From idea to funds in your account.
FundLibraries is a crowdfunding platform built by library advocates, for library advocates. Here's exactly what happens from the moment you consider a campaign to the day funds land in your library's account, including what we do, what you do, and what it costs.
Seven steps. One campaign manager.
Every FundLibraries campaign is guided by a dedicated campaign manager from day one. Here's what the full arc looks like.
Gather your campaign details
Before you sign up, pull together the core information about your organization and your campaign. A short list is in the next section, but don't worry about perfect copy. Your campaign manager will help you refine every word later.
Sign up to create an account
One person from your organization signs up to create an account. They become the campaign lead and the single point of contact between your team and ours. Once your account is set up, you can start submitting your campaign from there.
Submit your campaign
Walk through our step-by-step submission flow with the information you gathered. Add your fundraising goal, your short blurb, your longer description, and any early supporting photos or documents. You can save and come back. Nothing goes live yet.
Launch your campaign
We review your submission and get back to you quickly. Once it's approved, you'll receive an email with everything you need to launch, including a preview of your live campaign page. You choose when to go public.
Promote with our team
Your campaign manager works with the FundLibraries team to create promotional content and run paid ads on your behalf, targeted to the half-million library supporters already in our network. You can (and should) also share the campaign directly through your organization's own channels.
Monitor your campaign
You and your campaign manager monitor and edit the entire campaign from your organization's dashboard. Update the story as it evolves, add milestones, thank donors publicly, all in one place.
Collect your funds
Funds can be collected on a schedule that works for your organization, for example monthly disbursements, or as one lump sum at the end of the campaign. You don't need to hit your full goal before drawing funds. Details on payout methods are below.
What you'll need at hand.
Nothing here has to be final. Your campaign manager will help you edit, tighten, and polish. But having a working version of each item makes the submission flow take minutes instead of weeks.
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A campaign name Short, memorable, specific to what you're raising for.
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Your organization's name & address Legal name as it appears on tax documents, plus your mailing address.
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A brief description of your org One or two sentences, plus your website, if you have one.
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A short blurb & a longer description An elevator pitch and the full story. Both can be edited later with the team.
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Your fundraising goal A clear dollar target tied to a real project or outcome.
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An approved point of contact One person at your organization who will be the campaign lead. Their contact info becomes the thread between you and your campaign manager.
FundLibraries is a project of the nonprofit EveryLibrary Institute. A flat 10% fee completely covers the cost of the promotional work we do to reach supporters. Nothing else is deducted on top.
- Every campaign receives a dedicated campaign manager at no extra cost.
- Ads are written by the FundLibraries team and run on your behalf, free of charge.
- Hands-on support is available every step of the way, from kickoff to payout.
- No per-transaction deductions from individual donations.
FundLibraries vs. general crowdfunding.
Other crowdfunding sites are built for anyone raising money for anything. FundLibraries is built for libraries, and bundles the work that general platforms leave to you.
| Platform | Campaign hosting | Ad creation | Professional support | Campaign promotion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Built for libraries by EveryLibrary Institute
|
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| General crowdfunding | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
Feature availability and bundled services vary by platform.
A team on your side.
The 10% isn't a platform fee. It pays for actual humans doing actual work on your campaign.
A dedicated campaign manager
Every campaign is paired with one person on our team. Same point of contact from the day you sign up to the day your funds arrive.
Ad creation, written for you
Our team writes the ad copy, builds the creative, and tailors each asset to the library supporters we're reaching.
Hands-on support, every step
Messaging edits, donor questions, payout setup, post-campaign reporting. We're with you end to end. No tickets, no phone trees.
Who are the 500,000+ library supporters?
Library workers, parents, activists, educators, and patrons across all 50 states who have signed up through EveryLibrary to be contacted when libraries need champions. They've already raised their hands, and your campaign is what we bring to them.
Having this network means your campaign doesn't launch into silence. Ads and outreach go to people who opted in specifically because they care about libraries.
See who's in the network →Get paid on your schedule.
We work with your campaign manager, or directly with your organization's payment processor, to get funds to you. You don't need to reach your entire goal before drawing funds. Requests can be made at any point during the campaign.
ACH and check are the methods our partner libraries already use for operating cashflow, and they're the most common way campaigns get paid. Stripe, PayPal, and Zelle are also supported for organizations that prefer them.
Stripe
PayPal
Zelle
Venmo
Questions about how any of this works?
We'd rather answer your questions before you sign up than after. A real human on the FundLibraries team will reply, usually the same day.