Foundation Stories

It’s time for the Foundation’s annual appeal and your year-end gift in will have a profound impact on our community. The Foundation funds library resources, books, and educational programs that encourage curiosity, spark imagination and bring dreams to life.

Your contribution will help support the Library’s lifelong learning programs including:

  • 6 by 6 Ready To Read
  • Summer Reading
  • Homework Help
  • Tutor.com
  • elementia Teen Literary Program
  • Black & Veatch MakerSpace
  • Civic Engagement
  • Joan Berkley Writers Fund

Your gift has the power to change lives!

Your contribution to the Foundation will directly fund Library programs, services, and the growth of the collection of more than 1 million items. 

Thank you for your continued support!

Celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving (in the U.S.) and the widely recognized shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday kicks off the charitable season, when many focus on their holiday and end-of-year giving. This year, on November 27, your Giving Tuesday gift to the JCL Foundation will directly benefit the Library’s ever popular Summer Reading Program, and put a book in the hands of a child.

From mid-May until the end of July, Johnson County Library helps combat summer slide by providing a free book to every child who signs up with the reading program. Having books at home is strongly linked with academic achievement. By growing children’s personal libraries and helping them find intrinsic value in reading, the library bridges that summer learning gap and invests in the future of our community.

The Library gave away 18,823 books to kids throughout Johnson County this past summer, in comparison to 15,000 in 2017. And that increase is with no additional locations. With the recent opening of our new Monticello Library, we project 22,000 books will be distributed in summer 2019.

Your gift on this Giving Tuesday will directly support this critical service for kids and their families throughout Johnson County. All donations make a difference, for example, $25 buys 5 books!

And on November 27,  your donation can go even further if you use the donate button on our Foundation Facebook page

On #GivingTuesday,  Facebook is partnering with PayPal to match up to $7 million in donations to eligible US-based  nonprofits. Donations made on the Foundation’s Facebook  page will be matched, dollar-per-dollar starting at 7 a.m. on November 27 (only) and will continue until matching funds run out.   

Thank you for your continued support of our mission for lifelong learning!

Your investment in Johnson County Library generates a 300% return.