Since 2003, the ALA Public Programs Office has worked toward building the Cultural Communities Fund, an endowment to ensure the ability of libraries and librarians to respond to community needs for cultural programming. Now more than ever, libraries are so much more than books and computers; librarians powerfully connect citizens to words and ideas, art and music, history and film, and connect one person to another through cultural dialogue.

The campaign to raise matching funds has had great success: in 2008 alone, ALA raised $257,000 toward the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Challenge Grant. The support of more than 450 individuals and organizations has brought the ALA Cultural Communities Fund within close reach of its ambitious goal of $1.4 million, but a final $52,000 remains to be raised before September 2, 2008.

At this critical moment, please consider a gift to the Cultural Communities Fund. Your contribution will secure your role as a founding member of this historic campaign to support vital cultural programs in our libraries and our communities. It is urgent that ALA reach this goal, both for the benefits the fund will reap for libraries and to safeguard ALA’s reputation for success. In order to take full advantage of NEH’s generous Challenge Grant, we need your support. Please contribute today at www.ala.org/ccf.

With questions, please contact the ALA Public Programs Office, publicprograms@ala.org