The FSDPL Board of Directors is pleased to announce that applications to apply for an ET Perry Centennial Chapter Grant are now available.

The grant program honors ET Perry for his decades of dedicated service to the FSDPL and the city’s libraries. ET really cared about assisting smaller chapters that were struggling to serve their libraries—especially in under-resourced areas.

The grants provide financial support to affiliate chapters that are facing organizational challenges. These might include, but are not limited to, helping the chapter function better, building its board, increasing its membership, improving engagement, or serving its community better.

The grants are awarded annually, with one or more of the FSDPL affiliate chapters selected for the award each year. Priority will be given to chapters that have never received a grant or that have not received one recently. To be eligible, chapters must be in good standing (that is, paid their dues and, unless waived, their share of the FSDPL’s insurance costs) and be current with reporting requirements: number of volunteers, volunteer hours, and an annual financial report on file.

The application form asks each chapter seeking a grant to indicate the area(s)—board recruitment, membership recruitment, publicity and communication, effective fundraising, team-building support, and/or other—in which support is needed and to provide a narrative describing the issue(s) the chapter wants to address, how much money it wants, how it plans to use the funds if it receives a grant, and what outcomes are expected to be achieved.

The grant program is not intended to help chapters simply sponsor programs for which they would otherwise have to pay out of their own resources; however, grant money can be used for programs if their main purpose is to strengthen the chapter.

If your chapter is considering applying for a grant, you may want to contact the Oak Park and/or Paradise Hills chapters for guidance, as both submitted very effective applications in 2022.

Chapters receiving grants will be required to periodically report, relatively simply, how they’ve used the funds and progress they’ve made toward meeting the outcomes they hoped to achieve.

Please note: Applications for a FY2024 ET Perry Centennial Chapter Grant must be received by December 31, 2023, to be considered. If you have any questions, please contact Sarah Clayton (sarahclayton255@gmail.com).