Town, LBK Foundation hopeful for library fundraising to continue this fall

Although the $3.5 million needed for an enhanced library on Longboat Key wasn’t raised by the deadline of Aug. 31, there’s still hope that the fundraising campaign can be extended. 

The Longboat Key Foundation was given a deadline by Sarasota County and the town of Longboat Key to raise $3.5 million for the county’s library project to include enhancements to a core library. Those enhancements would include a larger community meeting space and a terrace. 

Summer is a tough time of year for reaching the Longboat Key community, though, said Longboat Key Foundation Chairman Jim Brown. Town Manager Howard Tipton said the same, but both are hopeful that Sarasota County will extend the deadline. 

“The design is kind of on hold until we complete the fundraising,” Tipton said. "I think we’re going to have to go longer than (August), which was the original plan. I think everything is just taking longer, people are away and it’s harder to reach people. So I think that’ll get extended into the fall.”

Sarasota County is currently working on the design for a public library on Longboat Key located on the Town Center Green. The core library, about 8,780 square feet, is estimated to cost $11.1 million. Construction for the core library, as well as future operation costs, will be covered by the county. 

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After a series of public input sessions earlier this year, the county included the possibility of adding enhancements to the library after hearing from the community about its desires for outdoor space and the island's need for meeting space. 

That led to the enhancement options: a terrace that will cost about $1.5 million and an enhanced meeting room costing $2 million. This would bring the library’s total square footage to 11,230 square feet. 

But, to make the enhancements a reality, the county said private donations would need to fund those parts of construction. 

The Longboat Key Foundation had about 60 days, given the original deadline, to raise the $3.5 million throughout the summer. 

“Raising $3.5 million in small donations is not easy, and it’s not fast,” Brown said.

Brown said so far, the LBK Foundation has accumulated a little over $100,000 in small donations for the project. But to get the fundraising campaign moving forward, Brown said large donations are key. 

For large donations, naming rights are a possibility. According to guidelines set by the county’s Libraries and Historical Resources Department, a donor must fund 25% of the total estimated project cost to obtain naming rights. That would be a $3.65 million donation, with a total project cost of $14.6 million including the enhancements. 

There are people out there willing to make those donations, Brown said. Before the summer, Brown had conversations with donors interested in making a large gift, but now he said it's been difficult to get in touch with them. 

According to Brown, it has to do largely with the time of year and the fact that most residents are away or traveling for the summer. 

Tipton also mentioned having “positive” conversations with donors, but that the summer was not an ideal time of year for a large fundraising campaign. 

“I think we’ll have more success as we get into the fall,” Tipton said.

Hoping for an extension 

Brown said he thinks the best time to ramp up the fundraising campaign would be around November. When people return to the island and get talking about the project again, he thinks more momentum should pick up. 

“We’ve got to get this cranked up, but I think it requires people being here,” Brown said.

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Brown thinks that, based on previous discussions, Sarasota County would be willing to extend the fundraising timeframe. 

Tipton agreed and said he thinks that fundraising could extend through the fall season with the county still able to work on the design following that. 

The town of Longboat Key also has a joint meeting with the Sarasota County Commission on Oct. 23, which will be an opportunity to talk about the library project further, according to Tipton. 

“I know that there is a willingness to work with us as we try to get the right design,” Tipton said. “I don’t think anybody, Sarasota County included, wants to build a library that the community doesn’t appreciate as much.”