Strategic service planning serves as the critical foundation for successful library fundraising for several interconnected reasons:
Alignment with Fundraising Timelines
The timeline mismatch makes planning crucial. Once a library identifies a capital project need or priority, securing private funds typically takes 6 months to 2 years. Capital campaigns require even longer timeframes even up to 3-5 years from initial prospecting through final pledge realization. Without advance architectural service planning, libraries would constantly be scrambling to fundraise for immediate needs, missing opportunities because donors require substantial lead time for consideration and decision-making.
Creating a Compelling Case Statement
Service planning with our architectural team will generate the narrative that donors need to hear. The strategic service planning process becomes the basis for the fund-raising case statement—the document that articulates why the library needs support and what impact donations will achieve. Without a well-thought-out architectural service plan developed with community input, fundraisers (e.g. library foundations) lack a compelling, coherent story to tell potential donors about the library’s vision and priorities.
Here are a few links to get you started:
Take a look at promotion ideas for the library.
Establishing a Library Foundation
Identifying Fundable vs. Non-Fundable Priorities
Not all library needs are equally attractive to private donors. The strategic service planning process, when done jointly with development staff, allows the library to distinguish between:
- Basic services (difficult to fund privately, as donors view these as government responsibilities)
- Enhancement projects (more fundable, as they add amenities beyond basic tax-supported services)
- Collections (an exception—always fundable despite being a basic service)
This distinction prevents wasted fundraising effort on priorities unlikely to attract donor support.
Without that initial strategic service plan, your library modernization project will lack the direction for their fundraising efforts. We have to demonstrate to donors how their gifts fit into a larger, community-endorsed vision.
Practical Operational Benefits
Strategic service planning integrated with the foundation provides:
- Stakeholder review that keep priorities current and relevant
- Joint agreement between library and town development staff on fundable projects
- Appropriate involvement of foundation/friends and library boards in planning
- Long-term perspective that matches the multi-year nature of major gift cultivation
In essence, strategic service planning is essential because fundraising without it is like building a house without blueprints—you might raise money, but it won’t necessarily address your most important needs or resonate with donors who want to see their gifts as part of a thoughtful, community-driven vision for the library’s future.
