Corporate Support

Brooklyn Public Library relies on the support of corporate partners to meet the educational, informational, cultural, and recreational needs of the borough’s 2.6 million residents.

Brooklyn Public Library’s role in the community is to nurture and encourage all Brooklynites to fulfill their potential by providing them with free resources and opportunities to pursue their educational objectives, realize their potential and grow their businesses. Brooklyn Public Library reaches millions of Brooklynites each year through a diverse range of public programs, events and classes that offer unique sponsorship and employee engagement opportunities. Whether you are interested in providing capital support, underwriting a specific program or attending our annual gala, corporate partners receive a range benefits that can be tailored to meet your company’s unique goals and interests while providing critical support for the library.

Whether you are a longstanding corporate partner or you are considering joining BPL for the first time, we look forward to working with you.

Event Sponsorship

BPL hosts several benefits and large scale events each year that are excellent opportunities for visibility, employee engagement and client entertainment while also supporting the vital work of one of Brooklyn’s most important institutions.

The Annual Gala, held each spring, is the Library’s largest fundraiser of the year. The event celebrates the extraordinary contributions of individuals and corporate partners and raises significant funds to support BPL’s work.

The Brooklyn Classic, hosted by the Brooklyn Eagles, celebrates Brooklyn’s lively literary scene. Held in November, the event includes the awards presentation for the Brooklyn Public Library Literary Prize, followed by cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and dancing at the historic, stunningly renovated Park Slope Library branch with more than 350 library supporters.

Night of Philosophy and Ideas is a winter all-night marathon of philosophical debate, performances, screenings, readings, and music at Central Library. More than 7,500 attendees attend this free, 12-hour exchange of ideas featuring top philosophers from around the world.

Public Programs

BPL hosts more than 69,000 public programs each year including after-school tutoring and adult classes, author readings, outdoor festivals, film screenings, visual art exhibitions, music, dance, and theater performances, and business and entrepreneurial forums. Our program funders enjoy benefits such as naming rights, speaking opportunities, logo placement, invitations to exclusive events, and opportunities for employee volunteerism. Corporate support helps underwrite many public programs including:

Summer Reading is BPL’s signature program to promote reading and prevent “summer slide,” the loss of children’s academic skills during the summer months. BPL hosts 13,000 programs over the summer with more than 200,000 attendees.

Now in its sixteenth year, PowerUP! is Brooklyn’s biggest public competition for entrepreneurs and their local start-ups, as well as a model for libraries and local community organizations nationally. This innovative program empowers individuals to learn how to start a business by providing them with free educational classes and business counseling, by showing them how to apply the use of library resources to their nascent business plans and by offering seed funding to the most promising enterprises.

T4, BPL's highly successful teen internship program, provides Brooklyn youth ages 14-18 with hands-on technology training and meaningful volunteer experiences as an introduction to the information technology field and to enhance library services for the public through technical assistance and teen-led programming.

Capital Support

Brooklyn Public Library is currently engaged in several exciting large-scale capital projects including the Greenpoint Library and Environmental Education Center. Children’s areas and meeting rooms at the library’s 60 branches are often updated as well and naming and other recognition opportunities are available for these and other capital projects throughout the borough.

Matching Gifts 

You can double your impact. Many employers have a matching gift program and when you give an amount, the company will give the same. 100% of both donations will support BPL's programs and services. Learn if your employer has a matching gift policy.

In-Kind Giving

BPL welcomes many kinds of in-kind donations including technology and furniture as well as refreshments, promotional/media support and in-kind printing services.

Volunteer Opportunities

The mission of the volunteer program at BPL is to enhance public service through the engagement of diverse and dedicated volunteers. Corporate volunteerism provides opportunities for team building, to give back to the community and to fulfill Corporate Social Responsibility objectives. Volunteering at BPL is a great way for your employees, clients, colleagues and their families to contribute their unique talents, skills and knowledge and assist staff. Volunteers provide personalized attention to patrons, support library initiatives through public programming and events, and share information about the library.

Get in touch

For more information on how your company can partner with the Brooklyn Public Library, contact:
Samantha Dodds
Director of Corporate Relations
718-230-2718

[email protected]

 

What our partners have to say

"We are proud to support effective solutions to our borough’s educational challenges, of which summer slide is among the most harmful. Fortunately, we can prevent summer slide by nurturing students’ reading skills throughout the year and encouraging them to spend time at their libraries this summer."

— Albert C. Wiltshire, Chairman of the National Grid Foundation

"Charter Communications is proud to partner with Brooklyn Library in providing state-of-the-art technologies to help bridge the digital divide for local communities such as Bushwick — opening doors for residents to succeed in this rapidly changing world."

— Camille Joseph, Charter Vice President of State Government Affairs, Northeast.