This week, I have been diligently working on Library Build's 501c3, or, tax exemption application. Basically, this involves showing the IRS that Library Build will attract a healthy level of financial support from the general public and that we intend to solely serve the public interest - in other words, we are not a private foundation or a for-profit corporation. After we submit the application, we will hopefully receive an advance ruling that will give us 5 years to prove that we have met these qualifications. However, this is simply the latest mile in what I can only describe as a marathon that must be finished before even the first book can be purchased for a deserving school. Today I will begin to describe what we have done up until this point and where we are today.
In September, Callie began her field placement as a University of Pennsylvania social work student at a North Philadelphia primary school. She immediately noticed two things at the school: 1) No playground 2) No Library. Neither 1) nor 2) is entirely true however. As for the playground, there was a slab of asphalt outside that the kids were allowed to run around on - every now and then. As for the library, well, there were about 300 books and there were exactly 3 computers. The school's enrollment is more than 750 students. The 'library' was overseen by a quite crotchety staffer who refused to let students actually check out the books. And those 3 computers? Callie never actually saw one turned on, let alone actually being used by a student. The saddest part is, this school is actually considered as having a library in the statistics provided by the Philadelphia School District and in national surveys, such as those conducted yearly by the Department of Education.
The purpose of my narrative is not to assign blame, malign the school district or call for changes in city or national leadership - there is time for that later as appropriate. The purpose is to help folks understand that basic resources are lacking in our schools. Our children do not have the opportunity to graduate, enter the workforce or educate their own children. These noble goals are simply unattainable if a child can not read. If we both want and expect our children to read and succeed, we must provide the resources necessary for them to learn. This starts with books, computers and teaching capacity.
* * *
After a couple of months of research into what or who could provide this particular school in North Philadelphia with some library resources, we came up short. We found a few nonprofits that provide books, others that train teachers, and some that offer computer equipment, but none that would provide a long term sustainable increase in resources that the school needed. Beyond this school, our research revealed the staggering number of Philadelphia schools without even the library resources of this school - some 63% have no library at all, according to District statistics. Thus the contemplation surrounding the formation of Library Build began. We began to work on developing a complete business plan that we could use to apply for funding, recruit support, and ensure our plans would have the best chance for success.
By December, Callie and I had decided to officially begin Library Build - there was just no other way to get the job done. We filed Articles of Incorporation in Pennsylvania and incorporated as a nonprofit. Soon, we had obtained an Employer Identification Number from the IRS, opened a corporate bank account and obtained a Post Office box. Meanwhile, we applied to various competitions that promised both funding and recognition (the latter of course helps with raising even more money). In February, we had some success with the Harvard Pitch for Change competition and enjoyed traveling to Boston to compete and pitch our idea to a wide audience.
Next time, I will discuss how we managed to recruit a fantastic board with a wide array of talents, what has happened recently and what our plans are for the rest of the year.
No comments:
Post a Comment