Fund Your Next Library Project Brian Pichman

NEFLIN October 30th 2013

There never seems to be enough money to do anything

WHAT YOU MUST HAVE ACCESS TOO

• Equally Motivated People• Volunteers• Staff • Patrons

ACCESS TOO - Volunteers• Don’t give them “busy work”• Ex. Cleaning Books

• Give them a tangible product, that they can be excited about• Start a new program• Help setting up for an event• Ask them for INPUT

ACCESS TOO - Staff• Have motivated and positive staff• Staff members who want to do more than just “check in and out

books”• Staff Development Days• Get them involved with programs / decision making

• Skill Assessment• Staff members all have unique skills / hobbies

• Create badges / shirts that help identify the staff members with those specific skills

ACCESS TOO - patrons• You probably know the needs of your patrons• But do you know the skills of your patrons?

• Identify which regular patrons have which skills• You will be very surprised how willing they are to help start a new

program at your library!• They may be willing to donate too• Or cater a program• Or buy equipment• Or donate old equipment

First Step:Branding Your Idea/Project/Library

Branding• Come up with a cool catch phrase, acronym, or other way to

describe your project.• Give your project a concise and easy to say name

• Promote your brand across Social Media• We will get to that later!

• Freebies• Everyone loves give-a-ways.

• Buttons and Stickers are inexpensive• T-Shirts/Posters are a bit more costly, but a walking billboard

• Get people wondering• What is Project X? Give people [patrons, companies, etc] small

snippets of what is going on

If you build it they will come

Stop the “thinking” about a project and just do itCall it “Beta”

Chattanooga 4th Floor• The 4th floor is a public laboratory and educational facility

with a focus on information, design, technology, and the applied arts.

• The 14,000 sq foot space hosts equipment, expertise, programs, events, and meetings that work within this scope.

• While traditional library spaces support the consumption of knowledge by offering access to media, the 4th floor is unique because it supports the production, connection, and sharing of knowledge by offering access to tools and instruction.

Step 2: Develop a pitch• Short (15 seconds-30 seconds)• Provide Teasers (ROIs)

• We have over 20,000 users and I want to bring in your technology to our library to encourage learning/engagement/collaboration. I have a few questions, if you can call me back at ###-###-####.

• If they do answer, schedule a time to conference call.

• Honesty• Be honest to who you are speaking with. Disclose budget for a

project.• You have the power• Keep in mind, you are choosing that product. Let those vendors

know that YOU picked THEM to be part of the library experience.• Explain how it’s a free marketing tool for them, they are getting

exposure in the community and/or library-land

ROIs• As a library, we invest in things that are provide a benefit to

our community that outweighs the cost of us purchasing it• Benefits > Cost

• Companies do the same thing, but their model is very simple:• Revenue > Cost

• Formula for dealing with companies or vendors, explain to them this model:• Our Benefits + Your Revenue > Your Cost

• Benefits are hard to put a price tag on …

Benefits for Working With Libraries

• Exposure• We have more control over purchasing power with books than

Barnes and Nobles plus Borders combined.• Explain the amount of patrons your library sees weekly/daily.

• Delivered Content• Companies spend a lot of money (from paying an employee) to

deliver their content (product or service) to their prospective buyers.• Libraries can deliver content, as it is our job to our community. • We also support all of our delivered content

• Community Support / Charity• Companies are often required to “give-back” to communities • Offer press releases, naming of chairs/rooms, etc.

Don’t Be Afraid to Work Up The Organizational Chart

Step 3: Building Relationships• Meet vendors/companies for breakfast/lunch/dinner. Talk to

them about your Brand and Pitch them your ideas• Share ideas and visions• Brainstorm and collaborate

• Become friends with your vendors/companies. • Do set clear boundaries• Have an additional meeting scheduled to talk about what they

are working on, upcoming technology, etc

What can you ask of people?• Donations of Physical Products• Donations of Money• Connections• Perhaps the most valuable of all.

Communicate Your Needs

Who to Ask

• Patrons• Local Businesses • Global or Large

Companies• Friends of the Library• Local Colleges and

Schools

How to Ask

• Directly• Phone Conversations• Face to Face Conversations

• Indirectly• Reaching out through

other mediums• Internet (Social Media)• Referrals (People)

So Where Can Money Come From?

Crowd-Source Funding• People across the world group together to fund new projects

and ideas• People are encouraged to donate by either the attractive

name or “awards” based off the amount they donate.

• Kickstarter.com• Indiegogo.com

Social Media• Market your “Brand” through social media• Also use Blogging tools

• Solid companies pro-actively manage their social media accounts.• They watch what people are saying because everyone else can

see what people say• They want only positive remarks about their company on the

web, they will work to only have positive comments. • If a company does provide assistance, always show your support

through social media • (you may need more support later on down the road).

Social Media is a way to develop relationships

Tips - Twitter• Try to remain positive when communicating on twitter• 140 Characters, make them count!• Wow! @COMPANYX has some really great stuff. I need to get my

hands on it• Who would like to see @PRODUCT in our library space?

• Once you build a good relationship ask the hard questions• Can you help me on the cost @COMPANYZ

Tips - Facebook• Go to the Company’s Pages, be sure to “Like” their page

before commenting• Again, be only positive. Tell your story, pitch your idea.

Handling Objections• You will hear “no”• A LOT

• But that just means phrased the question wrong or asked the incorrect person.• Who else can I talk to about discounted pricing/donations• Does anyone make a similar product that would be more inline

with our budget (ask them about their competitors).• What other things would you recommend?

• Don’t be afraid to ask the hard questions of “why”• Everyone has a bottom line.

Win-Win Negotiation

Just Ask

Places to save money• Buy Refurbished• Refurbishment is the distribution of products (usually electronics)

that have been previously returned to a manufacturer or vendor for various reasons. Refurbished products are normally tested for functionality and defects before they are sold, and thus are the approximate equivalent of certified pre-owned cars. - Wikipedia

• Refurbs are OK!!!• Discount Sites:• 1SaleADay.Com• Woot.Com• Monoprice.Com • E-Bay

Ask for Giveways• Companies love to provide “give-a-ways”• Just Ask!

Schools, Colleges, Universities

Developing Software• The cost to develop custom software is hard to put a price tag

on.• Ask Local Colleges/Universities for help• Their students are often required to seek project work (where

they don’t get paid).• Unpaid Internships • Pitch the experience to do something for library-land, great

exposure, great resume add. • Build development groups in your library.• Hire programmers/technology enthusiasts on your staff

Furniture for your library

• Maker Spaces• People pay a membership to be part of a

“MakerSpace” where the tools are provided for them to build

• Community Out Reach• Ask your community for help

• Ask local businesses to make monetary donations towards new furniture/rooms and let them advertise on it• If Fifty People Donate Fifty Dollars =

2,500 = Very Nice New Couch.

Bonuses for your patrons• Comcast Internet Access $10 a month (Internet Essentials)• http://www.internetessentials.com

• For the folks in school, using your @edu address get:• Free Microsoft Products at www.dreamspark.com• Free AutoDesk Products at http://students.autodesk.com

• SugarSync.Com• Free 5GB Storage Space for Backing Up Your Data

• http://tinyurl.com/BPSugarSync• After signing up, decline the yearly plan and use the free plan

• If you have to filter internet / protect from web based threats• OpenDNS.com

EveryLibrary• EveryLibrary• 1st Super PAC for libraries. Builds voter support. Come out and

drink at our fundraiser• http://everylibrary.org

Contact Me• Don’t be afraid to ask:

• Brian Pichman• Twitter: @Bpichman• Cell: 815-534-0403• Email: bpichman@evolveproject.org

• Sides will be posted on:• Slideshare.net/bpichman