PLA/LAMA/ASCLA Certified Public Library Administrator (CPLA) Program Core Course

Course Name

“BB&T = Bucks for Books, Buildings, and Technology” (fundraising and grantmanship)

General Description

2½ day course, providing participants opportunities to engage in study, discussion and preparation of a fundraising plan for a library facility or other library activities. Each participant will select private or public fundraising and explore and produce a plan based on their findings. Each participant will learn how to develop a fundable grant application. Pre-assignment will include statement of need addressed in ½ page abstract. End results will include:

development of an outline for a facility fund-raiser
development of a proposal for support of a service activity
development of a needs statement and identification of stakeholders for a grant application

Learning Objectives

Identify public and private funders for facilities, services and grants.
Analyze resources, programs, publications, and trends regarding available outside funding.
Produce an outline and marketing strategies based upon information available.
Produce a brief proposal for support of a service activity.
Identify the major elements of any grant application and be able to understand how those elements are inter connected.
Produce a needs statement to support a desired potential grant support activity.
Identify who in the participant’s community are potential stakeholders in any fund raising or grant activity.
Analyze how various funding raising and grant opportunities can be interrelated to produce overall results.

Components

Identification of key players
Negotiation and compromise
Developing potential stakeholders
Preparation of relevant materials
Meshing funders with needs
Developing viable list of resources
Writing the beginnings of a plan
Understanding the components of any proposal or application
Understanding procedures related to fund accounting and grant management

Suggested Methods

Using a combination of lecture, hands-on activities, speakers, and research participants will learn about the availability of funds, the method of obtaining funds and the potential stakeholders.
Participants will develop an outline for a facility fund-raiser, a proposal for support of a service activity, and a needs statement for a grant application.
Developed materials will be shared with fellow participants and will be used as a part of the evaluation of each student.
Some activities might be done apart from the timetable of the meetings and submitted at a later date.

Evaluation

The effectiveness of the course will be done via a survey regarding the usefulness of the resources and activities in a local setting.

Possible Presenters

state grant coordinators
private foundation representatives
successful local fundraisers
successful libraries in the field

Bibliography

CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education). Current Bibliography on Fundraising. 11 Dupont Circle, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036-1261 For current information call (703) 531-0901. Visit CASE’s home page at www.case.org (includes Burlingame titles as well as other ALA publications on fundraising and grantsmanship).

Richard Hall’s book