Help the Sedona Public Library on Giving Tuesday

As published in the Red Rock News

Giving Tuesday is just around the corner! On November 30 Sedona Public Library invites you to join us for this exciting Global Day of Generosity. Giving Tuesday kicks off our end-of-year giving campaign, and we have fun opportunities for you. When you give to your library, you give to the entire community, and this year, we’re offering three ways to support us: Make a Gift; Be A Friend; Be A Sponsor!
 
Make A Gift! We are proud to announce that a generous donor and volunteer has made a matching gift. Yes, that’s right, your gift to the Library will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $30,000 beginning on Giving Tuesday through the end of the year. Last year we met our match, and went beyond. Will you help us do that again this year?
 
Be A Friend! It’s a great time to celebrate the Friends of the Sedona Library. In 2022 the Friends commemorate 55 years of supporting Sedona Public Library. Happy Anniversary! We’re celebrating with a membership challenge: for as little as $15 you can become a Friend of the Library and receive a year-long 15% discount at the Friends’ Used Book Store. That’s a deal!
 
The Friends of the Sedona Library and the Library basically have the same mission. The Friends’ mission is to support the Library, and the Library’s mission is to create community by fostering lifelong learning and building connections. The Friends helps us meet our goal to open a door to the world through empowering information, inspiring ideas, and engaging experiences.
 
How do they help? They provide funding for the exceptional services and programs that we offer. They help make this great library shine with their support for children’s and adult programs, technology, databases, and more. The Friends have helped Sedona Public Library thrive for more than five decades. That’s cause for celebration.
 
We’re challenging everyone in the community to become a Friend of the Library or renew your Friends membership. We’re excited to support their ambitious 55th anniversary goal: $55,000 by the end of 2022. That’s a lot of Friends!
 
Be A Sponsor! The third way to support us is by “putting your name on it!” We have lots of ways for you to be an annual program or event sponsor. For instance, a $500 gift will sponsor StoryWalk at Sunset Park. These seasonal public storybooks offer literacy, fitness, and family activities for visitors and residents alike!
 
For just $1000, you could name one of the three meeting spaces at the new Sedona Public Library in the Village for a full year. These rooms are perfect for small private or Zoom meetings.
 
Or you could help us launch the Community Conversation programs next year for a sponsorship of $1500. This year-long program will bring residents together to peacefully discuss tough topics that affect our daily lives—locally and globally. These sponsorships will count as matched gifts, and to discuss these and other opportunities to show the community you care, contact Anne Marie at amackler@sedonalibrary.org.
 
Your continued support of the Library and the Friends over the last several decades has allowed us to maintain our services and, most recently, to advance our technology, strengthen our Wi-Fi, broaden our online presence, provide a parking lot holds pick up service, and open a new library at Big Park Community School! And that’s just the short list!
 
If that isn’t enough, your cash gift of up to $300 to Sedona Public Library or the Friends of the Sedona Library may qualify for the Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provision for charitable donations in 2021. If you are not itemizing, the CARES Act allows an additional “above-the-line” deduction for charitable gifts up to $300 for individuals, or $600 for joint filers. Visit IRS.gov and consult your tax expert for further information on this and all tax information.
 
Giving Tuesday is a day designed to encourage people to do good and a day that has inspired millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. We ask that you champion Sedona Public Library and the Friends of the Sedona Library.
 
These two community constants have been here to help the community for 55 or more years. Your support guarantees that our organizations remain strong and even better-prepared to meet community needs. And remember, you don’t have to choose just one way to support us—you could choose all three!
 
Please visit sedonalibrary.org/donate to make a matching gift, and visit fol-sedona.square.site to become a member of the Friends. Or stop by one of our locations: 3250 White Bear Road in West Sedona—the Friends’ Used Book Store is next door; or 25 W. Saddlehorn Rd. in the Village of Oak Creek.  As always, I’d love to hear from you, reach me at amackler@sedonalibrary.org.
 
From all of us at Sedona Public Library and the Friends, Happy Holidays, and Thank You!
 
Sedona Public Library
Column for November 26, 2021
Written by Anne Marie Mackler, Development Director