Book Industry Charitable Foundation Launches Year-End Fundraising Campaign

The Book Industry Charitable (Binc) Foundation kicked off its year-end campaign on Tuesday, November 28, also known as #GivingTuesday. In light of the series of natural disasters and growing awareness of how Binc can help booksellers through emergencies, this year’s campaign is called #MoreThanEver.

The #MoreThanEver fundraising campaign began on #GivingTuesday with a series of Facebook fundraisers aimed at earning a share of $2 million in matching funds being offered by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The campaign will continue through the remainder of 2017, with the aim of raising $20,000 to help booksellers in need of disaster relief, homelessness prevention, and more. The Binc Board of Directors and a founding member of the foundation are also offering to match donations from individuals and stores up to a total of $8,000.

#GivingTuesday, a global day of giving that encourages philanthropy, began in 2012. Held annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping events, #GivingTuesday kicks off the holiday giving season and aims to inspire people to collaborate on improving their local communities and giving back to the charities and causes they support.

“We know people have a wide variety of wonderful charities vying for their support on #GivingTuesday,” said Binc Executive Director Pamela French. “We are incredibly grateful to our supporters who are using their voice on Facebook to strengthen the bookselling community. Just a few minutes to set up a fundraising post can make a world of difference to a bookseller in need.”  

For #GivingTuesday, Ingram Publisher Services LLC donated more than $10,000 to Binc on behalf of its publishing clients, including those with Publishers Group West, Consortium Book Sales and Distribution, Two Rivers Distribution, Ingram Academic, and Ingram Publisher Services.

“Known as the ‘bookseller’s safety net,’ Binc truly makes an impact to help the book industry, and has helped boost the morale of our community,” said Mark Ouimet, vice president and general manager for Ingram Publisher Services, Publishers Group West, and Consortium. “We believe the best way to thank our publishers for an amazing year is by honoring them in the most positive way possible with a donation in their honor to Binc.”

Donations can be made to the #MoreThanEver year-end campaign here. Industry leaders that would like to support Binc can e-mail Director of Development Kathy Bartson or call her at (734) 471-0201.

“We are facing unprecedented need in the bookselling community,” French said. “#MoreThanEver is our rallying cry to help booksellers when tough times hit. Their efforts to provide a hub for community and knowledge should be celebrated, and their livelihoods should be protected.”

Since its founding in 1996, Binc has provided more than $6.4 million in scholarships and in financial assistance to bookstore employees who have a demonstrated financial need arising from severe hardship or emergency circumstances. Support for the Foundation’s programs and services comes from all sectors of the book industry. Booksellers can contact Binc at (866) 733-9064 or [email protected].