Friends & Foundation

​Help others in our community experience the wonders of the public library.​Make a gift today to the Friends & Foundation.

Click here for a full list of benefits.

• Online - Click here to give through our secure site using your debit or credit card
• By Telephone - Please call 785-843-3833 x 153
• By Mail - Please send your check, payable to: Lawrence Public Library Friends & Foundation (LPLFF), PO Box 973, Lawrence KS 66044
• In Person - Grab a membership pamphlet at the Lawrence Public Library welcome desk.

Volunteering with Friends & Foundation is a great way to give back to the amazing Lawrence Public Library. Each hour worked generates around $23.80 for Library programming!

Click here to get involved

We accept donations of books, CDs, DVDs and Audiobooks on the Kentucky Street  side of the library, 24/7 most weeks of the year.

Click here for directions and a full list of what we accept.

Leave a library legacy! ​You can help future generations enjoy library memories for years to come. Consider making a transformational gift to Lawrence Public Library through your will or estate plan that will cost you nothing during your lifetime. Any gift, large or small, can make a big difference over time.

More information at beforeyoucheckout.org

We invite you to join the New Chapter Society, our giving circle made up of the library's strongest supporters.

Two ways to join:

Annual Gift - Donors who make an unrestricted or restricted annual gift of $1,000 or more to the library.

Planned or Deferred Gift - Donors who make a bequest or other planned gift through their estate for the library's endowment.

​Membership benefits include opportunities to meet noted authors and recognition on the New Chapter Society donor wall in the library lobby.

Click here to join the New Chapter Society.

Is there someone special in your life you’d like to honor? Your gift to Lawrence Public Library's Honor with Books program is a thoughtful way to remember a special person or occasion while helping to build the library’s collection. The honoree, or member of the honoree's family, will receive a special card acknowledging your gift and a bookplate will be placed into the donated book acknowledging the donation.

There are two simple steps to this process:

1. ​Complete this form - let us know who you would like to honor, what kind of book you would like the library to buy, and your contact information.
2. Donate online or with a check - Minimum donation is $25 per book.

• Online - Click here to give online. Please note the honoree's name in the comment box.
• By Mail - If you would prefer to mail your gift, please send your check with honoree's name on the memo line to:Lawrence Public Library Friends and Foundation

  Attn: Honor with Books
  PO Box 973
  Lawrence, KS 66044We will send you a receipt for your gift and confirmation that the honoree or their family has been contacted.

If you are over 70 ½ years old and receiving IRA distributions, you can make a tax free gift of up to $100,000 to the Lawrence Public Library Friends and Foundation directly from your IRA.

How it works:

• Contact your financial advisor to initiate a transfer. The gift must come directly from your IRA administrator to the Lawrence Public Library Friends and Foundation.
• You must be age 70 ½ or older when the gift is made.
• The gift must come from an IRA or Roth IRA account.
• Total gifts from your IRA in any one year cannot exceed $100,000.
• The gift to the Friends and Foundation can count toward your Required Minimum Distribution if you have not already taken it for the year you make your gift.
• The gift from your IRA will be excluded from income.
• The gift from your IRA will not be available as an income tax charitable deduction.

The Friends and Foundation can accept many kinds of gifts, including appreciated securities, real estate, vehicles, works of art, life insurance policies, charitable trusts, memorials and bequest provisions.  In addition, many companies support the library by matching employee contributions. As a 501 (c)(3) organization, your donations to Friends & Foundation may be deductible for personal or corporate tax purposes.  Please discuss the deductibility of donations with your tax advisor.

We also recommend that you consult a finance professional for advice on the methods of giving that are most appropriate for your benefit as well as the long-term growth of the library. 

​For more information, please contact Kathleen Morgan at 785-843-3833 x 131, or by email at kmorgan@lplks.org.