We had a great time at our in-person board meeting last week. The Binc board has more than 360 years of combined book industry experience and most of their amazing work for the Foundation is done remotely. When the opportunity for them to work face-to-face presents itself, incredible things happen.
Before the official meeting, board members visited Ann Arbor bookstores and met with some local book industry supporters for Drinks with Binc.
The in-person meeting featured a brief overview of how the board helped Binc and booksellers through an unprecedented year in 2017. Board members were crucial in fundraising and awareness efforts following a relentless series of natural disasters.
In addition to discussing how the bookseller’s safety net performed in 2017, the board looked to the future of the foundation in 2018 and beyond.
One of the events our board is most excited about is the return of the Bank on Booksellers auction later this year. Bank on Booksellers is a great way to celebrate authors and illustrators while also helping protect booksellers from strife following emergencies. The week-long auction will provide booklovers the chance to win piggy banks decorated by some of the biggest celebrities in the book industry (and some from beyond!)
Another development that has our board eager for 2018 is our continuing awareness efforts in the world of comic bookselling. We’ve seen an outpouring of support and outreach efforts from comic industry leaders like Lion Forge Comics and Diamond Comic Distributors, which will go a long way toward ensuring comic book guys and gals from across the US will be able to find relief when the unexpected strikes.
Board members and staff are also looking forward announcing the launch of the Carla Gray Memorial Scholarship for Emerging Bookseller-Activists. Several of our board members had the pleasure of working with Carla. The memorial scholarship provides an opportunity for someone with fewer than five years of bookselling experience to attend a key industry trade show and to create a community outreach project at their store.
We love seeing our board work together to make the bookseller safety net as strong as possible and look forward to their continued leadership and guidance as we move forward. Join them in supporting the bookseller’s safety net and make a gift today!
Binc 2017 Impact Report Now Available
So many people in the book community came together in an extraordinary way in 2017, changing the lives of more booksellers than ever before. The stories of who our donors helped is powerful, however, we think you will be as impressed with the numbers from last year because they illustrate a very important point:
No bookseller was turned away!
Our donors gave us the resources to help every bookseller who turned to us with a need last year – Book people who suffered from serious medical conditions, faced unexpected injuries and accidents, and found themselves seeking new housing.
Generous book lovers, store owners, booksellers and other industry professionals helped book people from frozen Minnesota to storm-ravaged Texas, after the east coast hurricanes and the west coast wildfires and everywhere in between – booksellers from across the country who lost their homes, vehicles and all their belongings.
Please help Binc reach the booksellers who may need help by linking them to our website or encouraging them to contact us at (866) 733-9064 or help@bincfoundation.org