Dine Out for the Library

Teaming up with your community’s restaurants is a great way to raise money for your library, and a fine way to connect & collaborate with local businesses.

Here are two examples of successful Dine Out for the Library events.  Have you done a restaurant collaboration fundraiser also?  Please leave a comment if your library has done one too!

Caestecker Public Library (Green Lake):

Time for Dinner and a Movie! Make tonight a date night – take your sweetie to Subway of Green Lake between 4:00 and 9:00 tonight and they will donate a portion of your purchase to the Friends of the Library. And if you’re in the mood for a movie, the library can help you out with that – we’re showing Skyfall at 6:30.

Subway Fundraiser for the Friends of the Library — Our friends at Subway of Green Lake are helping us celebrate National Library Week in a big way! Breakfast, lunch, dinner, or all three – no matter when you stop in to eat at Subway today, a portion of the proceeds will go to the Friends of the Caestecker Library. We are thrilled that another local business is supporting the library in such a visible (and tasty!) manner. See you there!

Oshkosh Public Library:

Dine Out for the Library What’s that? You say it’s too cold to go out for dinner tonight? We have good news – by next Tuesday it will be a balmy 20 degrees. Perfect weather to head over to Benvenutos Italian Grill to Dine Out for the Library! Mention OPL or print the flyer from our web site and 15 percent of your bill goes to the library!

Thanks to everyone who attended and spread the word about our Dine Out for the Library night on Feb. 5 at Benvenuto’s. According to the restaurant’s general manager, our event was one of the most successful they have done, with a total of $1,777 in sales generated by customers dining out for the OPL. We received 15 percent of that total and the restaurant has decided to round up their donation to $300 because of the good turnout. Not a bad return for going out to dinner! [Oshkosh Public Library's staff newsletter This Week, Week of Feb. 11, 2013]

5 Fabulous Fundraising Ideas

Get inspired by these creative fundraising ideas from libraries in the Winnefox Library System, and then try them out at your library!

The Quilt That Built a Library (Princeton PL)
• “The Princeton, Wisconsin Public Library needs a new building addition. Project Linus needs blankets for children. What could be a better answer to both needs than your love of quilts? By quilting a block you can give the gift of love to a child in need. To contribute your quilted block requires a $5.00, tax-deductible donation (per block.) Your donation goes to the Princeton Public Library building fund, and your quilted blocks go to Project Linus to be made into quilts for children in need.”
• Quilt That Built a Library Star Pattern – “This 9-piece star was designed by Julie Buchholtz to be the signature block pattern for the Quilt That Built a Library.  You’re invited to download, use, and share freely. Pattern & directions”
• see photos & get updates on the library’s Facebook page
• get details here

Garden Spring Fling silent auction (Mill Pond PL, Kingston)
• “We are looking for donations of anything that would or could be found in a garden or outdoor area. Hanging plant holders, plants themselves, painted screens and/or windows, stepping stones, garden tools, the sky is the limit! Some old windows and screens have been donated to the library and are just waiting for talented people to pick them up, and paint or bedazzle them.”
• see photos on the library’s Facebook page and here
• get details here

Razzle Dazzled Rocks silent auction (Mill Pond PL, Kingston)
• “Stop in an choose that special rock. Or use your own stone … and turn it into something you’d love to give away!” “The rocks would make great Father’s Day gifts, birthday gifts, or just a wonderful addition to your own garden or walkway.”
• see photos on the library’s Facebook page and watch the video
• get details here

GoodShop browser toolbar (Caestecker PL, Green Lake)
• “… once added to Internet Explorer or Firefox on your home computer, each time you shop at more than 2,500 stores (from Amazon through to Zazzle) a percentage of your purchase will automatically be donated to Friends of the Caestecker Public Library – at no cost to you.”
• get details here

A Tisket A Tasket, A Fun Filled Basket silent auction (Mill Pond PL, Kingston)
• “Volunteers are creating themed baskets, filled with goodies galore.” “The baskets will be bagged and bowed and ready for giving, and would make great hostess gifts, or Christmas presents, or even a delightful treat for yourself.”
• see photos of the baskets on the library’s Facebook page
• get details here

Have a fabulous library fundraising event or idea to share?  Tell folks about it by leaving a note in the comments, or email me at schwarz@winnefox.org so I can include it in a Sparks post!

Successful Fundraising Ideas for Your Library’s Friends Group

A request was posted on the WisPubLib discussion group, asking for creative ways that a library’s Friends group can use to raise money to support programming.

A list of ideas that were received was compiled here, and below is a sample:

• Our Friends sell engraved bricks starting at $100 up to $600 based on size (I think those prices are correct).  They are placed in a path leading to the library.
• Our Friends team up with a local greenhouse.  The Friends pay $9.00 (used to be $8) each to buy coupons worth $12, which are sold to customer for $10 each.   So, the Friends make $1.50 per coupon and the customers save $2 per coupon.   It’s easy for the staff, people who are going to buy plants anyway love that they are getting a bargain.   Last year, in our library that serves about 20,000, the Friends made $975 with this sale.
• We have also done fundraisers at restaurants like Chilis who give 10% back when people bring in a voucher to the restaurant. The restaurant then cuts a check to the Friends after the 4-week fundraising period. I believe we raised $300 last time we had a fundraiser there.
• Our Friends and Library Foundation have teamed up and run a very successful Wine Tasting for several years (we missed 2011).  This year they are planning a  “Wine and Stein,” event.  A local establishment offers  their dining hall and staff, if we purchase the food and beverages from them.  We have many organizations and merchants in the area that donate items for a silent auction and raffle.  Volunteers run everything the day of the event – from asking for donations months in advance, recruiting volunteers, selling raffle tickets onsite, to pouring wine, to announcements and of course all the pre-planning, set up and clean up.  The first year we raised $3000, second and third year brought $5-7,00 and the best year was $10,000.  This is a very profitable fund raiser for a half-day event.
• We are finishing up our mini golf course for “Tee off @ the library”.  You can rent it when we are done. Also, we are doing a Wine/chocolate Tasting Event.  Lake Mills Winery is bringing their own wines.  It will be a semi formal night.  $15 per person $25 per couple.  We shall see. One of the best and easiest things I have ever done is to buy one of those plastic parking meter toys.  Our Friends group gets about $80 per quarter year.  For doing nothing.  I know it’s silly, but it’s easy.
• I have worked with other groups–not just Friends–who had some very successful Burger and Bean dinners with pie raffles.  They are a lot of work, but you can just do the pie raffle with a program on home cooking or something.  Or, do one of the Edible Book contests, and then raffle off the Edible Books.  That would fun and great newsworthy hoopla.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edible_Book_Festival (they are on black out right now) and closer to home: http://www.library.wisc.edu/edible-book/
• An idea I would share that our foundation is working on for next winter: We are going to have a miniature golf tournament in the library. Local companies and groups can sponsor holes, allowing for promotion and creativity. We’ll also offer prizes for attire, scores, and other things people do at golf tourneys. Just a thought, but it may suit you. There are companies that do this for a fee, but they decided to cut out the middle man and really let the sponsors go crazy with creative ideas.
• Our Friends group has a very successful Cookie Walk the day after Thanksgiving held in conjunction with our town’s Christmas Walk.  We net about $2000 each year on that one.  We’ve also held a Wine Tasting for about 9 years now that is also very successful.  We hold this one the first weekend of October (appealing to leaf lookers that come up by us as well as locals).  For one entry ticket price, guests get wine & beer samples, hot and cold appetizers and one free raffle ticket.  In addition we offer additional raffle tickets for sale to win baskets and items donated by the Friends and local merchants.  This year we also added a silent auction with various items donated by Friends members.  This year’s Wine Tasting was our most successful yet with a net of a little over $5000.  The Friends also have dues.  Plus, my assistant librarian and her husband are wonderful nature photographers.  They have been taking their photos and creating note cards, calendars and prints.  The Friends sell them and keep the profits.  We also created a Boulder Junction History book 10 years ago that we still sell.  Also, our used book sale is held every Tuesday in the summer in conjunction with our Lions Flea Market in our parking lot.  The combined fundraising efforts net the Friends about $10,000 a year.

Read the full list at http://lists.dpi.wi.gov/read/messages?id=51974

Ideas to Raise Revenue @ Your Library

The article “Public Libraries Explore New Ways To Raise Revenue” offers creative ideas you might consider at your library.  Here are some highlights:

• gift shop — offer sell flash drives, book bags, and book-related gift items
• coffee shop or café — consider having a vendor operate it in your library
• renting space to local YMCAs and adding exercise equipment

If you’re thinking about putting a coffee shop into your library, you might want to look at the ALA Wiki article Libraries with Coffee Shops to help you identify “appropriate answers to such issues as the extent of service to be offered, how the service is managed, the impact on policies, such as food in the rest of the library, and the effect on tax revenues.”

Source: Public Libraries Explore New Ways To Raise Revenue by Julie Murphy.  Daytona Beach News-Journal; December 9, 2011.

Photo credit: Nils Geylen via Flickr

15 Fundraising Ideas Worth Trying

Here are fundraising ideas from Wisconsin Small Libraries Section (WISL) programs at past Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries (WAPL) conferences:

• Create a “wishing well” to drop coins into.
• Sell raffle tickets for a hot new book (or books) being released.
• Multicultural fair with food, performances, and artifacts from countries people have lived in or visited.
• An “ironman” contest, raising funds for the library along with a local fun run/walk/baby crawl.
• Sell memorial bricks for the library entrance, a garden, or an outdoor bench foundation.
• Chair affair – Paint used chairs with different themes, then auction off with free pie. (Then auction off leftover pie.)
• “Build a balloon”  – regular balloon filled with helium, tie with ribbon & anchor with book of choice.
• Hors d’oeuvre buffet. Tickets $12.50 each. Donated food, raffles. Raised $2000 in a community of 475.
• Silent auction of seasonally-themed baskets.
• Teen Advisory Board sells picture frames and cards around Mothers Day.
• Wii bowling tournament.
• “Duke Ellington” black tie dinner dance.
• Wine tasting and crafters bizarre (sic).
• Donated knitted dishcloths sold at the circ desk for $2.
• Historical photo ID night – Bring in old photos for community members to identify. Sell refreshments. Work in conjunction with Historical Society.

Sources:
• Wisconsin Small Libraries Section (WISL) newsletter Whistlestop, Spring 2011
• Wisconsin Small Libraries Section (WISL) newsletter Whistlestop, Autumn 2010

Inspiration from an “I Love My Librarian Award” Winner

Ellen M. Dolan is one of 10 librarians nationwide to receive the 2010 I Love My Librarian Award.  A veteran of over 35 years of working in libraries, the director of the Shrewsbury (MA) Public Library won praise from town officials and patrons for her energy, creativity and dedication.

Here’s inspiration for a community partnership you might consider for your library:

In an unfriendly economic environment, Dolan has dealt with budget cuts by forging creative partnerships, including a “Sunday Sponsorship” program to keep the library open on Sundays. The partnership involved local businesses, individuals, community groups and such municipal groups as the Shrewsbury Firefighters’ Association. Approximately 35 Sundays are now funded entirely by donations from these partners each year.

The I Love My Librarian Awards are made by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, The New York Times and the American Library Association. Each recipient receives $5,000, and Ms. Dolan and other recipients were honored at a ceremony in New York City.

Source: Spotlight on I Love My Librarian Award Winners: Ellen M. Dolan

Win a $5000 Gaming Gear Shopping Spree

The winner of the Gaming Gear Shopping Spree will choose from gaming carts, consoles, board games, seating, carpets and more.

Here’s how your library can enter to win $5000 in gaming gear:

1. Sign-up for ALA’s National Gaming Day.
2. Participate on November 13, 2010.
3. Enter by December 15, 2010; download the application form and download the entry rules .

Applications will be evaluated and finalists selected based on budgetary need, impact new equipment will have on gaming program, and program impact on Applicant’s Facility and/or community.

The winner will be announced on January 7, 2011.

Image source: American Library Association staff’s Flickr stream

3 Fresh Fundraiser Ideas

Here’s a round-up of some newly-seen library fundraiser event ideas, plus a re-cap of some previous local events:

• Book ‘n’ Bowl and Learn-Know-Gather-Grow Raffle: a Friends of Appleton Public Library “friendraiser” event
• Library Libations – A Wine Tasting Event (PDF) for the Middleton Public Library
• Fall clothing exchange at the Haverford (PA) Township Free Library: to participate people donate items or pay $1; all proceeds benefit the library, and any items not chosen are donated to a local shelter
• 4 fundraiser ideas mentioned previously in Sparks:
  • Pretty Painted Pots silent auction at Mill Pond Public Library in Kingston
  • Chili Cook-Off at Coloma Public Library
  • Chair Fundraiser at the Carter Memorial Library in Omro
  • Lincolns For The Library Contest at Mill Pond Public Library in Kingston
• 68  fundraiser ideas from the Libri Foundation: ethnic potlucks, historic home tours, plant sales, and more

Note: Has your library held a special fundraiser event you want to share with others?  Contact me at schwarz@winnefox.org so I can share your creative ideas and success stories here!

Fundraising success story: chili cook-off

Sandy Zuehlke (director of Coloma Public Library) shared this fundraising success story:

In January 2009 the Coloma Area Historical Society (CAHS) held its “hugely successful” 2nd annual Chili Cook-Off.  It drew ten competing teams from local businesses, business owners, and the general public.  Over 150 people attended the event, held in the Coloma community center, and it was standing room only!

Each contestant or team had had a table set up to serve chili and toppings.  Also on each table was a jar in which people cast their vote for a chili by paying a quarter (25¢) per vote.  The CAHS received all the money as their fundraiser. From the CAHS Newsletter:

Voting was done by putting quarters in your favorite’s money jug and the one with the most quarters was declared the winner. To make sure everything was on the level, Waushara County Sheriff Dave Petersen sold quarters 3 for a $1.00, while Steve McDiarmid emceed the entire event in his always-engaging fashion.

For photos and a full write-up of the event, see the March 2009 issue of the CAHS Newsletter [PDF].  Contact Sandy at zuehlke@colomalibrary.org or 715-228-2530 to get details on what made the event such a success.

68 fresh fundraising ideas: break out of the used book sale rut

Tired of the book sales and bake sales?

The Libri Foundation’s list of fundraising ideas offers 68 fundraising, ideas including ethnic potlucks, historic home tours, plant sales, and more.

All of the ideas have been successful fundraisers for Friends groups or other library supporters in rural communities.