What An Impact HALO Made!

As of March 1, 2021, after almost a year of raising money to support out of work library workers during COVID, the EveryLibrary Institute has sunsetted the HALO (Help a Library Worker Out) Fund.

We are grateful to over 600 people who along with 12 capacity-building vendors and organizations, donated over $87,000 to help nearly 400 individuals in need during the depths of the pandemic-related layoffs and furloughs. With Congress considering the American Rescue Plan to extend pandemic unemployment insurance into 2021 and a wider rollout of the coronavirus vaccines, this mutual aid program has hopefully run its course. The program began on March 20, 2020, with a call-for-donations and made its first Grants to individuals on April 8th.

Your donations to the EveryLibrary Institute help us support libraries through research, training, and public education.

Our Accountability and Transparency

Total Raised: $88,865

Individual Donors: 603
Raised from individual donors: $38,965
Average Donation: $65.15

Raised from vendors and orgs: $48,900

We are extraordinarily grateful to the team at Urban Librarians Unite and at the Awesome Libraries Foundation for being the first donors. Corporate and vendor contributors sponsored over $45,000 in matching campaigns to help encourage individual donations. Many thanks to Ebsco, Gale Public Libraries, Niche Academy, Brainfuse, Zoobean, PKI International, Quipu Group, Library Works, and WT Cox for making a commitment to the people who run libraries - especially in this time of need. 

As a 501c3 non-profit organization, donations made to the EveryLibrary Institute are a charitable tax-deductible. 

88% of all donations were raised on the EveryLibrary Institute website
12% (or $11,249) was raised through Facebook Fundraisers

This program was 90% pass through to individuals in need with 10% of donations going to cover operational including:

3% to Stripe for credit/debit card transactions
4% for promotions on social media
3% for ELI overhead (checks and postage)

We can't support libraries without people like you!
Please consider a $25 donation today.

Recipient Insights
Recipients were asked to self-certify their eligibility for a one-time HALO Grant of no more than $250. 

397 recipents 
$79,978 awarded 
$201 average grant

These grants to individuals and families were "unrestricted" and do not have a requirement to be paid back. The application process was confidential and easy to complete. 

Eligibility for a HALO Grant: 

• Individual library workers, staff, or librarians who have lost wages because of a Coronavirus-related layoff.
• Library workers, staff, and librarians whose spouse, significant other, co-parent or housemate has lost wages or a job because of a Coronavirus-related layoff or reduction in hours.

Needs communicated by recipients included household expenses like groceries, child care, cell phone, internet, gas, insurance, and other bills. 

"This will help me cover the cost of my medications while my library is closed. I’m only part-time so I don’t have insurance to help." - D.B.

"The HALO Grant has been a huge help to me, as I am currently still waiting for my unemployment claim to go through." - G.R.

"This is groceries for my family until unemployment starts." - S.C.

"This donation will be such a blessing in my life this week. I truly appreciate it." - K.S.

"I just received the HALO Grant in the mail. Thank you so much. I have to get my wisdom teeth removed so this is a big help." - N.C.

Thank you to all our donors for helping us help library workers at this time of crisis. 

Special Thanks To Our HALO Sponsoring Organizations