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Know the old adage "money makes the world go around"?  Libraries are no exception. Rare is the library that has sufficient funding for everything it needs or wants to serve its community. This section is dedicated to helping you find funding resources and work to secure a stable and sufficient budget, including how to work with local officials and make a clear case for funding needs.

See the Guide to Selected Funding Resources

Spotlight: From Awareness to Funding: A Study of Library Support in America

Funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, OCLC explored attitudes and perceptions about library funding in order to evaluate the potential of a large-scale marketing and advocacy campaign to increase public library funding in the U.S.

Among the findings:

• Library funding support is only marginally related to library visitation
• Perceptions of librarians are an important predictor of library funding support
• Voters who see the library as a 'transformational' force as opposed to an 'informational' source are more likely to increase taxes in its support

This report suggests that targeting marketing messages to the right segments of the voting public is key to driving increased support for U.S. public libraries. Read the full report.

Guide to Selected Funding Resources

Grants and grant-writing

• Elements of a Good Grant Proposal
• Fundraising and Philanthropy During an Economic Crisis
• Fundraising, Grants, and All that Jazz
• Grant Opportunities
• Wishing Won't Work: 10 Things You Need to Know and Do When Applying for Technology Grants

Funding sources and strategies

• A Grand Tour of Alternative Funding
• Funding Brainstorm: A list of funding ideas and resources
• Community Relations: Resources on demonstrating impact, public relations, and strategic partnerships.

Capital campaigns

• Fundraising 101: Capital Campaigns PPT

Most recently posted documents: