Foundation in a Box

The Process

One of our clients recently dubbed Library Strategies’ newest service as “Foundation in a Box.” Essentially this service line allows Library Strategies to jump-start your foundation by providing intensive support for foundations that are struggling to build – or expand – their capacity to provide support for their library.

The process begins with a “deep dive” organizational assessment to determine what your foundation needs to be fully and effectively functional. Once the assessment is completed, Library Strategies consultants can work intensively with your foundation board to guide them through a process of addressing all the key areas of capacity building (board growth and recruitment, development planning, expanding fundraising activities, staffing, and more). At this point, a Library Strategies consultant(s) essentially becomes your foundation’s staff until your organization is performing at its desired level.

The process engages all of the key stakeholders in identifying your library’s funding needs and moving your foundation to the point where it can support those needs from public and private sources.

The process itself engages board members in creating a shared vision for how they can be more effective, and it links their organization’s activities directly to the library’s own strategic goals.

The Players

The players who join Library Strategies “in the box” would include your foundation board (and staff, if you have paid staff) and the Library Director. It could also include members of the Library’s board.

The Timeline

The duration of this service is dependent on the amount of work involved. If the foundation chooses to have Library Strategies play a temporary staffing role, this could be a year-long relationship or more.

The Outcome

At the conclusion of this process, your foundation will have a stable, robust organizational structure with activities that ensure that its mission to support the library can be achieved.