Steps to Become A Local Program Partner
The Imagination Library of Washington is thrilled to partner with local organizations to bring the gift of literacy to Washington's early learners and inspire a love of reading and books. Below are the necessary steps to launch an Imagination Library program.
CLICK HERE to download the Local Program Partner FAQ's.
Step 1: Check Availability
If you’re interested in starting a local program for the children in your community, first check to see if the Imagination Library is already offered in your community.
What do you need to consider to get started?
- Partnering with a Non-profit (501c3)
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We mail books at special non-profit mailing rates, and a non-profit partner must be involved to qualify for these rates.
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- Registration & Enrollment Plans:
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How will your organization grow enrollment? The Imagination Library of Washington staff can help you with outreach to families, aligning with community partners, and marketing assets.
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Funding:
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You will need to identify financial support to sustainably cover the wholesale cost of the books and mailing ($2.60/book). You will need to identify your service area and eligible 0-5 population.
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How much funding do you need for an Imagination Library program?
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Decide on the geographical area you would like to cover – such as a county, city, school district or zip code(s). The goal of Imagination Library of Washington, and the State of Washington is to have one local program partner in each of Washington's 39 counties so all children in Washington have access to enroll in DPIL.
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Find the 0-5 population from a census website. Try the US Census Bureau.
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Enter the 0-5 population into the Cost Estimator on the DPIL website. (DPIL utilizes the most current Census data)
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Imagination Library of Washington, through legislative funding and private donors, provides each local program partner 50% match funding to leverage the monthly cost of books and mailing.
Common financial supporters/non-profit partners:
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Service Clubs (Rotary, Kiwanis, Altrusa, Junior League, etc.)
- United Way organizations
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Friends of the Library groups
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Local education foundations
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Local businesses
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Chambers of Commerce
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Individual donors
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School Districts
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Community Foundations
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Fiscal Agents
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Start your own 501c3
Step 2: Putting the Pieces in place
Contact the Imagination Library of Washington staff to discuss your options.
- Talk through service area & cost
- Work with ILWA and connect with Rachel King, DPIL Senior Regional Director, to complete the DPIL Local Program Partner Memorandum of Agreement
- Get the ILWA sample Memorandum of Agreement and New Program Partner Information Sheet – the two documents that we’ll put in place to outline our relationship and capture key information
NOTE: all Washington local program partners must complete a Washington AND Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL) Memorandum of Agreement
Step 3: Build your team
Key roles to consider:
- Chairperson – a person to coordinate the effort
- Fundraising – to sustainably identify and collect local funds
- Enrollment – plan where and how to enroll children, oversee registration brochure distribution (if using) and marketing campaigns
- Database – entering new registrations, accepting pending online registrations, updating addresses, utilizing reports in the Book Order System (BOS)
- Community Outreach – collaborate with other local organizations and coalitions. Also may collect undeliverable books from your local post office
- Family Engagement – plans efforts to encourage parents to better engage their children through DPIL books and read more often
*TIP – Also consider engaging other community partners to build coalitions and collective impact strategies. Ask your Regional Director for help with ideas and informative docs.
Step 4: Fundraising
Budget
- Engage your support team/board of directors for contacts
- Consider putting together an advisory council to assist
- Identify potential funding partners and begin meeting with them
*NOTE– At this point you should have a good plan outlined: an idea of the funds you will need, community details/facts and partners who are willing to help – this will all help make your ask more clear and direct.
Step 5: Complete and Submit Required Program Partner Documents
- Return completed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) and New Program Partner Information Sheet to Washington’s Executive Director and the MOA to the DPIL Senior Regional Director.
- Submit USPS form 3623 or 3624 (if non-profit hasn’t already done so) to local post office and return the non-profit authorization code to your Regional Director
- You'll receive access to the Book Order System to learn the enrollment and mailing process
Step 6: Make Final Preparations and Launch!
BOOK ORDER SYSTEM (BOS) LOGIN
Receive your Book Order System login information and operations manual. Work with Washington’s Executive Director to answer any questions and provide support to your organization. The database is not difficult to manage, but does take some time to learn.
IMAGINATION LIBRARY PROFILE
You will need to update your profile on the BOS portal so that the book return labels are correct, parents can contact you to edit or add registrations. You may include the name of your sponsor on the monthly labels if you choose. (recommended)
ENROLL CHILDREN
You may now enter registrations into the BOS. Email us to switch to Operating status when you are ready to begin accepting online registrations and start mailing books!
WEBSITE
Your program information will be able to be accessed via the Imagination Library national website (imaginationlibrary.com). You aren’t required to create, pay for, or host your own website.
COMMUNICATING WITH PARENTS
MailChimp is the only approved email newsletter service acceptable by The Dollywood Foundation. Once you are established as a local program partner, you have the ability to connect the MailChimp email service to the Book Order System. While you are restricted from participating families for donations, you can communicate program information, community events and resources, or share exciting milestones.
LAUNCH
Think about planning a launch event to build awareness and excitement. Consider working with ILWA to plan outreach and awareness.
RESOURCES FROM DPIL & ILWA
Utilize available resources:
- Promotional materials available via DPIL & ILWA
- Imagination Library of Washington’s Executive Director, Brooke Fisher-Clark ([email protected])
- Imagination Library Local Program Partner Network
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