Last Fundraising Event Tonight

Tonight at 7 p.m., the Trinity Lutheran Church sponsors the last fundraising event for the new library: a concert by Ray Kirkham and Edward Norman.  In addition, your last chance to buy a raffle ticket for a new library fundraiser.  It's been a long 4 years, but we are pretty much at our goal of $538,000.

Hope to see you at the concert, where we'll thank you all again for your support.  Might as well be Thanksgiving, but it's Almost Christmas, almost Winter Solstice!

Three Pieces of News

Bergamasca Recorder Group

First of all, there is a concert this Sunday (Nov. 22) at the Trinity Lutheran Church at 4 p.m.  The performers are the Bergamasca Recorders.  They were here before and are a true treat with their many kinds of recorders and their fine explications of both music and instruments.  And I bring this to your attention because the concert proceeds (entrance by donation) will go to benefit the new library fund which is close to full but not yet overflowing which it needs to be, a bit, to make up for the gap funding that will be needed.

 In addition, the Pt. Roberts Quilt Group will be offering raffle tickets on their "Christmas Quilt" during the concert intermission.  Raffle tickets will also be available at the December Arts and Crafts Faire the following weekend.  The quilt is approximately 45" x 56".  The final drawing will be before Christmas, which fact you might need to know if you think you might get lucky.

Second,  Banner Bank has very graciously made a second $1,000 donation to the new library building fund.  They supported us back at the beginning, and now are supporting us here at the end.  Be sure to mention your appreciation when you are next doing business at the bank.

Third,  we've had a suggestion from a repeat library donor about the possibility of donating enough for an engraved paver and having it honor a beloved pet (a $500 donation entitles the giver to a small size paver).  Of course, is the answer, but if we had enough of these donations for pets, we could establish a pet's corner in the garden.  They don't read much themselves, of course, but they have surely inspired thousands of wonderful stories.  I'd guess that there are precious few readers who have not at some time in their life been spellbound by a tale in which pets (of whatever kind) bring the highest of values into our human lives.  And I kind of like the idea of going there and seeing my cat Zoe's name on a paver.  God knows, she would read if she could. (Reading and having opposing thumbs in order to be able to open the refrigerator door are the two things she most wants in life.)

And final news: we're very close to achieving our fundraising goal, but we will continue until the end of December where and as we can to continue to raise the additional funds that we know will be required because there's always a gap between what you plan to pay and what you end up paying.  If we are at all successful in doing this, I think it will ensure that construction can begin in late spring or early summer.

Thanks for all you've done and continue to do for this community.  We'll be keeping in touch as things happen.

--Judy Ross, for the Friends of the Point Roberts Library

Saturday Harvest Festival

This Saturday, October 10 from 10-4, there will be a Harvest Festival at the Community Center that will feature arts, crafts, collectibles, used books, and new baked goods.  Much of this will go directly to the benefit of the New Library Building, including the table fees themselves, the baked goods, the books and one table of collectibles.

So, if you  are around, we hope you are able to come by and see what is on offer.  At the collectibles table, we've got a gorgeous, hand-made, German mohair Teddy Bear; half a dozen antique dolls, including a 19th Century Penny Wooden; a considerable array of vintage and antique sterling and silver plate souvenir spoons, including a full set of the Dionne Quintuplet spoons; plus some hand-made, antique lace motifs; and a hand-made, scale-model, wall mounted doll-house room.

We look forward to seeing you!

Good News

The Bellingham Herald has posted a nice story about our library fundraising project up here in Point Roberts.  And it's true, we are "closing in."  And after the article was posted, we received a phone call from a woman in Bellingham who said she was sending us a check for $5.000.  And when we receive it, then we'll have only $30,000 to go.

And next week, something less.  We thank all those who have recently donated or have recently pledged a donation to be received by December 30, 2015.  That is what has taken us from needing $70,000 to needing only $30,000.  And to those who are thinking of donating for the first time or  again for the nth time, we won't be asking you much longer.  There's that.  And besides that, there will be a new library!  That's where your donations go.

The Final Chapter

[This is also published in the September All Point Bulletin]

Here we are at the Final Chapter of Fundraising for the new library.  But first, a little catchup on where we’ve been the last few months.  

Back in February, our State Senator Doug Ericksen agreed to put the Point Roberts Library on his list of capital projects.  These are projects that, if they are included in the final state budget, are guaranteed a certain level of funding.  (We used to call them earmarks.)  But in the months-long process that is how the legislature now creates budgets, the new Point Roberts LIbrary fell off the list.  But we didn’t know that until July.  

Our funding goal is $538,000.  In July, we had $445,000; short by $93,000.  We put together the list of everyone who had previously given at least $1,000 and set about asking them whether they could possibly pledge an additional $1,000 by the end of this year.  Twenty-six people/families have said “yes!” as of August 15.  

We have also received other donations during this period, including a generous $2,000 gift from the new owners of the Marina.  They hope to follow-up on this gift in the fall.  What with Saturday Markets and used book sales and quilt raffle tickets, we are now in need of about $60,000.  

We know that everyone can’t make $1,000 donations.  YET, we need to get this fundraising done in 2015 so that construction can begin in the Spring of 2016.  We need to get this done because it’s time to get it done, for you and for us and for the library.  There are no more possibilities of foundation grants or state gifts: it’s simply up to us, to the caring members of the Point Roberts community.

And if you can’t donate a thousand dollars, can you please make a first or final contribution of whatever you can afford?  Between group and individual donations, we’ll be done in the next few months: we’ll have that $538,000 in the bank.  We can then close the book on the fundraising segment while the much more important history of the new library begins to arise before our eyes.  

We need a bigger library; the community and its friends have responded generously to this need over the past 3.5 years with over a thousand individual donations, so it’s clear that they want this to happen. We began with a belief that it takes a community to build a library.  We will be finishing knowing that the community has risen to the need.

---Judy Ross for the Friends of the Point Roberts Library

To Donate:  Make out checks to FOPRL (a tax-exempt organization) and leave at the library or mail to PO Box 970, PR., WA 98281

Puppet Show, Saturday, 3 pm

Just a reminder that the P.R. Library and the Friends of the P.R. Library are sponsoring a live marionette theater performance this Saturday at the Community Center at 3 pm.  The "Welcome Marionettes" Company were here two summers ago and gave a wonderful performance of "The Wizard of Oz."  This year, it's Popeye and Olive Oyl and, I trust, Sweetpea, and all that gang from my childhood (and perhaps some of yours), who are just as endearing if you've never met them before.

This is a wonderful opportunity for kids to be exposed to live puppet theater, and to meet the people who give life to these charming creations.  Free for kids, free for grownups.  Please do come!

Regarding the Recent All Point Bulletin Article on the Park and Rec Board Meeting

Meg Olson’s article on the recent two meetings of the Park and Recreation Board is a good report of what went on. [(http://www.allpointbulletin.com/2015/07/31/parks-board-backslides-on-library-commitment/ ] However, it may leave an impression that the new library project is in some kind of trouble.  It is not.  As of July 31, 2015, FOPRL has raised $465,000, $20,000 in the last 2 weeks alone.  We need to raise another $73,000 and expect to do so by the end of the year.

Last October, a new Memo of Understanding/MOU was negotiated among FOPRL, the Park and Recreation District, and the Whatcom County Library System.  In it, the Park and Recreation District made a legal commitment to try to close any funding gap to ensure that the new library is completed.

FOPRL will continue to raise funds. When we have $538,000 or see no possibility for further funds being raised, the ball is in the Park and Recreation District’s court: they can either bring the building in with the money that has been raised or they can try to raise additional funds. 

FOPRL continues fully to accept its responsibility to try to complete the fundraising goal of $538,000.  Support for this project is very broad with well over a thousand donors.  We thank every person, group, business, foundation and agency that has contributed their time, money, or goods to this project and we hope you will continue to help get this library built.

Judy Ross, Fundraising Chair

Catching Up, Half-Year Report, 2015

The APB says you all have donor fatigue.  I hope that is not the case because we need more donations.  Take your time, a little bit, anyway.

At present, we are up to $444,000, which includes $1,000 or so from the current quilt show at The Blue Heron.  The exhibit will go on until the end of July, and perhaps there will be more for the library at that point; if we sell any, there will be.  The current estimation of our total need is $538,000, so we're short by a tad less than $100,000.  It is doable, one way or another, with the wind at our backs and the support of the community, which we surely have had.

We have two significant donation requests still out.  You will be informed about their outcome as soon as they have one.  And then we will be working on Plan C if it is necessary.  Which we hope it won't be.

Thanks for all your support in the past.  It is a pleasure to work with people who really care about libraries and who demonstrate that caring through time and money, both.

Annual General Meeting: Please Plan to Join Us

Another Gift to the Library!

For Preview,

http://ross-park.net/estate

A Library Benefit Concert, This Friday

Michael returns to perform in Point Roberts after a highly acclaimed concert here in October of 2013.  Those who heard him then will welcome his return; those who missed his previous concert are in for a real treat.  Friday, this week -- don't miss it!

End of 2014/Beginning of 2015 Status Report

We end the year with $405,000, an increase during the 4th quarter almost entirely due to a matching fund which grew to cover about $15,000 contributed during the last two months.  In addition, there were sales from the Library’s Christmas Craft Faire table (all proceeds, about $1,500 from donated goods, went to the New Library Project), as well as several individual donations in November.

This year, we also received a total 0f $32,000 in grants from two foundations (Norcliffe and Archibald).  The Garneau-Nicon Foundation and the Murdoch Foundation (both Washington State Foundations) did not think that our project fit within their guidelines and were thus unable to provide any support.  We have one other grant proposal still out for consideration by the McEachern Foundation.  Their staff has recently requested additional information about the extent of childrens’ services provided by our library, which is a promising sign.  Finally, and unfortunately, we were unable to find any state funds available this past year for library funding.

Other significant achievements during the year:

--The Memo of Understanding between the Friends of the P.R. Library, the Park and Recreation District, and Whatcom County Library Services was revised and now includes a commitment by the P&R District to put a levy on the ballot if it is needed for final funding at such time as the FOPRL concludes there is no further possibility of its closing the final gap.

--The P&R District named David King as architect for the new building and he began working with a design committee composed of local residents, and with Whatcom County Library Services staff to determine the final shape of building plans.

--The Bellingham Herald recognized our project in“Whatcom Cares” by naming our fundraisers as one of ten people/groups who had provided exceptional service to the communities of Whatcom County.  

LOOKING FORWARD TO 2015

We continue to look for possible foundation grants, although this is becoming increasingly unlikely because of the severe cutbacks on capital project funding in the foundation world.  We spoke with several managers in the state Commerce Dept. about the possibility of applying for state capital grants and were told that nothing there was available.  They reported that the only possibility they could see was a “directed request” from our state legislators.  We are hoping that State Senator Doug Ericksen will be willing to make a directed grant request for state funds for us.  We have contacted his office, asking for a meeting about his, but have not, as of January 24, heard back from him.  And we are planning to conduct a final letter-request campaign to local residents and businesses who have not yet contributed to this project.  Every dollar counts as we move into this final phase.  We still have a $40,000 matching fund for any business, individual, or family who contributes at least $10,000.

We thank everyone who has contributed time, energy, donated goods, and money, support of every kind, to this project.  For a tiny community like Point Roberts to have a new library will make an important change in how we think of ourselves: we are a community that can make good things happen.  And we will have a lovely bright new library building to remind us of that fact for a long time to come.