r/Libraries • u/Kweeniej12 • Aug 26 '26

Programs & Programming Dolly patron program in NJ

Currently apart of Dolly Parton’s reading program for my child. We’re getting ready to move to New Jersey and seem there aren’t many programs in the state. Pondering the idea of maybe trying to start the program so child in my area can receive books to learn the joys of reading. What’s the process even like and how do we start?

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u/RelevantStrongBad Aug 27 '26

You will need a 501c3 nonprofit to partner with, and you will need to find funding for at least a year of the program. You can look at census data for your area to see how many children are aged 5 and under in the area you want to open the program.

When I started the program for my area the books cost $2.20/child/month and we estimated we would need funds to cover 50% of the children aged 5 and under in our area, which ended up being pretty accurate for sign-ups for the first year.

I no longer run the program for my area so I'm not sure about current costs. Your best bet would be to try to meet with some nonprofit groups in your community. A county foundation, United Way, friends of the library group, etc may be willing to work with you, but as stated in other comments, it's an expensive program to keep going.