How We Built a Library with $550

This is the story of how an Instagram post ended up building one of the first libraries in the Helambu region of Nepal, following the 2015 earthquake. It is intended for the person looking for fundraising inspiration, the person researching collaborative partnerships or the person who would simply like to read a nice story of (almost) accidental success.

Scroll to the bottom for key takeaways.

The Instagram Post (background)

Last fall I was visiting my dad in Nepal. He founded a school there in 1989 and has just been reinstated as principal. The school was rebuilt after being destroyed during the 2015 earthquake, and now 118 students are enrolled.

One afternoon I was reading a novel and the kids ran up asking: "what are you studying?". As the conversation unraveled it became clear that these students - who could recite the UN charter, the mass of each planet and countless other facts from textbooks - had never ever read a piece of fictional literature. In a remote village where newspapers, magazines and the internet are not readily available, there are few opportunities to read anything but textbooks. How boring and formal does reading then seem?

I decided to buy a bunch of comic books for the students when I went to the capitol, Kathmandu. This led to a spontaneous Instagram post, with a small call-to-action:

I had no expectations, but quickly my inbox was filled with people wanting to donate to the comic book cause. I shared the same post on Facebook and within two weeks we had received $550 - enough to buy an entire series of comics!

Striking when the Iron is Hot (partnership)

With $550 in the bank we were ready to buy a bunch of comics! But I thought there was an opportunity for it to reach even further. We had gained some momentum and I felt that we would be able to find a partner who would be willing to jump on this ride with us. So my dad and I began by calling a NGOs who worked with book donations and education, in an attempt to find a donor willing to match our crowdfunded capital. We got in touch with Books for Change and arranged a meeting. By the end of the meeting they had agreed to match the funds we had raised, as well as pay for the creation of a library! They were excited that we were already working for their cause, they were impressed that we had managed to raise initial funds and they had all the resources to roll out the project.

We began building the library and within a few weeks we had regional artists decorate the walls and ceilings with illustrations. Thanks to all the individual supporters and Books for Change you can now find a library with literature in the hills of Helambu.

The Takeaways

• Tailoring a call-to-action: The narrative around comic books and 'fun reading' was the big selling point of the fundraiser. It was just as much about life quality as it was education. It was relatable. The call-to-action to send comic books to rural Nepal was different and less serious than so many others. We won on highlighting an area that wasn't obvious. The lesson learned is to look for unique, daily life needs that donors across the globe may never have thought of before.
• Lowering the 'entry barrier': There is nothing worse than feeling like a donation didn't make a difference. The fundraising success was also largely hinged on the fact that all donations from $1 had an instant impact - so it didn't feel like a big ask. But that didn't mean that people stuck to small donations: the average donation was $20. Once the entry barrier was lowered, everyone could participate! This meant that people could see themselves as potential donors and got engaged in the cause.
• Partnerships are key: By reaching out to an appropriate NGO we managed to double the budget for books, get an entire library sponsored and access their expertise in culturally appropriate literature. When approaching a potential partner, we were prepared with the following: 1) an understanding of their previous work, 2) a clear outline of how our interests aligned, 3) concrete suggestions to what the collaboration may look like (e.g. matching funds or donating specific items), and 4) a presentation of the work you have already done in the area. The fact that we had already raised funds for literature made a strong impression on Books for Change - it proved that we were a partner who shared their interest in promoting literacy, and therefore would take good care of a library and actively use it.

Feel free to reach out if you would like to hear more about this project or have questions regarding our experience with fundraising/partnerships. You can still donate towards buying more fictional ('for pleasure') books for Yangrima School here.