The Library Support Network is for people who help raise money for public libraries. LSN is designed for people working in many kinds of public library fundraising settings, including library foundations, Friends groups, combined Friends and foundation organizations, in-house development teams, and libraries where fundraising is handled by staff, board members, or volunteers.

LSN membership is held at the organization level. That means one library, foundation, Friends group, or library-aligned fundraising organization joins on behalf of its team. Once your organization becomes a Member Organization, people connected to your organization can access member benefits.

This model helps LSN support the full team involved in public library fundraising, not only one person with one title. It also reflects how public library fundraising works in real life, where staff, boards, library leaders, and volunteers often share responsibility for fundraising success.

Each member organization should name one primary contact.

This person helps LSN keep your organization’s membership current and make sure the right people on your team have access. They do not need to be the most senior person in your organization, but they should be able to help with membership updates, renewal reminders, team access, and basic communication with LSN.

Your primary contact may help:

• Confirm who should be connected to your organization’s membership
• Share LSN updates with the right people internally
• Receive renewal reminders and membership notices
• Let LSN know when staff, board, or volunteer roles change
• Help new team members get started

You can update your primary contact if responsibilities change.

Your organization may include the people who help advance fundraising, donor engagement, advocacy, communications, board leadership, or public support for your library.

This may include:

• Foundation or Friends staff
• Library directors and senior library staff
• Development and communications staff
• Board members
• Volunteers with fundraising responsibilities
• Other team members connected to your library’s fundraising work

The goal is to help the people connected to your organization’s fundraising work participate in the network and use the resources available through membership.

LSN offers two main ways to participate: Community Access and Organization Membership.

Community Access

Community Access is free with sign-up. It is for people who want to stay connected to LSN and participate in selected community offerings without a paid organization membership.

Community Access may include:

• Selected community conversations and convenings
• Basic updates, posts, and shared resources
• Opportunities to connect with others working in public library fundraising
• Access to selected free tools and field insights
• A way to learn more about LSN before joining as a Member Organization

Community Access helps keep LSN information available to people across the field, especially those from small, rural, emerging, or under-resourced organizations.

Organization Membership

Member-only benefits are for people affiliated with a paid Organization Membership. These benefits offer deeper tools, facilitated peer learning, and higher-value resources.

Organization Member benefits may include:

• Member-only webinars and recordings
• Affinity groups
• Leadership Roundtables
• Member directory access
• Resource library access
• Benchline™ support and review opportunities
• Early or discounted access to selected programs
• Opportunities to help shape future LSN offerings

Where possible, LSN shares broader insights from member-only work back with the wider community so the field benefits, not only those inside paid membership.

LSN uses an organization-level dues model built around value and ability to pay. Suggested dues are based on an organization’s annual contributed revenue, but organizations may select the level that best fits their size, situation, and perceived value of membership. If you are looking for guidance, our recommendation is based on Annual Contributed Revenue from the most recent Form 990, Part I, Line 8, or Form 990-EZ, Line 1.

Membership is annual and based on the date of joining.

LSN is committed to access. The membership model is designed so organizations can choose a dues level that reflects their situation. LSN also recognizes that small, rural, emerging, and volunteer-led fundraising operations may have limited budgets.  Pick the level you can afford.  And, if it is still too much, contact us and we will find a way to make this work.

Start by helping your team connect. A good first step is to identify the people in your organization who should participate. Then, encourage them to join the online community, attend member programs, explore available tools, and ask questions.

To get the most value, members can:

• Complete their organization and individual profiles
• Attend an orientation or onboarding session
• Join relevant affinity groups
• Participate in webinars and member conversations
• Use templates, examples, and tools from the resource library
• Invite board or library leaders to relevant sessions
• Share questions, examples, and lessons learned with peers

LSN works best when members use it as both a resource and a network.

You belong here. Many people in LSN work in small teams, one-person shops, or libraries without dedicated fundraising staff. LSN helps you find peers, practical examples, and field-specific guidance so you do not have to build everything alone.

LSN is also built for experienced fundraising teams and larger library foundations. Member Organizations can use LSN to connect with near peers, participate in leadership-level discussions, share tested practices, benchmark their work, and help shape tools and field-level initiatives that benefit public library fundraising across North America.

No. Public library fundraising takes many forms. LSN serves library foundations, Friends group leaders, combined Friends and foundation organizations, in-house library development teams, and libraries where fundraising is handled by directors, staff, board members, or volunteers.

Consulting is separate from membership. Custom consulting engagements, such as board retreat facilitation, strategic planning, executive transition support, or mentoring, are fee-for-service.  This service is provided by seasoned public library fundraisers and foundation leaders.  

Please reach out via hello@librarysupportnetwork.org with questions about membership, access, dues, or where to begin. You can also ask questions through the LSN community platform once you have access.