Ways to Support Your Library

Gifts of Money

Monetary gifts can be designated for a specific purpose, or your gift may be totally unrestricted, leaving the decision to the Library to fund areas of need.

Recognition & Remembrance Gifts

These donations are usually made by individuals or families to celebrate a significant occasion or remember people. These gifts allow you to honor a friend or loved one in a unique and meaningful way. By marking a special occasion with a gift to the Library, you will recognize the important role libraries play in people's lives.

A bookplate can mark a special occasion such as:

• Celebrating a birthday.
• Remembering a loved one.
• Marking an anniversary.
• Honoring a retirement.
• Heralding the birth of a child.
• Any occasion which calls for a significant, long-lasting remembrance.

A gift to the Library can reflect the tastes or interests of the individual in whose honor the gift was given. A love of gardening may inspire a book on organic vegetables, or a history buff can be remembered by the book on a favorite history topic. In memoriam or in remembrance, gifts provide a lasting honor to someone who loved books and reading.

When you donate to the program, you may suggest a title, subject area, or type of material you would like purchased, or you may simply ask that your contribution be used where needed the most.

A letter will be sent to the honored person or to his or her family to let them know about your thoughtful gift. A letter of acknowledgment goes to the donor as well. A bookplate will be inscribed as you designate and placed in the item, letting the community share in the recognition.

For your convenience, you may print out a Recognition and Remembrance Gift form and mail it into the Library or drop it off.

Gifts From Organizations

Many clubs and groups contribute funds to the Library each year for expanding the collection or adding a magazine most suited to the group's focus. A club or organization may, through the dedication of a title, recognize a member or officer for valued service.

Property of Significant Value

Real estate, securities, or other sizable gifts of this nature will flow directly to the endowment fund of the Grand Rapids Area Library Foundation (held by the Grand Rapids Area Community Foundation)

Planned Gifts

Willed donations, bequests or endowments, or other gifts of this nature will flow directly to the Grand Rapids Area Library Foundation Endowment Fund unless otherwise stipulated by the donor.

Used Book Sales

The Friends of the Grand Rapids Area Library maintains a bookstore in the lobby of the Library stocked with donated books and discards from the Library's collection. The Bookstore is open during Library hours and is restocked frequently during the week. Proceeds from sales in the Bookstore are used primarily for children's and teen programming. A large book sale is held the first weekend of August annually during Tall Timber Days. It is generally held in the Central Square Mall. Thousands of books are collected during June and July.