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Leaving Money on the Table

 How to Get Started with Major Gift Fundraising from Individuals

Posted June 29, 2016

By David Baker, JD, Principal, Giving Design Group, Inc.

Giving Design Group, Inc. is one of the few companies that provides comprehensive fundraising & development services for libraries. David Bake, the founder of the organization, shares some knowledge on how to get fundraising for public libraries started. Read what he has to say!

Year after year, about 80% of charitable giving comes from individuals. The most recent Giving USA numbers tell us that 72% of annual giving comes from individuals and 8% of giving is received from bequests (the last wishes of previously living individuals). Only 15% of annual giving comes from foundations and 5% from corporations.

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Leaving Money on the Table

How to Get Started with Major Gift Fundraising from Individuals

Brexit and Beyond

By Catherine DiMercurio

On Thursday, June 23, 2016, the people of Great Britain held a referendum on whether to leave the European Union. In the months leading up to the historic vote, the prospect of the British exit from the EU came to be known as “Brexit.” The world was shocked to learn the outcome of the vote: The British people voted to leave the EU. I was shocked as well. My fourteen-year-old son is fairly politically engaged and had a lot of questions, as did I. What our research revealed is that there is a tangled web of cause and effect. Here are a few of the issues at the heart of that web.

What lead the Brits to hold the referendum in the first place?

Those who argued for leaving pointed to the diminished influence Britain has had within the massive bureaucracy of the EU. There were also concerns about the steady increase in immigration to Great Britain. The arguments for staying focused heavily on the importance of economic relationships with the European community and beyond. These arguments are detailed in a number of articles and audio files presented in Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context.

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A Shout-out to Books, Libraries, and Dolly Parton

By Karen B. 

More than two years have passed since I left hospital nursing. The words I penned in my farewell note to my obstetrics colleagues, some of whom I’d worked alongside for nearly twenty-two years, were bittersweet. I’m replacing the magic of birth with the magic of books.

Since then, I haven’t looked back. I now have the pleasure of working with two exceptional teacher-librarians at Hellgate High School. Daily, I’m touched by interactions with students and staff. Students’ impassioned “you have to read this!” recommendations have introduced me to books I would not have chosen on my own. I’ve had occasion to suggest books as well, not only the gut-wrenching, realistic fiction I gravitate toward, but other genres, too. Along the way, some students have confided heartbreaking experiences of their own.

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Barbies, Goddesses and Sudoku Puzzles: My Library Story

By Naomi B. 

I would never let Barbie stand in my way.

I kid you not, I was BORN to be a librarian. At the age of six, my two sisters and I had our favorite Barbies and it was time for them to take a vacation in their cigar box cars, but WAIT!!! I struck my first deal…I’d continue to play Barbies with them if they would play library with me first.

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Edmonton Public Library expands program helping homeless

The Edmonton Public Library’s outreach program, which focuses on supporting the city’s homeless population, is expanding to five more libraries. The program, which partners with Boyle Street Community Services, was launched in 2011 in response to the growing number of people seeking refuge at the downtown Stanley Milner branch. Jared Tkachuk, an outreach worker, explains … Read more

Summit presents plans to provide high-speed broadband in schools and libraries

Some 110 school leaders from across the nation attended the National Connected Superintendents on November 20. The event was part of the Obama administration’s 5-year plan, ConnectED, to provide nearly universal high-speed broadband connectivity to schools and libraries. Currently, fewer than 40% of schools have access to high-speed Internet. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan … Read more

Neil Gaiman: Libraries are ‘cultural seed corn’

In this interview with Toby Litt, British author Neil Gaiman talks about the immense value of libraries and describes himself as a “feral child who was raised in libraries.” He notes that he was three or four when he first started visiting his local library and was “hooked” at the point that he could persuade … Read more