Many Ways to Give
Your generous support of the Cedar Rapids Public Library Foundation will help the Foundation fulfill its mission of enhancing and enriching library programs, services, and facilities.
There are many ways to contribute and support, including individual, corporate, and planned giving. Scroll down to learn more about each. Thank you for all your support!
Save the Date: Literary Vines
A Wine & Beer Tasting to Benefit the Library Foundation
Friday, April 18, 2025
6 - 8:30 pm
Downtown Library
450 Fifth Ave. SE
Mark your calendars! This fundraising event features literature-inspired tasting tables, music, and entertainment. Tastings include selections of wine and beer with heavy appetizers paired accordingly. All funds raised benefit the Library Foundation and Foundation-funded programs, including Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
Email Foundation@CRLibrary.org for sponsorship opportunities.
Individual Gifts
Your generous support of the Cedar Rapids Public Library Foundation helps our library deliver innovative programs and services that meet our community’s needs.
The Library Foundation accepts cash and appreciated stock, company matching gifts, and has a monthly giving program called Exemplary Givers outlined below. Your gift to the Foundation makes a difference in our community every single day. We sincerely appreciate your support.
If you wish to mail in your donation, please download a Gift Form and return to the Library Foundation. If you wish to make a gift online, please click the Make a One-Time Gift button below.
Recurring Gifts: Become a Literacy Leader
Monthly donors to the Library Foundation are known as Literacy Leaders. By making a monthly gift to the Foundation, you are helping support the Cedar Rapids Public Library’s efforts to impact library patrons and our community.
Your recurring gift as a Literacy Leader allows you to spread your donation throughout the year while providing a steady stream of support to the Library Foundation. Your monthly donation of $10 or more is an easy way to make a big difference.
Tributes and Memorials
Memorial and tribute gifts are a thoughtful way to honor those we love and admire. Tribute gifts may be unrestricted or designated. In some cases, a bookplate acknowledging your honoree(s) may be placed inside an item in our Library’s collection. Please contact the Library Foundation at 319.739.0411 to learn more about these options.
If you wish to mail in your tribute gift, please download this Tribute Form and return to the Library Foundation. If you wish to make a gift online, please click the Make a Tribute button below.
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Sustaining Donors
With more than 9,100 children ages 0 to 5 living in Cedar Rapids, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library wouldn’t be possible without generous gifts from people like you.
Our Imagination Library Sustaining Donor program is designed to give the gift of literacy throughout the year. Sustaining Donors making a recurring monthly gift of $10 are providing books for five children every month (60 books per year).
Library Champions
The Foundation’s Library Champion Program offers the opportunity for local organizations to support your Cedar Rapids Public Library’s innovative programs and services. Library Foundation contributions support the Library’s efforts to impact our community and transform quality of life through education, civic engagement, the arts and entertainment.
Annual gifts through the Foundation’s Library Champion Program are essential for the Foundation’s ability to support the Library’s mission and vision as a passionate advocate for literacy and lifelong learning. Please join other organizations in the Foundation’s Library Champion Program.
To enroll in the Library Champion program, please download the enrollment form and return it via mail to Cedar Rapids Public Library Foundation, 450 5th Avenue SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52401.
Library program and event sponsorships may also be available. Please contact the Library Foundation at (319) 739-0443 or foundation@crlibrary.org for more information on sponsorship opportunities.
ABC Disposal
Alliant Energy Foundation, Inc.
Area Ambulance
Bankers Trust
BankIowa
Benchmark
Bradley & Riley, PC
Cargil, Inc.
Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust
Giacoletto Foundation
Collins Aerospace Charitable Corporation
Collins Management Club
GreenState Credit Union
Hands Up Communication
Hawkeye Area Labor Council AFL-CIO
Hills Bank
Holmes Murphy & Associates
Hughes Nursery & Landscaping
IBEW Local 405
Informatics
International Paper Foundation
In Tolerance Contract Manufacturing
ITC Midwest
Kingdom Filmworks, LLC
King's Materials
Knutson Construction
Linn Area Credit Union
McIntyre Foundation
Ohnward Bank
OPN Architects Incorporated
Raining Rose, Inc.
RAYGUN
Rayser Holdings
Shepard Financial Services, Inc.
SMART Local 263
Sunrise Builders
Theisen's Home, Farm, & Auto
Tricon Construction
UFG Insurance
Ada Van Vechten Society
The Ada Van Vechten Society is named for Cedar Rapids community leader and Library founder Ada Amanda Van Vechten. In 1894, Mrs. Van Vechten was one of several women who initiated a campaign to found a public library in Cedar Rapids. After much effort, the matter was brought to voters in March 1896. The measure passed, and a free public library was created. In the Library’s book The First 100 Years, it was written that “Van Vechten, whose leadership had created the free public library, would continue to care for the new institution as a mother would nurture her child.”
The Ada Van Vechten Society honors those who are committed to caring for and nurturing the Cedar Rapids Public Library now and in the future. A person becomes eligible for membership upon receipt of written notification of the Cedar Rapids Public Library Foundation’s inclusion in his/her estate plans.
To learn more about leaving a literary legacy and how to prepare your will, please visit our planned giving website.
