoming fears of sponsorship and embracing cause-related marketing
• Pitching the appropriate charitable gift
• Confronting common fears of requesting major gifts
• The pros and cons of membership programs

Susan Dowd is a staff member of The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library, where she serves as Capital Campaign Coordinator and Special Projects Coordinator. She is also a Library Strategies consultant. She holds a Master of Librarianship from Emory University and is certified in Fundraising and Fund Development from the University of Saint Thomas. She has authored a number of advocacy and fundraising toolkits for ALA s Advocacy University and co-authored a how-to book on mergers for Minnesota nonprofits. She collaborated on Beyond Book Sales with co-authors, fellow Friends staff members and Library Strategies consultants Liz Boyd, Sue Hall, Ann McKinnon, Wendy Moylan, and Peter Pearson.