Eugene Public Library Foundation

Program accomplishments for Eugene Public Library foundationjuly 2022 - june 2023eugene Public Library Foundation is an advocate and champion for resources for Eugene Public Library, supporting the Library's efforts to inspire lifelong learning and to enrich the lives of the entire community. Through responsible management of financial resources, the Foundation engages with donors who directly impact the Library's services and reach in Eugene, increasing the access to opportunity, discovery, and inspiration the Library brings to our community. The stellar services the Library provides, with the assistance of the Foundation, include: free programming, high-quality materials, digital resources, technology, innovative services, and equitable access.through specialized fundraising projects, the Foundation has been able to support initiatives based on the Library's needs. At booked for the evening, the Foundation's premiere annual fundraising event that was held on april 28, 2023, supporters gathered in the beautiful downtown Library to celebrate 20 years in the space, looking forward to the next 20 years. In anticipation of the availability of the downtown Library's fourth floor, which will be vacated by other city employees and returned to the Library in 2024, the Foundation began working with the Library and the community to begin discussions on what that additional space could be.the Foundation also provides support to Library staff through innovation grants, which allow staff to apply for funding for projects that are timely and of limited duration. Innovation grants are available on an ongoing basis.also in early 2023, the Foundation's board, along with friends of the Eugene Library and invested community members, began efforts to advocate on behalf of the Library to city leadership.in late 2022, the Foundation launched a search for a new executive director, hiring dana b. fleming in january 2023.the Foundation also serves as the Eugene affiliate for dolly parton's imagination Library, which is an international program that provides free books to enrolled children, ages birth to their fifth birthday, that are mailed once monthly to the homes of the enrolled youth. Throughout 2022 and 2023, Foundation staff and imagination Library of Eugene's advisory board members worked with affiliates throughout the state to get statewide funding of the program passed. The passage of this statewide effort will ensure that affiliates across the state are supported at 50% of their program costs to deliver books into the homes of young children. In 2022, the Foundation also began working with staff at the local hospital to ensure that families with newborns are enrolled in imagination Library before they leave the hospital, increasing the number of enrolled infants. In fall 2022, the Foundation held its annual imagination Library fundraising luncheon.