Project Narrative
Project Narrative Program Summary By spring 2016, Columbus Metropolitan Library Foundation (CMLF) had raised $18.8 million during the quiet phase of their $21.5 million goal for the Great Libraries Create campaign. Launched in 2013, the purpose of this campaign was to support Columbus Metropolitan Library's (CML) $130 million 2020 Vision Plan to revitalize seven urban branches and two suburban branches, and make transformational changes to Main Library. To maximize reach of the public phase of the campaign, CMLF and CML partnered together to promote the campaign during the two months leading up to the reopening of Main Library on June 25, 2016. Needs Assessment and Planning Community Profile: Through Main Library and 22 branch locations across central Ohio, CML serves over 75% of Franklin County, home to more than 1.2 million people, 17.4% of which live in poverty according to the 2010 census. The ten locations included in the Great Libraries Create campaign represented the breadth and range of communities and customers we serve, from the inner-city neighborhood of Driving Park to suburban Dublin. Need: In 2009, CML commissioned a comprehensive study of our facilities in order to determine the investment needed to create community centerpieces that inspire and transform lives, enhance our cultural and educational environment, and keep the promise that knowledge and information would be accessible to all. A 2020 Vision Plan to address major facility renovation, expansion and new construction resulted, and 10 projects rose to the top as the highest priority: Whitehall, Driving Park, Parsons, Martin Luther King, Northside, Northern Lights, Shepard, Hilliard, Dublin and Main Library. Target Audience and Communication Goals: The total cost of these vital upgrades was $130 million. CML identified $108.5 million of public funding – a large amount by any measure, but insufficient to enhance all branches to meet the demands of a growing 21st century community. In 2013, CMLF launched the Great Libraries Create campaign and began seeking $21.5 million through private philanthropy to fill the gap to complete the 2020 Vision Plan. By spring 2016, over $18.8 million was raised primarily through corporate and foundation support during the campaign’s quiet phase. With the finish line in sight, CMLF was ready to ask the community to also make an investment in the library during the public phase of the campaign. Planning: After speaking to other nonprofits in the community, CMLF understood that it was important to have a realistic public campaign goal that could be met within a specific timeframe. Identifying the goal ended up being the easier of the two requirements, a pair of generous donors quickly stepped up to offer a $100,000 challenge gift that they encouraged the community to match. A number of timelines for the public campaign were evaluated such as the benefits of announcing the $100,000 challenge in November and December 2016 to align with year-end giving which is the most popular time for donations. However, that would mean not publicly celebrating the completion of the Great Libraries Create campaign during CMLF’s annual fall fundraiser, Celebration of Learning, which includes many sponsors and attendees who had made major contributions to kick off the cause during the campaign’s quiet phase.
Objectives: The objectives of the public campaign were:
Generate additional gifts (at least $100,000 – which would match the challenge gift) Welcome broad-based public participation Cultivate a culture of philanthropy for the library
Implementation & Creativity CML and CMLF determined that the guiding principles for the public campaign should be:
Urgent: We wanted an end date to the public campaign that would be easy for the community to remember. If December 31 wouldn’t work, what was the next biggest date for potential CML supporters to remember?
Simple: With four library openings scheduled for 2016, including the new Main Library, it was important to library leadership to be mindful of staff capacity.
Celebratory: With over $18.8 million dollars raised and more than half of the building projects completed, we wanted the tone of the campaign to share our successes with the community while also inviting them to play a role in transforming CML.
With those principles in mind, CMLF and CML made the decision to combine resources, time and energy to promote the Great Libraries Create campaign during the two months leading up to the reopening of Main Library after its 16 month renovation on June 25, 2016. This partnership allowed CMLF to piggyback on marketing strategies already created to publicize Main Library’s dedication while also allocating funds reserved for the public campaign to enhance efforts already in motion to maximize reach for both efforts throughout the community. Combining the public campaign with Main Library’s dedication proved to be a seamless process due to similar branding that was already in place for both projects. The following channels were used:
Direct Marketing o Mail (reach: approximately 120,000 households) A fundraising appeal announced the challenge and shared the deadline to give. o Email (reach: approximately 225,000 people) 6 emails featured the challenge and an additional 6 emails mentioned the campaign. o Website Wherever CML promoted the new Main Library, attention was directed to the campaign website which prominently shared the status of the challenge and provided details regarding the events surrounding Main Library’s dedication. Public Relations o Paid Media Billboards Billboards were designed and displayed throughout central Ohio and a large wallscape was installed across the street from Main Library. Radio & TV TV ads were shown on the local ABC, FOX and NBC news affiliates and radio ads played on a local alternative rock station and Columbus’s NPR radio affiliate. o Earned Media 3 press releases were distributed featuring the challenge with additional press releases mentioning the dedication of Main Library.
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A variety of press was received showcasing Main Library. Social Media Facebook (reach: approximately 40,000 people) 7 posts featured the challenge and additional posts shared the #greatlibrariescreate or #newmain hashtag. Twitter (reach: approximately 21,000 people) 9 posts featured the challenge and additional posts shared the #greatlibrariescreate or #newmain hashtag. Instagram (reach: approximately 5,000 people) 1 post featured the challenge and additional posts shared the #greatlibrariescreate or #newmain hashtag. In Branch (reach: approximately 893,454 visitors) Prominent signage was displayed in each CML location with a takeaway flier that featured the challenge. Staff were available to accept donations at library events and distributed Great Libraries Create stickers to spark conversations and encourage visits to their table.
Evaluation Main Library’s reopening served as a great reminder of the role public libraries have in our community. Support for the campaign was tremendous, and the promotion coincided with spikes in donations. By June 14, 2016, over $123,000 had been raised to surpass the $100,000 challenge well in advance of the June 25, 2016 deadline. Inspired by the community’s generosity, CMLF rallied current and past members of their board to match up to $100,000 more in additional gifts made that month. This challenge was also met. Overall, $202,639.90 was raised by June 30, 2016. Over 70% of the 782 gifts received were from first-time donors. The widespread awareness of the public campaign introduced the library as a philanthropic opportunity to the community. Over the two-month period, library staff heard countless times from customers that they were unaware that the library even accepted donations. Several people shared that they were unable to give at that time, but would keep CML in mind when they were in a position to support. True to their word, CMLF witnessed a 148% increase in first-time individual donors from July – December 2016 relative to 2015 numbers. Thanks to the overwhelming success of the public campaign, CML now feels more comfortable encouraging library customers to support the library through a variety of channels that it might not have traditionally used to seek support for CMLF.
Objectives: The objectives of the public campaign were:
Generate additional gifts (at least $100,000 – which would match the challenge gift) Welcome broad-based public participation Cultivate a culture of philanthropy for the library
Implementation & Creativity CML and CMLF determined that the guiding principles for the public campaign should be:
Urgent: We wanted an end date to the public campaign that would be easy for the community to remember. If December 31 wouldn’t work, what was the next biggest date for potential CML supporters to remember?
Simple: With four library openings scheduled for 2016, including the new Main Library, it was important to library leadership to be mindful of staff capacity.
Celebratory: With over $18.8 million dollars raised and more than half of the building projects completed, we wanted the tone of the campaign to share our successes with the community while also inviting them to play a role in transforming CML.
With those principles in mind, CMLF and CML made the decision to combine resources, time and energy to promote the Great Libraries Create campaign during the two months leading up to the reopening of Main Library after its 16 month renovation on June 25, 2016. This partnership allowed CMLF to piggyback on marketing strategies already created to publicize Main Library’s dedication while also allocating funds reserved for the public campaign to enhance efforts already in motion to maximize reach for both efforts throughout the community. Combining the public campaign with Main Library’s dedication proved to be a seamless process due to similar branding that was already in place for both projects. The following channels were used:
Direct Marketing o Mail (reach: approximately 120,000 households) A fundraising appeal announced the challenge and shared the deadline to give. o Email (reach: approximately 225,000 people) 6 emails featured the challenge and an additional 6 emails mentioned the campaign. o Website Wherever CML promoted the new Main Library, attention was directed to the campaign website which prominently shared the status of the challenge and provided details regarding the events surrounding Main Library’s dedication. Public Relations o Paid Media Billboards Billboards were designed and displayed throughout central Ohio and a large wallscape was installed across the street from Main Library. Radio & TV TV ads were shown on the local ABC, FOX and NBC news affiliates and radio ads played on a local alternative rock station and Columbus’s NPR radio affiliate. o Earned Media 3 press releases were distributed featuring the challenge with additional press releases mentioning the dedication of Main Library.
o
o
A variety of press was received showcasing Main Library. Social Media Facebook (reach: approximately 40,000 people) 7 posts featured the challenge and additional posts shared the #greatlibrariescreate or #newmain hashtag. Twitter (reach: approximately 21,000 people) 9 posts featured the challenge and additional posts shared the #greatlibrariescreate or #newmain hashtag. Instagram (reach: approximately 5,000 people) 1 post featured the challenge and additional posts shared the #greatlibrariescreate or #newmain hashtag. In Branch (reach: approximately 893,454 visitors) Prominent signage was displayed in each CML location with a takeaway flier that featured the challenge. Staff were available to accept donations at library events and distributed Great Libraries Create stickers to spark conversations and encourage visits to their table.
Evaluation Main Library’s reopening served as a great reminder of the role public libraries have in our community. Support for the campaign was tremendous, and the promotion coincided with spikes in donations. By June 14, 2016, over $123,000 had been raised to surpass the $100,000 challenge well in advance of the June 25, 2016 deadline. Inspired by the community’s generosity, CMLF rallied current and past members of their board to match up to $100,000 more in additional gifts made that month. This challenge was also met. Overall, $202,639.90 was raised by June 30, 2016. Over 70% of the 782 gifts received were from first-time donors. The widespread awareness of the public campaign introduced the library as a philanthropic opportunity to the community. Over the two-month period, library staff heard countless times from customers that they were unaware that the library even accepted donations. Several people shared that they were unable to give at that time, but would keep CML in mind when they were in a position to support. True to their word, CMLF witnessed a 148% increase in first-time individual donors from July – December 2016 relative to 2015 numbers. Thanks to the overwhelming success of the public campaign, CML now feels more comfortable encouraging library customers to support the library through a variety of channels that it might not have traditionally used to seek support for CMLF.
