NCLF awarded $25K* for Garden Project!
Details of the Welfare Foundation Grant and Other End-of-Year Updates
Season’s Greetings, Friends!
I won’t beat around the Holly bush. The news is too exciting.
Last week, the board of the Welfare Foundation, a Delaware philanthropy based in Wilmington, decided to fully fund our grant request in support of the Garden Campaign - for $25,000*! This is huge, and brings us a massive step closer to having this project fully funded. There is a catch, however...
* In order to receive the $25,000 grant, the Friends must reach our total fundraising goal of $65,500 by June 2025.
Fortunately, the campaign had a very strong #GivingTuesday launch on December 3 and we have received individual donations ranging from $5 to $600. The fund for this project also continues to receive 1/2 of all revenue from our book sales, which continues to add up.
With this progress and the grant, we are already about 2/3 of the way there!
Less than one month into the official campaign, the possibility of a new gathering area in the library garden that is welcoming to all is more real than ever, because our community has stepped up.
Thank you so much to everyone who has already gotten involved at FriendsGarden.org.
Whether you receive this Update as a Friend or volunteer, via a Forward, or just because you support our library, we are so grateful to have you here. Please enjoy the few additional updates below.
Have a great rest of 2024, lovely holidays and a happy new year!
Sincerely,
Matt Alexander
NCLF President
Raffles a Hit (Again) at Winter Festival & Market Book Sale
The diverse and interesting prize options put together by Raffles lead continue to steal the show at Friends’ book sales!
The Winter Festival & Market saw over a thousand pairs of festive feet come through New Castle Public Library, many of whom spent time at (or even arrived looking for) our Book Sale and Raffle.
With the conference room set up like a pop-up bookshop once again, a very smooth-functioning checkout area thanks to wonderful volunteers, and plenty of space for displaying everything thanks to the great NCPL staff, we received many compliments on the experience. As always, we also made several new friends - hopefully even some Friends!
All together, the sale raised over $1600! Half of that will go toward the garden project, while the rest will go to our general fund to continue maintaining our regular commitments to the library.
Of the total raised, nearly $1000 came from raffle tickets! The Friends are so grateful to everyone who contributed items and supported this effort. Special thanks are due to:
Rodney Pratt Framing & Gallery at the Opera House for framing a print of the Amstel House so beautifully that a previous owner put tickets in for it!
The Mercury Cafe & Teahouse for the snazzy t-shirt also in that basket,
Arasapha Garden Club for continuing to donate the most splendid holiday wreaths from their Wreath Workshop to support our winter fundraiser, and
Mike Connoly of New Castle Historical Society for adding a personal touch to the New Castle-themed prize by signing a copy of New Castle Revisited for inclusion.
Friends, please support these generous community businesses and organizations when you have the chance to show our gratitude!
Congratulations and thank you to Book Sale chairs Susan and Rob, to the delightful volunteers who make it such a charming experience, and again to Jenn, for another wonderful, fun, Winter Festival fundraiser!
Throughout the library, people had fun with great activities for kids and vendors offering myriad gift-ready options for holiday shopping. Santa Bluey even showed up at the end for a special storytime to delight the kids … everyone!
Membership Season Starts Soon!
January 2025 will mark the beginning of our next Membership Drive to help current Friends remember to renew for another year, and to spread the word about our great organization to recruit new Friends as well!
Here’s a preview of the process, a few minor changes in store for this year, and even how you can help out!
Membership Chair Irma Benedek next month will send out mailed invitations for members to renew for 2025. Recipients can either return checks in the enclosed envelopes, or renew online.
Members who renew online by January 10, 2025, can save NCLF a bit of postage, as we can then remove you from the mailing.
In January, we’ll also do some promotion online and in other ways to promote the organization and encourage new members to sign up. In 2024, NCLF attracted nearly two dozen new members!
You can help this part of the process by sharing our appeals and posts on social media!
This year’s member form - both the paper version and online - will have a slightly updated list of volunteer interests, now including a specific line for helping out at library programs and events. Member ‘cards’ have will not be tried again this year (we’ll use a membership list at events to make sure Friends get their perks).
Be sure to complete the member questionnaire so that we can include you in the activities that interest you!
The Membership Drive will conclude at our Membership Dinner and Annual Meeting. After moving to March to take advantage of outdoor options during the pandemic, the member meeting will return to February this year, specifically Wednesday, February 12.
Save the date for February 12 to join us for a lovely evening of Friendship, fun and light fare. ‘Entertainment’ TBD.
All of the helpful, fun and exciting things we have going on and planned for New Castle Public Library would not be possible without Friends. Thank you for being one, or hopefully becoming one soon for 2025!
(And remember, 2024 members, if you renew online by January 10, you can keep NCLF from mailing you a renewal packet. Every $.73 adds up as we work to do the most we can with the dollars we raise for New Castle Public Library. Thanks!)
2025 Schedule of Meetings & Events
Check out the calendar for next year below. In addition to the events listed, the Board is interested in doing more events for members and volunteers to get together just for some fun. Let us know your ideas and whether you’d like to help plan such get togethers!
January 15 (Wed.)
Board Meeting at NCPL
February 12 (Wed.)
Annual Membership Meeting & Dinner
March 6-7 (Thu.-Fri.)
#DoMore24 Delaware fundraiser
March 19 (Wed.)
Board Meeting
Late March (Date TBD)
Gala-Style Fundraising Event for Garden Project
April
No Meetings or Events
May 2-3 (Fri.-Sat.)
May Market Book Sale & Raffle
May 14 (Wed.)
Board Meeting
May 24 (Sat.)
A Day in Old New Castle
June 14-15 (Sat.-Sun.)
Separation Day Book Sale & Raffle
July 16 (Wed.)
Board Meeting
September 27 (Sat.)
Art on the Green Book Sale & Raffle
October
No Meetings or Events
November 19 (Wed.)
Board Meeting
December 13
Winter Festival & Market Book Sale & Raffle
Thanks for reading and have a wonderful rest of 2025!
Questions or comments? Email us!