Established in 1986, the Chicago Public Library Foundation (CPLF) is an independent nonprofit that exists to accelerate the potential of our public library by investing in resources that transform lives and communities. For more than 30 years, we have connected individuals and corporations, neighborhood organizations and city agencies committed to building a stronger and more equitable Chicago. Together, we invest—at every level—in distinctive social impact opportunities that are uniquely accessible to everyone through our 81-branch Chicago Public Library system. These free services go above what is possible with taxpayer dollars in order to bridge divides, respond to changing community needs, and innovate within the field. Find us online at www.cplfoundation.org.

Throwing it back to your favorite 90’s fundraising a-thons, the Chicago Public Library Foundation Associate Board’s Read-A-Thon campaign is aimed at engaging readers of all ages from around the country—and world—to participate in an activity that is fun for many of us—reading!

Kicking off on April 5, 2021 during National Library Week and culminating on May 21, 2021, the anniversary of National Read-a-thon Day, this six-week campaign challenges readers to push their reading habits to the limit. Everyone is encouraged to challenge friends and family to see who can read the most while supporting Chicago Public Library in the process! Participation includes the chance to win prizes for your reading progress and invitations to the grand finale virtual celebration on May 26, 2021.

Read-A-Thon will run from April 5, 2021 to May 21, 2021. During this time, qualifying reading material you complete will count towards your reading total.

• Adult, young adult, and children’s literature books of all genres and lengths.
• Audiobooks and eBooks.
• Comic books, graphic novels, and manga.

Magazines, blogs, newspapers, and podcasts.

Get started with these simple steps:

• Create a JustGiving account or log-into your existing JustGiving account.
• Create a campaign page for Read-A-Thon.
• Set your fundraising goal to $25 (this is the registration fee).
• Pay the $25 registration fee by making a $25 donation to your own JustGiving page. There is no obligation to fundraise.   
• In the story section of your page, share why you are supporting Chicago Public Library and Library Foundation.
• Set your personal reading goal.

After completing a new book, log your activity using the ‘Log Books” button on your personal JustGiving campaign page.. Feel free to include any additional fun details you’d like, such the book title, author, length (pages or minutes), and genre.  

Prefer to use paper and pencil? Use the provided reading log to keep a running record of your reading accomplishments. If using the reading log, to earn prizes towards Reading Challenges, reading logs must be submitted by email to reverson@cplfoundation.org by 11:59 p.m. on May 21, 2021.

• Set a goal for the number of books you want to complete over the course of Read-A-Thon and encourage your family, friends, and network to support you and the Chicago Public Library Foundation through single donations. (Example: Jane Doe donates $25 to your campaign regardless of how many books you complete.)
• We recommend a total fundraising goal of $100 for individual participants, $500 cumulative fundraising goal for teams.
• Ask for support per-book (optional). Ask friends, family, and co-workers to support your reading goal by pledging to donate a certain amount for each book read.

Contributions to Read-A-Thon will support three key funding focus areas: Closing the Academic Opportunity Gap; Activating Creativity & Connection for All; and Bridging the Digital Divide. The free programs and resources that support these priorities make pathways to learning, creativity, and civic engagement accessible to all Chicagoans, and are available throughout the Library’s 81 branch locations and online platforms.

The Read-A-Thon finale will be a virtual event hosted over Zoom on May 26, 2021 7:00 p.m. (CST). Readers will receive an email invitation with the event link. If you opt out of emails, unfortunately, we will not able to email you the link. Tune into the finale for the announcement of our reading challenge winners, raffle recipients, and exciting updates from several special guests.

No, you do not have to be present to win. Attendance is encouraged. All winners will be notified via email, so raffle entrants must provide a valid email address. If you opt out of emails, unfortunately, we will not able to email you the link.

If you are the team administrator, after your personal JustGiving page has been created, select ‘Create a Team.’ Share the team name with your team members so they can easily link to your page.

If you are not the team administrator, after your personal JustGiving page has been created, select ‘Join a Team’.Search for the team name created by your team administrator and select “Join a Team’. Limit 6 members per team.

Yes! Donors can visit and donate to as many pages as they’d like. For convenience, individuals who register with JustGiving can save payment methods in their own JustGiving.com account for future donations.

Send an email to info@cplfoundation.org with your question(s) and contact information. Our volunteers and staff will respond within 24 hours to assist. Your fundraising success is a win-win for your team and the Chicagoans you empower.

Yes. Blackbaud our merchant card processing service, makes every effort to protect your information. They use industry-standard SSL encryption techniques to make sure that your credit card information, passwords, and personal information are secure.

Blackbaud is a marketing infrastructure service provider offering advanced Internet fundraising solutions to charitable, educational, and political organizations. Blackbaud is headquartered on Daniel Island, SC.

As your donors make contributions, they can control whether their donations are public or anonymous. If you do not see a name or comment, the donor may have opted to remain anonymous or not make a comment on your page.

Remember that your username and password are case sensitive. If you go to the Read-A-Thon home page and click “log-in” you will find an option to have your username and/or password emailed to you again. If you still have problems, please contact JustGiving support here. It may take up to 24 hours to receive a response.

Blackbaud and the JustGiving fundraising platform make their software available for free to non-profit organizations everywhere. The software can be supplied for free because supporters like you add a tip to their transaction to cover software development and operations costs. We appreciate you tipping so that more donated funds can directly benefit Chicagoans of all ages who depend on the services available through Chicago Public Library.

The Chicago Public Library Foundation gladly also accepts gifts by mail via check or Donor Advised Fund. Please direct contributions to:

2021 Read-A-Thon
Chicago Public Library Foundation
200 W. Madison Street, 3rd Floor
Chicago, IL 60606