Friends of the Fort Lee Library

Supporting the Library through fundraising and volunteerism

Upcoming Friends Activities & Reminders

• Our bi-annual All Members meeting will take place via Zoom on October 25th at 6:30pm. We will have our election for president and secretary, end-of-year updates, a discussion about specific amendments to our bylaws.
• Check out our website for Becoming a Member of the Friends with online payment options, donate a book to the library, or Dedicate a Bookplate into a circulating book: https://flplfriends.org/
• Help us raise money every time you shop on Amazon. Login to https://smile.amazon.com/ with your regular Amazon username and password, select Friends of the Fort Lee Public Library from the list of charities, and the Friends will get 0.5% of your purchases from the AmazonSmile Foundation.(Just make sure to use https://smile.amazon.com/ instead of just amazon.com).

Who are the Friends?

We ended our second year with 170+ memberships and donated $7,500 to the Fort Lee Public Library, which includes contributions to the Library’s capital campaign, New York Times online subscription, a children’s program, and much needed additional ebook licenses. With the challenges of 2020, this accomplishment was all due to the considerable generosity of our members and the local community at large. Thank you!!

The Friends of the Fort Lee Public Library is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that supports library services through fundraising and volunteerism. We fulfill many of our volunteer and fundraising goals through the work of our Committees.

In conjunction with the library’s plans and goals, the Friends will decide which services to support and fund. Fundraising goals and services we will support are provided during our bi-annual full Membership meetings and monthly updates via email.

Further details are available https://flplfriends.org/ and all communication from the Friends to its membership is via email.

How Are The Friends Organized?

It is not a requirement to join a committee to be a Friend, but for those interested, we have two standing Committees: Membership and Book Sale.

Membership & Events is responsible for attending library and local events to encourage new members to join or solicit donations from the public. These committee members will be at a Friends’ table at various events throughout the year. They are our most public-facing members who promote joining the Friends and getting people involved. You can volunteer for as little as a few hours once a year or help at every event. There will also be opportunities for planning social events for Friends Members.

Book Sale is in charge of planning, day-of fundraising ideas, setting up, working at, and cleaning up after the annual library Book Sale that happens each September. This is easily our biggest fundraiser and most fun interacting with the public while helping to raise money for the Library. If you are willing to help plan the sale, and don’t mind lifting and sorting through boxes of books, this is the group for you!

Benefits of Membership

• Early access to the annual Book Sale in September
• Invitation to Members-Only events like an author “meet and greet”
• Members-Only social events/outings
• All dues and donations are tax deductible

Dues and Donations

All money collected, less minimal expenses, will be used to support library services. Donations may be made with or without membership dues. At this time, we prefer checks and will accept cash.

Dues are not prorated but we welcome new members all year long. Membership renewals are paid during the month of January each year.

Because the Friends is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, your membership dues and any other donations to the Friends of the Fort Lee Public Library may be deducted from your US federal taxes.  Email confirmation of your 2020 donations can be sent to any donors/members who request it by January 31, 2021.

Please complete your new or renewal membership online: https://flplfriends.org/join/.

How Else Can I Help the Friends

Help the Friends raise money for the Library every time you shop on Amazon. Login to https://smile.amazon.com/ with your regular Amazon username and password, select Friends of the Fort Lee Public Library from the list of charities, and the Friends will get 0.5% of your purchases from the AmazonSmile Foundation. Login through https://smile.amazon.com/ every time you shop on Amazon!

You can also donate books to the Fort Lee Library from its wishlist. 

I have a Library card, am I a member of the Friends?

No, although many of our members have a library card, only those who pay membership dues to the Friends of the Fort Lee Library are members of the Friends. Members are invited to Members-Only events (like our annual Book Sale’s Pre Sale), social outings, volunteer at Friends activities, and directly contribute to the enhancement of services at the Fort Lee Library. You can fill out a membership form to join us at any time!

Questions?

Please contact: President Michele Perez at flplfriends@gmail.com