Foundation board creates strategic plan

The Eckhart Library Foundation Board of Directors recently worked with internationally recognized fundraising expert Tammy Zonker to create a strategic plan.

Zonker, founder and president of Fundraising Transformed, facilitated the board’s first strategic planning retreat in the fall of 2023, helping the board clarify its mission and goals and create a list of priorities. Zonker has been a major gifts strategist and fundraising expert for more than 25 years, helping organizations collectively raise more than a half billion dollars.

The work was supported by a grant for strategic planning from the Dekko Foundation.

Board president Angela Mapes Turner said the library foundation was created in a time of crisis, when Eckhart Public Library fought for its future following the 2017 arson fire. Just as the library emerged from that trial, the world immediately was thrust into the global pandemic.

“For us to have this time to pause, reflect, and plan with Tammy has truly been a gift for our organization, and we thank the Dekko Foundation for its support,” Turner said. “Our board feels energized and excited about the future of the foundation, and the role of our foundation in the enduring success of Eckhart Public Library.”