Library Foundation Receives $125,000 Pledge

Posted: November 2, 2009 at 5:53 a.m.

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ROGERS — The Friends of the Library pledged $125,000 to the Fayetteville Public Library Foundation last week, the largest contribution so far toward a challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The library received promise of the $600,000 grant in 2007, and it must be matched by $1.8 million in fi ve years. The deadline is January 2012, and the library won’t receive the grant until the full amount is raised.

“We’re getting close to $1 million now,” said Susan Foley, the library’s development director. “We’re considering this our lead gift.”

The project is called We the People: A Richer World.

The endowment will be used to hire a humanities coordinator and to enhance humanities programming and collections.

“This will accentuate the positive of our Ozark heritage, to remind us of our past. It’s great to talk about our future, but you want people to understand what made this area special, what made it di◊erent from the rest of the country,” Foley said.

The Friends of the Library is a voluntary group that helps the library accomplish programming and make purchases not part of the regular budget, such as new computers, Foley said. Unlike the foundation, the Friends group doesn’t have a staff person dedicated to fundraising. Both groups are 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations.

“This is a historic gift as far as the size,” Foley said. “It certainly has madea huge difference for me, being here since July. It’s an incredible shot in the arm to our efforts and gave megreat momentum.”

The Fayetteville library and its programs appeal to donors across NorthwestArkansas, Foley said.

“We focus on all our 63,000 patrons. We’re finding we have a good cross-section ofpatrons from Benton County and outside of Fayetteville. The lion’s share of donors will be from Fayetteville, butI’ve been pleasantly surprised how this library does appeal to people from all over,” she said.

News, Pages 7 on 11/02/2009

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