Make a Gift

Your ongoing support helps the Foundation respond to FVRLibraries’ greatest funding needs. It helps ensure our libraries can continue serving the community every day with essential collections and programs.

Giving these may have advantages, especially if they appreciated over the years. You may be able to avoid capital-gains tax and your gift can be larger.

When you support the Foundation through a corporate sponsorship, your business gains visibility in the community and meaningful connection for your employees — all while helping make lifelong learning and opportunity possible for everyone we serve.

Sponsorship opportunities include our annual Authors & Illustrators Dinner and other FVRL library programs as needed.

There are several ways to support your local branch.

Our Friends of the Library are our local library lovers supporting their branch programs and staff. And most of them also accept used book donations to resell at their stores.

And, you can make a donation to support your local branch projects and priorities. This is a wonderful way to support the branch you love.

A donation to support the collection is a beautiful tribute to a loved one. Please contact us to learn more about these donations.

The Foundation no longer accepts book donations, but some Friends of the Library groups do. Also, the Foundation cannot direct gifts to obtain specific items for the libraries’ collections. Thank you for your generosity and understanding.

If you’re 70½ or older, you can give directly from your IRA to the Foundation through a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) — supporting the libraries you love while potentially lowering your taxable income. If you’re 73 or older and subject to required minimum distributions (RMDs), a QCD can also satisfy some or all of that requirement, without the withdrawal counting as taxable income.

Note: QCDs must be made directly from an IRA to the Foundation and can’t be routed through a donor-advised fund.

A donor-advised fund (DAF) is one of the simplest, most tax-efficient ways to support the libraries you love. You contribute cash, stock, or other assets to your DAF and receive an immediate tax deduction — then recommend grants to charities like the Foundation whenever you’re ready, on your own timeline.

If you already have a DAF, recommending a grant to the Foundation takes just minutes through your DAF provider and can help strengthen library programs, collections, and long-term initiatives across the district. Your gift can support wherever it’s needed most, or be directed to a specific project — like the Washougal Community Library campaign.

Don’t have a DAF yet? Many donors find them an easy way to organize their giving, especially when contributing appreciated stock or planning gifts across several charities at once. Ask your financial advisor whether a DAF makes sense for your situation.

For help recommending a grant or questions about giving through your DAF, please contact Jenny Wilkerson.

A gift in your will or trust — sometimes called a charitable bequest — is one of the most meaningful ways to leave a lasting legacy for the libraries you love, without affecting your finances or lifestyle today. You retain full use of your assets during your lifetime, and your gift only takes effect after your other wishes are fulfilled.

Naming the Foundation in your estate plan is simple. Most gifts require only a few sentences added to your will, trust, or beneficiary designation — your attorney or financial advisor can help ensure the language reflects exactly how you’d like your gift used. You can designate a specific dollar amount, a percentage of your estate, or a specific asset, and you can choose to support the Foundation’s general mission or direct your gift toward a specific library, program, or fund.

Many donors also name the Foundation as a full or partial beneficiary of a retirement account, life insurance policy, or investment account — often one of the easiest ways to make a significant gift, since it requires only a simple beneficiary form and no changes to your will.

Whatever form your gift takes, it becomes part of your permanent legacy — helping ensure future generations have the libraries, programs, and resources that matter to you.

If you’ve already included the Foundation in your estate plans, or are considering it, we’d love to know so we can honor your intentions and, if you wish, welcome you into our Next Chapter giving society. For help with language for your will or trust, or questions about beneficiary designations, please contact Jenny Wilkerson.