Durham Library Foundation's Mission Statement

The mission of the Durham Library Foundation is to raise funds to provide a margin of excellence for the Durham County Library.

The Durham County Library's Mission Statement

The mission of the Durham County Library is to provide to the entire community books, services, and other resources that inform, inspire learning, cultivate understanding, and excite the imagination.

 

NEH Selects Durham County Library for Challenge Grant

One of only ten recipients nationwide

The Durham County Library has been selected by the National Endowment for the Humanities to receive one of only ten Challenge Grants offered nationally. The $500,000 Challenge Grant will be used to establish and leverage funding for a permanent Humanities Endowment to be managed by the Durham Library Foundation.

Information About the Foundation

The Durham Library Foundation was founded in 2000 to develop and encourage the long-term financial health and growth of the Durham County Library through giving, endowment, and capital contributions. As a private, nonprofit organization, the Foundation can solicit private gifts from many sources, including those not available to a government-funded Library. In addition, the Foundation has developed independent and prudent investment strategies to maximize each gift's long-term benefit to the Library.

An independent organization, the Durham Library Foundation solicits, receives and administers gifts for the Library's benefit. Gifts are used to fund enhancements and improvements that the Library could not otherwise afford through its annual operating budget.

You can be an integral part of the Library's future. For questions about giving opportunities, please contact Development Officer (919-560-0193).

Establishing a Public/Private Alliance

As the Library prepared to mark its Centennial in 1998, the staff, Board of Trustees, the Friends of the Durham Library, and a number of ardent supporters began to imagine a visionary future for our Library. The result of their planning and vision is a public/private alliance that will put a full-service Library within five miles of almost everyone in the county and fill those facilities with the best resources and most innovative services and programming possible.

The public part of the alliance is moving forward, with the passage of bond issues in 2001 and 2003. Bond money renovated the historic Stanford L. Warren Library and built two of three, 25,000-square-foot Regional Libraries—North and East (South is coming). Public dollars will also purchase furnishings and initial collections. Bond and tax-based dollars, however, do not provide the level or flexibility of funding required to make the vision a reality.

The private half of the alliance is The Campaign for the Library, a multimillion-dollar capital and endowment campaign that will raise funds to bring our libraries to life. Private funds will ensure that library staff have the resources and support necessary to creatively address the informational needs of patrons, to plan programming geared to their wide-ranging ages and interests, and to meet their technological needs with up-to-date resources and advice. 

Campaign funds will bridge the gap between the public support for the Library and the real cost of Branching Out to bring Library facilities to every corner of Durham and to help citizens “branch out” in their personal and professional lives.

The Campaign leadership has set challenging fund-raising goals in three areas:

The Annual Fund

Provides flexible and immediate funding so that the Library can address current needs not funded through the county budget process. These funds are crucial to giving the Library the means to act quickly and creatively to meet emerging community needs and to take advantage of special opportunities. Make a gift today!

Capital Improvement Funds

Will be used to refurbish the Main Library and the Southwest Branch and assisted with the renovation and expansion of the Stanford L. Warren Branch. This fund will also allow the Library to move forward with the chosen designs for new construction, renovations or expansions of Library facilities, even if increases in project costs occur after county approval. Without available capital funds, the Library might have to compromise on the best designs, causing delays in projects and negatively impacting long-term facilities planning. Make a gift today!

Endowment Funds

Ensure ongoing excellence. Creating endowments for collections, programming and electronic resources was stabilized and enhanced these areas by augmenting county monies. The Foundation invests the principal and distribute a portion of the interest annually.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Campaign for the Library?

The Campaign for the Library will raise private funds to augment public monies, establishing a public/private alliance that will enable the Library to fulfill its mission with the best resources and most innovative services and programming possible. The Campaign will provide the Library with adequate, flexible funding so that it can move forward with a visionary approach to Library services, become a symbol of community pride, and embody community ideals, such as literacy and education. Make a gift today!

How is the Library “Branching Out?”

Not only is the Library branching out physically, with the construction of regional facilities, but it is also branching out with services and programming that fill every Library facility with energy and stimulate lifelong learning. Ultimately, Library staff envision helping every Durham County resident to branch out, both personally and professionally.

Don’t Durham County citizens already support the Library with their taxes and with the recent bond issues?

The bond issues that were passed in 2001 and 2003 must be spent on tangible items, such as bricks, mortar and books. The bond funds renovated and expanded the historic Stanford L. Warren Library and building three, 25,000-square-foot Regional Libraries— North, South and East, and purchase furnishings and initial collections. The result will be a Library system with a full-service facility within five miles of almost every citizen. Meeting the physical needs of the Library with new and expanded facilities, however, is only the first chapter in the long-range plan. Make a gift today!

The County appropriation for the Library has decreased 2% over the last three years. With usage of facilities and resources on the rise, the Library is challenged to accomplish its mission while operating within a budget that does not provide funds for expanding programs and services.

The Campaign for the Library is about bringing the Library to life. It is about filling the facilities with staff who have the resources to creatively address the informational needs of patrons, to plan programming geared to their wide-ranging ages and interests, and to meet their technological needs with up-to-date resources and advice.

Campaign funds will bridge the gap between the public support for the Library and the real cost of bringing our Library system to life.

Can’t I just give money directly to the Library?

Actually, the Library faces many obstacles when it comes to raising funds:

As a department of government, the Library cannot accumulate reserve funds.

Most foundations and corporations and many individuals will not make grants or gifts directly to a governmental institution.

Donations made directly to the Library are difficult to manage because of the county’s stringent budgetary process.

Even if the Library received donations, those funds would become subject to the county budgetary process. Ultimately, the Library would still not have the flexibility of funding necessary to respond to emerging needs that were not identified prior to the county budget process, that were not funded through that process, or to special opportunities that arise after the budget year begins.

Doesn’t the Friends of the Durham Library organization already raise money to support the Library?

Since 1968, the Friends of the Durham Library (Friends) organization has helped the Durham County Library with volunteer and financial assistance for programs, materials, and equipment beyond the means of limited tax dollars.

Around the time of the Durham County Library Centennial Celebration in 1997, however, ardent supporters of the Library became concerned about the long-term financial health and growth of the Library. In those early discussions, the Friends decided to maintain the group’s focus: organizing and conducting book sales to fund annual and short-term Library needs.

Ultimately, the Friends and the Foundation complement one another perfectly in meeting both the current and long-term financial needs of the Library.

How will the Campaign funds be spent?

Ten percent of funds designated to endow collections, programming and technology will be available for immediate use. Ninety percent of the endowed funds will be invested and managed by the Foundation, which will make available approximately 5% of the growing endowment each year to augment and enhance public funding in these areas.

Funds designated for capital improvements will be spent immediately to meet land purchase, construction or other facilities needs not met by public funding.

Won’t the County Commissioners simply decrease Library funding if The Campaign for the Library is successful?

Significant monetary support, such as that pledged during a capital and endowment campaign, is concrete evidence of community support. Donors put their energy behind their dollars, which increases the visibility of the Library in the community. Another important result is that Foundation and Campaign leaders, who are prominent members of the community, become outspoken advocates for the Library in the county budget process.

Foundation research has shown that, ultimately, financial support from all sources increases in communities where there is a strong public/private alliance. The success of the Campaign for the Library will provide irrefutable evidence of that alliance in Durham.

What types of donations can the Foundation accept?

The Foundation accepts gifts of cash, securities, real estate and cash-value life insurance policies. The Development Officer (919-560-0193) is available to assist with donations of stocks, or to discuss establishing trusts or other planned giving opportunities.

The Foundation is also pleased to process corporate matching gift requests.