Thank you for considering a gift to MLA. Annual giving is an important measure of members’ attitudes and feelings about the Association. By participating you are showing your support for MLA and its valuable work. The gesture of your support is as important as the size of the gift itself. Any gift, of any size, helps MLA and is greatly appreciated.
Your donation will help ensure a successful and vital future for the Music Library Association. Gifts to MLA may be deductible as charitable contributions for Federal income tax purposes.
One of the rewards of making a charitable gift to MLA is knowing that your gift makes a difference. The Music Library Association supports a variety of scholarship through research and publication awards, and other special programs. Giving to MLA is also a wonderful way to honor the living or to remember the deceased. Contributions may be made by designation of a specific fund or to support MLA goals where funds are most needed. Gifts from individuals, organizations, businesses and foundations are critical to our mission.
You may make a donation to MLA any time either online or sending a check to the MLA Business Office at the address at the bottom of this page. Anyone can donate to the Association at any time, typically when members pay their annual dues, or at the annual conference. Non-members may also contribute using the guidelines specified below.
The value of your contribution can be doubled by you or your spouse/partner’s employer through the matching gift program. Add your voice today to the chorus of support by including your name on the growing roster of contributors.
To learn more about MLA's development initiatives and see recent donors, visit the Development page and find out why others donate to MLA.
Members and non-members of the Association can donate online.
If you are a member:
Use your login and password to access the online directory and at the site click "Donate."
If you are not yet a member:
Visit the MLA Online Directory and at the site, click "Donate" and complete the page. The form requires you to use personal information, including a login and password. Once you provide the information, you can proceed with your donation.
Payment can be made by credit card (VISA, MasterCard, or American Express), or you can select the mail-in option to print a formatted receipt to send to the MLA Business Office with your payment. (The address of the Business Office will print automatically on the form.)
Donations may take any of the following forms:
UNRESTRICTED DONATIONS
Those wishing to support MLA without contributing to a specific fund may consider an unrestricted contribution. MLA’s Board of Directors determines the use of unrestricted contributions based on the association’s current and future priorities.
GIFT OF STOCK
A gift of appreciated securities, such as stock and mutual funds, is an excellent way to support MLA. Not only is giving stock simple, but it can provide a greater tax benefit for you and your favorite charity than an equivalent cash gift. Please consult your tax/financial advisor for more specific details.
DONATIONS TO DEVELOPMENT FUNDS
Donors wishing to support a particular aspect of MLA’s mission have several development fund options. Contributions to these funds support the designated purpose either immediately or through growth of a designated investment. Donors can indicate that they prefer a socially-responsible investment vehicle for contributions that are invested.
- MLA Funds
- The MLA Fund
- Contributions to the MLA Fund insure financial security for the Association and support programmatic activities of the Association.
- Outreach / Travel Funds
- The Kevin Freeman Fund
- supports first-time attendance at a national meeting for an MLA member who has been a music librarian for no more than three years, a graduate library school student aspiring to become a music librarian, or a recent graduate (within one year of a degree) seeking a professional position.
- The Lenore F. Coral IAML Travel Fund
- supports the grant intended to help support travel and conference fees to attend an annual IAML meeting. This grant is awarded every other year and is open to all MLA/IAML members, with priority given to members attending their first or second IAML conference and who have not received this award in a previous year. Lenore Coral was the music librarian at Cornell University from 1982 until her death in 2005. She was an active IAML and MLA member, and was interested in helping to support younger members of the profession become active in the international music library scene.
- The Neil Ratliff IAML Outreach Fund
- covers the shipping expenses for the MLA/IAML Donated Music Project which are usually covered by the individual donor or donating institution. US libraries may apply to the Neil Ratliff IAML Outreach Fund for reimbursement of expenses. Applicants need not be IAML members. This fund is named in honor of Neil Ratliff, former head of the music collection at the University of Maryland-College Park, and a longtime member of IAML.
- Publication Funds
- The Vincent H. Duckles Fund
- supports MLA's annual publications awards: The Vincent H. Duckles Award for the best book-length bibliography or music reference work; the Richard S. Hill Award for the best article on music librarianship or article of a music-bibliographic nature; and the Eva Judd O'Meara Award for the best review published in Notes.
- The Michael Ochs Endowment Fund for Notes
- Michael Ochs established this fund in 2002 to create an endowment that would help assure the continuation of MLA’s journal. In its first two years, the fund received enough contributions from Association members to double in value.
- The O'Meara/Hill Fund
- supports the annual awarding of the Eva Judd O'Meara Award for the best review published in Notes, as well as the Richard S. Hill Award for the best article on music librarianship or article of a music-bibliographic nature. Eva Judd O'Meara was Yale University's first music librarian and one of the founding members of the MLA. Richard S. Hill was head of the reference staff in the Music Division in the Library of Congress, editor of Notes, and the first president of the International Association of Music Libraries (IAML).
- Lenore Coral/US-RILM Fund
- was established to honor the work of Lenore Coral, who served as Director of the US-RILM Office from 1984 until her death in 2005. The US-RILM Office oversees the submission of citations and abstracts for scholarly works published in the United States to the RILM database, and is supported by several scholarly associations (AMS, CMS, MLA, IAML-US, SAM, SMT). When fully endowed, income from the Lenore Coral Fund will cover MLA's contribution to the US-RILM Office's operations.
- Research Funds
- The Carol June Bradley Fund
- supports the annual awarding of the Carol June Bradley Award for Historical Research in Music Librarianship which supports research into the history of music libraries and music librarianship, as well as other broader topics related to the profession, e.g., research in special collections and library education. Carol June Bradley was the associate director of the University of Buffalo Music Library from 1967 until she retired in 1999, as well as adjunct professor of information and library studies which included co-directing the university's double master's degree program in music librarianship.
- The Dena Epstein Fund
- established by a generous gift from Mr. and Mrs. Mort Epstein, provides grants for archival and library research in American music.
- The Walter Gerboth Fund
- offers an annual grants in support of research in progress to a music librarian in the first five years of his or her career.
The Music Library Association invites you to become a member of The Founders Circle, a planned giving initiative that is designed to ensure the legacy of both the Association and the donor. The information below provides answers to a number of questions concerning planned giving, and the FAQs document further clarifies the terminology that pertains to planned giving. The FAQs also provide the Association’s business address, the date of its incorporation, and its FEIN number for tax purposes.
What is Planned Giving?
Planned giving is a vehicle for individuals to arrange for future gifts of money or property. (MLA is not supporting the establishment of charitable trusts at this time.) Such gifts usually take the form of bequests, but planned giving may also be effected by naming the Music Library Association as a beneficiary of an insurance policy or retirement fund, or by making an outright gift.
Why Think About Planned Giving?
For many who have devoted much of their lives to the profession of music librarianship and who have been long-time supporters of MLA, planned giving represents a way to leave a lasting legacy to the organization. Many individuals may feel that they are not now in a position to give as large a financial contribution to MLA as they may like; planning for future gifts can make possible more generous donations.
What Will Your Gift Support?
Planned giving can benefit any number of MLA programs—publications, research, travel grants or other activities of the Association—whatever is most significant to you. Planned gifts can be used to establish new funds (with a $50,000 initial amount donated), or can be added to any existing designated funds. Planned gifts can also be directed to the MLA operating budget as an unrestricted donation (that is, the money can be made immediately available to support MLA).
Whom Do You Contact?
The President of MLA and the MLA Development Officer will be happy to discuss with you your interests, your situation, and the options available to you. Please contact the MLA President or Development Officer directly at the MLA Web site: www.musiclibraryassoc.org.
Click here for FAQs on planned giving to MLA
Endowments can be established to support a wide range of activities and research projects, including research leading to the improvement of music library services and collections, continuing education for music librarianship, or the establishment of a scholarship to attract talented individuals to the profession. A minimum of $50,000 and the approval of MLA's Board of Directors are needed to designate an endowment for a specific purpose. Any conditions placed on a bequest must be worked out with the MLA Board at the time your will is drawn up.
To discuss gifts of any kind, please contact the Music Library Association's Development Officer, at the address listed below.
Susannah Cleveland
Development Officer, Music Library Association
Music Library and Sound Recordings Archive
Jerome Library 3rd Floor
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH 43403-0170
Phone: 419-372-9929
clevels@bgsu.edu