Finding Funds

Fundraising is a perennial concern for libraries of all types and sizes, regardless of location. With federal funding increasingly threatened, library professionals will be called on to source money for collections, programming, and beyond. These titles are valuable resources and guides through the labyrinthine process of fundraising.

Winning Grants, 3rd edition
By Stephanie K. Gerding
This comprehensive, accessible guide offers practical advice focused exclusively on library fundraising, with information about grants of all types. The book distills information in an easy-to-understand format and covers such topics as the grant cycle process, planning a project for funding, and researching the most appropriate funding source. This volume also includes examples of grant proposals that were ultimately successful. The updated edition addresses the challenges grant seekers face in the post-pandemic fundraising landscape, including dwindling municipal funds, fewer programs and service hours, and evolving application requirements.

ALA Neal-Schuman, 2024. 216 p. $59.99. PBK. 979-8-89255-567-8

The Library Friends, Foundations, and Trusts Handbook
By Diane P. Tuccillo
Library support groups are vital to keeping libraries healthy and funded. Tuccillo, a seasoned librarian, library advisory group leader, and member of various Friends groups, posits that Friends groups not only provide pivotal help with fundraising but can also supply volunteers and promote programming. The book gives real-world examples, programming ideas, sample recruiting documents, and an extensive bibliography for further information. Whether starting a Friends group or looking for ways to maximize the potential of an existing one, library workers across the board will find this an essential resource and a helpful part of their fundraising efforts.

Rowman & Littlefield, 2024. 330 p. $42. 978-1-5381-7926-0. (Also available as an ebook.)

Critical Data Storytelling for Libraries: Crafting Ethical Narratives for Advocacy and Impact
By Kate McDowell
The challenge of how to take data and craft it into a compelling, inclusive story for fundraising and advocacy is an evergreen one, made more urgent by ongoing funding cuts. This book provides advice on how to extract relevant data, understand audiences, and effectively shape a narrative while staying true to the communities you serve. It’s an exhaustive guide to the many challenges—such as putting data into context for the public and battling library misinformation—that can arise while communicating the relevance, importance, and financial needs of a library to stakeholders, potential donors, and the public.

ALA Neal-Schuman, 2025. 192 p. $54.99. PBK. 979-8-89255-280-6.

Winning Grants Step by Step: The Complete Workbook for Planning, Developing, and Writing Successful Proposals
By Lynn English, Tori O’Neal, and Lynn Kanter
Written by nonprofit fundraising professionals, this workbook, in its sixth edition, remains as useful as ever. Although written for nonprofits generally, the pages contain a wealth of tips that libraries will find especially valuable. Beginners (or those in need of a refresher) will appreciate the practical format following the grant-writing process from soup to nuts, offering specific guides, questionnaires, and budgetary tables for every stage. This new edition features updated government grants, information on using artificial intelligence in applications and research, and a companion website with worksheets.

Jossey-Bass, 2025. 176 p. $44. PBK. 978-1-394-32161-2. (Also available as an ebook.)