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Grand County libraries: Give to library campaign now to make a difference

Now’s the time.

The Mountain Libraries Capital Campaign is facing a deadline of Sept. 1 ” that’s only four weeks away ” to raise another $260,000 to earn $250,000 in challenge grants. September 1 marks the second extension of the important challenge grant deadline that helps to pay for the new Granby Library and Juniper Library at Grand Lake.

Now’s the time to give because if the money isn’t raised by Sept. 1, those generous challenge grants will be lost. (A total of $200,000 is from the Gates Family Foundation of Denver and $50,000 is from the Boettcher Foundation.)



“For the many people who have already given, or who are thinking of giving, now is the time to give or plan your gift of 2008 to the Mountain Libraries Campaign,” said Mary Anne Wilcox, Executive Director of the Grand County Library District. “Now is really going to make a difference.”

In the past, many donors have waited to make their donations until the end of the year or at tax time, which the library district greatly appreciates. (So far, more than $2.14 million has been raised for this campaign.) But this year, because of the Sept. 1 deadline, waiting until later in the year could jeopardize the $250,000 in challenge grants.



“This year, please don’t wait until Jan. 1 to make your tax deductible donation,” she said.

There are many very attractive ways for donors to take advantage of generous tax deductions by donating to the Mountain Libraries Capital Campaign.

– The two libraries built with these funds are eligible as Colorado Enterprise Zone development projects. This classification of the projects, provided by the economic development council of the state of Colorado, makes it possible for donors providing cash or gifts to the project to claim not only a federal and state charitable tax deduction, but also a state tax credit. The amount of the credit is 25 percent of the value of a cash contribution or 12.5 percent of an in-kind contribution, up to $100,000 per year.

Wilcox believes the tax breaks can be significant.

“A $5,000 donation could be as little as $1,769 depending on your tax bracket,” she said.

– Pledged contributions can also stretch the value of a gift to the Mountain Libraries Capital Campaign. A person can pledge a total amount for the campaign but schedule the payments over the next five to 10 years. This gives maximum benefit toward reaching the campaign’s goal and capturing the $250,000 in challenge grants and spreads out the donor’s out-of-pocket cost of the donation over time.

“If we could get 50 people to pledge $5,000 each year over the next five years or $500 over the next 10 years, we would meet our goal and win the challenge grants, while the out-of-pocket cost may be as little as $1,769,” Wilcox said. “For some in our community, this really isn’t that much to ask for libraries that add such great value to our communities.”

– Planned Giving. Please consider the Mountain Libraries Capital Campaign in your estate or trust planning. It would certainly help the campaign and help ease the tax bite of future generations.

Another excellent benefit of giving is the recognition on the donor wall that’s being completed now in the Granby Library. This wall gives people the chance to be recognized for years to come for contributions to the Mountain Libraries Campaign. Donations of $100 or more are still eligible for donor wall placement. But that will end on Sept. 1, when the limit for recognition on the wall goes up to $1,000 minimum donation.

“You still have a chance to get your name on the wall this year,” Wilcox said,

encouraging people to go by the Granby Library and look at the massive wall map of Grand County in the entry area of the library upon which donor recognition will be placed.

Also, the Juniper Library donor wall and donor inscriptions are now in place, attracting the attention of library patrons in Grand Lake. A minimum $1,000 donation for the Juniper Library can earn recognition on that stunning feature in the library entry.

As you think about giving before Sept. 1, remember these points about the Mountain Libraries Capital Campaign:

– Grand County Library District did not pick the timetable for the construction of the Granby Library. It was thrust upon the District when the bulldozer rampage destroyed the Granby Town Hall and the Granby Library.

– The District’s intention at the time of the destruction of the Granby Library in June

2004 was to build the Juniper Library at Grand Lake and then proceed to the Granby Library construction at a later date. That was not possible.

– The library district board determined that it was both possible and necessary to do both buildings at once. Although it has been possible, it has put a constraint on the library district’s ability to grow its programs and services.

– The library district did not ask the voters for an increase in taxes-but instead launched the Mountain Libraries Campaign, trusting that the community would help raise the necessary funds.

– The Mountain Libraries Campaign has been remarkably successful in already raising $2.14 million towards its intermediate goal of $2.4 million.

– Included in this success are challenge grants of $250,000, which are leveraged against meeting the $2.4 million goal by Sept. 1.

– If the District does not meet this goal, in order to be fiscally prudent, restrictions on District spending will be necessary and highly possible that library open hours will need to be decreased.

– The Granby Library was designed to be the largest in the district based on growth projections and its position in the heart of the county and is the only branch featuring separate Children’s and Teen Libraries.

– The historic, rustic architecture of the Juniper Library at Grand Lake was designed to fit properly on the Town Square with extensive input from the Grand Lake community to meet the needs of local residents and visitors alike.

So, if there ever was a time for people to consider giving to the Grand County Libraries, this is it.

What is more vibrant to a community than a public library full of books, computers, art shows, preschool story hours, school class visits, book clubs, study rooms, and a rich variety of programs for all?

For more information on giving, contact Pat Berger, finance administrator for the Grand County Library District at (970) 887-9411, ext. 107 or pberger@gcld.org.

Or, contact Mary Anne Hanson-Wilcox, Director of the Grand County Library District, at (970) 887-9411, ext. 101, or mawilcox@gcld.org.

The district mailing address is P.O. Box 1050, Granby, CO 80446.


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