The Veterans’ Memorial Library is a public library historically funded by the town of Patten Maine. The group doing the fundraising for the new library and community center is a separate 501(c)3 the Friend’s of the Veterans’ Memorial Library. The Town of Patten and the Friends of Veterans Memorial Library and Community Center (Friends) are in the process of entering into a long term Memorandum of Understanding. The goal is for the Town to continue to cover the staff and other expenses associated with the library while the Friends raise the money to build and maintain a new library and community center.
The first major grant received by the Friends was an award of a $3.9M Congressional Designated Spending grant from Senator Collins office. Since receiving notification of award we have worked to develop a programming and construction plan with community support and buy-in to meet the current and future needs of the northern Katahdin Region.
To date an additional $303,425 in foundation and individual giving as well as $50,000 in in kind services have been raised. Money has been expended to purchase the land, do a brownfields assessment, hire a capital campaigner and solicit marketing support, as well as hire Haley Ward Architects and Engineers to work with the Friends, the Town, and the community to put together the initial design documents and budget.
Based on that budget we need to raise an additional $1.16M in order to build the library and community center needed by the community. The additional funds will come from a combination of state grants, private foundations, sponsorships and individual donations. An endowment of $1M will also be added to the fundraising to support ongoing operations and management.
The Friends have no employees. Rather it has a completely volunteer board willing to put their time and talents towards this endeavor. We calculate the value of their in-kind support during the three year period of the grant will top $577,762.
The budget estimates were provided by Haley Ward and have been vetted by local contractors to ensure that they meet current market conditions both with labor and supplies. Once construction begins it will take 12 to 18 months to complete.