The Shasta Library Foundation honored an endowment bequest from Doris May Johnson at a reception with her heirs on February 13, 2015 at the Redding Library.
“Our mother used the Redding Library for many years as she loved to read and encouraged her children to love reading as well. Mom also came to the new Redding Library and enjoyed looking through the books as she was an avid reader into her nineties,” noted Lorraine Johnson, Mrs. Johnson’s daughter. “I believe this is why she left a sizable donation to the Shasta Public Library.”
Doris Johnson has been permanently recognized as a member of the Shasta Library Foundation’s Legacy Society with a plaque in the Foundation Room at the Redding Library. “Planned gifts to the Shasta Library Foundation allow you to obtain a small piece of immortality for you and your loved ones. It also allows the Shasta Library Foundation to provide resources for library books and materials, not just today, but for generations to come,” commented Pamela Hill, President of the Shasta Library Foundation. “To date, thanks to the generosity of our community, the Foundation has almost $1.5 million toward its $4 million goal for the Endowment Fund. Through her bequest, Ms. Johnson will enrich the lives of countless others who enjoy the resources of the public library.
Shasta County remains in the bottom quarter of per capita funding for libraries and has about half the collection it should for its population. In 2014, there were almost 630,000 items circulated and over 2.3 million visits to the Redding, Anderson, and Burney Libraries. Public funding keeps the libraries open and operational but a partnership with the private sector is necessary to keep up with growth in demand for library services.
The Shasta Library Foundation’s Endowment Fund is a long-term solution that will help financially support the Shasta Public Libraries in Redding, Anderson and Burney in perpetuity. Donations to the Endowment Fund are never spent – only a percentage of the earnings can be used to provide funds for the library. As the Endowment Fund balance increases, its earnings also increase and provide additional resources to supplement library funding.
In the past two decades, the Shasta Library Foundation has donated almost $550,000 from endowment earnings, donations and grants to the Redding, Anderson, and Burney Libraries.
The Shasta Library Foundatioon is a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to raise funds for an endowment to support the ShastaPublic Libraries.
– Press Release
