By Hannah Good Zima, Outreach Coordinator
Nicolet Library System
Friends and Foundations have distinct roles, characteristics, and expectations in their communities. Both types of organizations engage the community to raise funds and increase awareness of the library, but they usually differ in target donor groups, messaging, and/or activities.
To ensure that the Friends or Foundation and the library have a solid foundation for all future funding and advocacy initiatives, it is important that the roles of each organization be clearly defined in a written agreement at the outset to avoid confusion and prevent overstepping. Additionally, regular communication between the library director and the fundraising groups is vital to ensure that all gifts (of money, time, or talent) meet the highest needs of the library.
Furthermore, it is important that financial and material support be used to enhance or enrich library services. The availability of support should never be the occasion for reducing or replacing the community’s commitment to public funding. Donors will quit donating and volunteers will quit working if they see that their efforts are resulting in reduced public funding for the library instead of improved service.
Library Friends
Friends organizations are groups of citizens who join together to support, improve, and promote the library. Some are formally incorporated, not-for-profit bodies; some are informal groups of library supporters. Friends groups are often most visible through used book sales, ongoing community donor programs, volunteer coordination, and financial contributions to the library to support existing programming and collection activities.
Library Foundations
A library foundation is a separate legal entity formed for the purpose of raising and managing private funds in support of enhancing and expanding library programs and services, facilities, and long-term priorities. A foundation is different from the Friends’ efforts by involving non-library users as well as library patrons to increase awareness of library services and resources throughout the entire community. Foundations frequently host major donor events and coordinate financial campaigns to provide funding for library facilities, major new initiatives, and special events for the library, outside the scope of a standard library budget.
Additionally, the non-profit status of a foundation provides a platform for raising money and support. Donors may have a strong belief in the value of the public library yet do not wish to make their philanthropic gift to a public entity. They will, however, contribute to a non-profit, tax-exempt private organization: a library foundation. A library foundation provides that win-win situation in which the donor can receive tax benefits while the library gains support for needed projects.
Relationship Building
While the library board and the Friends or Foundation share a common vision, they are separate, autonomous bodies—each with a distinct role. The groups work together most effectively if they respect the distinct role of each organization. Below are a few suggestions that may help create an effective working relationship:
- Friends and Foundations recognize that they do not perform a decision-making role for the library.
- The library board values and encourages input and opinions from the Friends and Foundations.
- The library board appoints a liaison to the Friends and Foundations, often the library director, to support regular communication.
- Friends and Foundations decide how to spend their funds only after conferring with the library director and library board.
- The Friends and Foundation activities support and align with the library’s mission, strategic plan, and priorities.
- The library board invites and welcomes Friends and Foundation members to library board meetings, especially when discussing issues that may be of interest to the Friends and/or Foundation.
Key Differences
The primary distinction between a Friends group and a foundation is that a foundation will typically have a single purpose: to raise private funds for the support of the library, most often support for library building projects. Friends organizations also often raise money for the library, but may also support the library through volunteer work in the library and through organized library advocacy work.
A library foundation is usually established with the single purpose of raising significant sums of money for major activities such as library construction/renovation, other large capital projects, or providing an endowment for future library needs or enhancements. The activities of foundations, then, are usually planned toward more long-term financial matters and fund-raising activities and less toward more constant visible activities such as a Friends group might provide.
Further Resources:
- Trustee Essentials 24: Library Friends and Library Foundations, Wisconsin Department of Instruction
- Libraries Need Friends: Starting a Friends Group or Revitalizing the One You Have is a free toolkit from United for Libraries geared mostly toward public library Friends groups, but with good tips on membership and outreach for Friends groups of any type.
- A sample Memorandum of Understanding is available from United for Libraries.