Make a year-end donation today.

Join the Sandburg Circle

Through annual investments of $1,000 or more, Sandburg Circle members open the doors to learning and growth through donor-powered programming and resources available at Chicago Public Library’s 81 neighborhood branches.

With thanks for your investment, we are pleased to offer the following ways to engage more deeply with our Library:

Complimentary copy of the
annual One Book, One Chicago selection

Invitations to curated receptions and special events with Library guest speakers each year, including the One Book, One Chicago keynote

Reserved seating on request at Chicago Public Library mainstage events featuring authors, thinkers, and artists

Subscription to the Bookmark e-newsletter (three times a year) to update you on the impact of your support

Acknowledgement in the annual Impact Report

Honor a loved one with a special bookplate in the Harold Washington Library Center Collection.*

Choose a Genre:

  • Children’s
  • Fiction and Literature
  • Fine Arts
  • History and Biography
  • Science and Technology
  • Social Sciences

*Please note that we are unable to accomodate requests for specific titles and cannot track which books the bookplates are placed in. Books typically last 1-3 years in circulation.

Dollar-to-Impact

Your Gift Powers Impact Such As:

$1,000

provides over 150 kids the opportunity to engage in free STEAM-based educational programming through Summer @ CPL.

$2,500

brings new technologies to YOUmedia spaces throughout the branch network, opening up a world of opportunity for our teens

$5,000

infuses early learning spaces with programs grounded in the five practices of early literacy—Talk, Sing, Read, Write, and Play.

$7,500

supports the annual Maker in Residence program, which introduces Chicagoans to high-tech tools available in the city’s only free makerspace.

$10,000

supports 370 hours of digital literacy lessons with our Digital Navigators

Ready to learn more?