Bonham Public Library Board of Directors receives Humanities Texas Relief Grant
By Humanities Texas
Sep 3, 2020
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Austin, Texas -- The Bonham Public Library Board in Bonham, Texas is the recipient of a Humanities Texas Relief Grant.

The library board of directors is a governing board made up of 15 directors (currently 13) and is a working board that develops library policies, plans programs, raises funds, and administers those funds, excluding those supplied by the City of Bonham. The board spends countless hours working on and creating crafts, painting pumpkins, baking, donating their time in supporting the library. Each year the library board has two fundraisers: Pumpkin Patch Bazaar in October and Books n Blooms in April. With these fundraisers the board raises the funds to purchase materials, provide programs and services for this community and the surrounding areas.

This spring the Library Board was not able to have its Books n Blooms fundraiser. Thanks to this Relief Grant of $10,000, the Library Board will be able to purchase McNaughton’s (Best Seller Books), pay our Tx Share Database and Overdrive and purchase more books so that the library can still enrich and empower lives through literacy, historical and cultural programs.

This summer, Humanities Texas awarded over $1.1 million to 198 Texas nonprofits that suffered losses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recipients include museums, libraries, preservation organizations and heritage and cultural centers, among many others.

These organizations offer historical and cultural programs that have significant impact within their communities. Humanities Texas aims to help these organizations remain vital in this difficult time.

"We are fortunate to have the opportunity to provide critical support to so many organizations across the state," said Humanities Texas Executive Director Eric Lupfer. "Looking ahead, we will continue to seek ways to assist Texas cultural and educational institutions in surviving this crisis."

“Our fundraising for 2020 had been greatly impacted by COVID 19,” said Library Board of Directors President Jo Ellen Clardy. “The Board of Directors is thankful to receive this grant to provide continued funding for materials and services that would have been reduced due to a shortfall in income from Books and Blooms and Pumpkin Patch.”

Funding for these grants has been provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act economic stabilization plan.