14 - Social Capital in Academic Libraries: A Model for Successful Fundraising

Summary

Introduction

The social future of libraries needs funding, and libraries need to fundraise. At a time when libraries struggle to connect their value to important stakeholders, fundraising is a vehicle for developing strong relationships built upon understanding and appreciation. Cases for giving are cases for relevance. The donor cultivation process includes the development and exchange of social capital between an individual and a fundraiser. Social capital is both the social network that evolves through an individual’s connections and the tangible outcomes of those connections. Connections between donors and the library engage individuals with the mission. A donation to the library is an expression of perceived value.

The Social Capital Fundraising Model is not new, but, as of this moment, it has a name. The model is already utilised across the non-profit sector, whether practitioners realise it or not. Building connections and relationships is fundamental to fundraising. The point of this chapter and the reason for the new name is to explain why social capital fundraising works and argue that its core element (social capital) be better understood and leveraged intentionally. By implementing a fundraising strategy that is designed to support and expand the social capital of others, fundraising activity will be more efficient and have better outcomes (King 2004). The social capital that the library, itself, builds through this informed practice will support and expand the impact of fundraising.

There is never enough funding, and often the exciting projects are the ones that get put on the back burner so as to meet the cost of basic resources. Philanthropic funding is an important and often transformative mechanism for not only filling in the gaps in funding but supporting the most exciting ideas, innovations and initiatives. These are funds that come from private sources, from individuals and philanthropic organisations. Unfortunately, recent studies on fundraising in the academic library reveal that while needs and expectations for raising private funds have gone up since the turn of the century, the resources acquired to fundraise have remained the same (Keith, Salem & Cumiskey 2018). This chapter makes a case for more support and encourages academic library leaders that the effort to get more support is worth it.