First we raised $2 million.
In 2018 the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners voted to award a provisional grant of $9.4 million to the City of Greenfield for the construction of a new public library. The award was contingent upon the City using local funds to finance an additional $2 million of the balance of the costs for the whole project.
Some Greenfield residents expressed concern about the long-term tax implications of the new library project. Taking their friends’ and neighbors’ concerns to heart, the Library Board of Trustees formed an independent foundation tasked with raising the funds needed to build our new library. Because Greenfield is a community that cares deeply about community, education and learning, we were able to raise those funds and donate them to the City.
Now we fund the future.
Today the foundation is run by a volunteer board of community members to help ensure the long term success of the library. Think of the foundation as the library’s capital committee. We’re here to help the staff and trustees anticipate and meet financial expenditures that are not funded by the city, state, or federal government.
We help close a critical gap in funding.
In the first year of operation in our new facility library visits were up 264%, support by reference librarians increased 219%, and tech help was up 170%. Yet while generous in the context of the whole city budget, in the same year city support of the library increased less than 5%. We help close that gap.
All of the state support the library received to build our new home was in the form of non-recurring construction grants. But computer use alone is up 394%, and there is no allowance for replacing that equipment when it becomes worn or dated. This is where we come in.
Two groups, one mission
People ask the difference between the Friends of the Greenfield Public Library and the Greenfield Public Foundation. The answer is simple.
Since the 1980s, the Friends of the Greenfield Public Library has supported the programs — from Author Readings to Zine Making workshops — that are not funded by the city, state, or federal government. They still do so with a very active volunteer board.
Since 2017, the Greenfield Public Library Foundation supports the larger capital needs — whether for staff training or replacement furniture — not covered by those same funding sources.