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Fundraising Resources - Capital Campaigns
Unfortunately for libraries, money doesn't grow on trees. Even in good economic times, few libraries have all the resources they need or want to serve their communities. This page offers tools and help finding funding resources with a focus on capital campaigns.
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Capital Campaigns
Once you have done a feasibility study and it looks like there is support in your community for a library capital campaign, the committee needs to ask themselves these important questions below because the answers will be critical to the success or failure of this project:
Thinking about a Capital Campaign:
- Do we want to raise less than a half a million dollars?
- Do we have a clear vision of what we want to do and how we want to do it?
- Do members of our organization have the skills to assess the giving potential for our project in the community?
- Do we know who will lead us and are we confident that he/she can manage the campaign?
- Can we train our volunteers to be highly effective solicitors?
- Can we count on every member of the board to be committed to the project?
- Can we recruit people to help is sell our vision to others in a way that will raise money?
- Do we have the skills and resources within our organization to develop quality written materials to support our project?
- Can we write and produce a persuasive, polished case statement?
When your capital committee takes the time and effort to answer these questions the real process of building ownership begins.
Resources to help with Capital Campaigns
- Have You Asked Yourself These Questions? Do We...?, [Word, 25 KB]
- Selection Worksheet for Picking a Chair of Your Campaign, [Word, 23 KB]
- A Checklist for Planning a Capital Campaign, [Word, 23 KB]
- Capital Campaign Gift Category Definitions, [Word, 24 KB]
- Three Best Resources in a Successful Capital Campaign, [Word, 23 KB]
- Paving the Way for a Capital Campaign: The Rule of Seven [Word, 24 KB]
- What Will a Feasibility Study Tell Us? [Word, 26 KB]
- Passing a Bond [Word, 23 KB]
- Frequently Asked Questions About Capital Campaigns [Word, 34 KB]
- Getting Grants in Your Community [pdf, 232 kb] - a guide published by United for Libraries
Donor Brochure Samples
- Planned Giving from Louis B. Goodall Memorial Library, Sanford [pdf version, planning giving, 279 KB], [Publisher version, planning giving, 251 KB] Publisher requires the Microsoft Publisher software to open.
- Donor Menu from Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, [Word, 2.5 MB]
Resources related to Buildings
- Funding for Buildings [Word, 23 KB]