Albany County Public Library Foundation
Helping a great library be even better.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The Albany County Public Library Foundation exists to make a great library even better. Albany County Public Library has three branches in Laramie, Centennial, and Rock River, Wyoming. It also recently acquired a mobile branch or bookmobile to better service the community. The public library is highly used but is located in a county with less resources. The ACPL Foundation provides needed financial assistance for one of the poorest public library systems in Wyoming. The organization works in partnership with the Albany County Government and Friends of the Library to ensure the library has the financial resources it needs to have a highly educated and helpful staff; to have its main branch open 6 days a week; to provide access to programs, technology, and materials; and to address the needs of the community.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Public library support for all ages programming
The Albany County Public Library Foundation provides financial assistance for library programs. The organization supports the entirety of the library's programming costs, except for staffing. The Albany County Public Library Foundation supports more than 1,000 programs each fiscal year for the library's community.
Where we work
External reviews

Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The Albany County Public Library Foundation passionately raises funding to support the Albany County Public Library. The organization's main goal is to provide a minimum of $60,000 to the library each fiscal year to support important purposes and projects. The ACPL Foundation strives to provide essential funding to the library on a schedule that works well for the library.
Other goals of the organization include: increasing the community's knowledge of the library foundation through outreach and collaboration; increase annual giving to increase the amount that can be provided to the library; and to find creative and innovative solutions and projects to better the library.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The Albany County Public Library Foundation accomplishes its goals by building strong donor relationships, being in sync with community and library needs, and having specific fundraising goals throughout the fiscal year.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The Albany County Public Library Foundation has a motivated and passionate board and staff to accomplish its goals.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Library Foundation Endowment: From March 2008 to March 2014, the Albany County Public Library Foundation took on the challenge of raising funds that were matched 3:1 by the State of Wyoming. The ACPL Foundation was one of the first libraries to complete the challenge, due to exceptional community support. Funds raised from the Albany County community totaled $242,463.00, for a match of $727,389.00 from the state. This endowment fund will always be an important asset to the public library. The principal of the endowment cannot be touched, but interest from the fund can be distributed on an annual basis. To date, the ACPL Foundation has succeeded in providing the requested funding to the library without touching the interest from the endowment.
Programs, Technology, and Materials: The ACPL Foundation provides significant support for the library to host programs, provide access to technology, and to have a wide variety of items in its collection.
Building Maintenance: The first goal for the organization was to assist the library in raising funds for the capital campaign to open the new library in 1981. That building is still in use today. The library has needed funding to make necessary updates. The ACPL Foundation has helped with the following building projects:
Installing air conditioning in the library
Installing new carpet and replacing furniture
Installing ADA compliant doors in the library’s main entrance
Assisting in the repaving of the parking lot
Renovating the library meeting room and historic Wyoming Room
Creating of the Janet Shively Memorial Garden on the north side of the building
Purchasing a new book/media drop
While these large capital projects are important, the basic building maintenance needs are equally, if not more important. The library regularly needs funding to make small repairs, to purchase building equipment, and to be prepared for problems.
Innovative Projects: The ACPL Foundation debuted its Restricted Fund Mini-Grant Program in 2018. Two of the ACPL Foundation named-funds, the Agnes Milstead Fund and the Love Family Fund, are designated for general library purposes. Each fiscal year a portion of these named-funds are provided to help the library. To better address areas with a lack of funding, the mini-grant program uses these funds to address needs and projects identified by library staff.
The library’s staff are eligible to apply for funding for the library each year. The mini-grant program works to facilitate professional development opportunities with staff, teaching skills such: as project management, grant writing, and problem solving. At the same time, the funded projects greatly benefit the library and the community. In 2019-2020, the ACPL Foundation is overseeing three mini-grants.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Albany County Public Library Foundation
Board of directorsas of 02/28/2022
Rajeev Patel
Rajeev Patel
Barbara Chatton
Jessica Flock
Brett Kvenild
Delilah Pasman
Terri Jensen
Aaron Lozano
Aimee Appelhans
Victoria Curtis
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 02/28/2022GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.