Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Recruitment of qualified, experienced, and enthusiastic volunteers is one of our continuing challenges.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Minicourses at Madison Library (New Jersey)
The Minicourses at Madison Library is an established humanities program that began in 1992. The Friends of the Madison Library seek to expand human perspectives through education, social interaction, and community pride through this program.
This program draws an audience from Madison and towns throughout Morris, Essex, Union, and Somerset counties. With volunteers assuming the administration of this program it has become a major source of funding to the Madison Public Library.
The success of the program is attributed primarily to the high quality and popularity of the teachers and the affordable price as compared to university enrollment. These are non-credit courses and there are no examinations. Each course consists of 5 sessions that run an hour and a half to two hours with a short break. Surveys show that participants view these courses as both a personal social and educational highlight for them.
Touch A Truck
Touch a Truck is a family-friendly community event that has been held since 2008 in cooperation with the Madison YMCA and the Madison Rotary.
At the most recent Touch a Truck event 1,300 people attended. Twenty-six trucks lined up, with children exploring each vehicle as well as, enjoying magic shows, animal balloons, and face painting. It is truly an embracing community event with local businesses, police, fire, ambulance, public works, and electric utility services participating.
All of the proceeds go directly to the Madison Public Library to support programs for children, teenagers, and adults and to purchase books and media.
Where we work
Awards
Service Award 2018
New Jersey Library Association (NJLA)
External reviews

Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of participants attending course/session/workshop
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This matrix represents the Minicourse programs. There were 13 courses in 2018, 14 courses in 2019, 6 courses in 2020 and 9 courses in 2021.
Number of press articles published
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Children and youth
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of attendees present at rallies/events
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Children and youth
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This Metrix represents the Touch A Truck (TAT) community event organized by the Friends held every other year. 2020 public gatherings were not allowed due to the pandemic. 2022 TAT is in the works.
Number of new donors
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Children and youth
Related Program
Minicourses at Madison Library (New Jersey)
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
In 2021 a new option to donate when registering for our Mincourses helped increased our donor base.
Number of press releases developed and distributed
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Children and youth
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This matric represents digital and published press releases. Articles represent new additions to the Board, the Annual Appeal announcements, and Minicourse registration announcements.
Number of overall donors
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
In 2021 a downtrend was experienced since event donations did not occur due to the pandemic.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Provide the Madison Public Library with the financial resources to be an outstanding, vibrant and welcoming community organization.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our goals will be attained by successfully executing our strategic plan and continuing to fulfill our mission - supporting the Madison Public Library in word and deed.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Meeting our funding goals has been possible due to a highly successful and established program that is administered and delivered by The Friends of the Madison Public Library (“The Friends” - all volunteers).
In 2022 we will be celebrating 30 years of continuing education—the first 26 years as co-sponsors of ‘Drew Minicourses’ and the last three years as the sole sponsor of ‘Minicourses at Madison Library.’ This is an incredibly popular continuing adult program that features local professors from surrounding universities.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In 2021 The Friends exceed our funding goals to the Madison Library and this success is attributed directly to the Minicourse program since the pandemic hit in 2020.
For 2022 the Minicourses will continue and two major fundraising events are due back and include our “Annual Gala Benefit”, on May 21, 2022, and “Touch A Truck,” a fun-filled family event planned for July 30, 2022. The Touch a Truck event is labor-intensive and we partner with the Madison Rotary, the Madison Area YMCA, the Girl and Boys Scouts, and local school organizations to bring this event to the community every other year.
The community is also highly receptive to the Friends’ Annual Appeal request that is sent to over 5,000 households in Madison and proceeds after expenses support the library.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Friends of the Madison Public Library
Board of directorsas of 03/21/2022
Mrs. Pamela Hogan
Marsha Gepford
FMPL
Linda Holm
FMPL
Adrienne Novak
FMPL
Jen Bauman
FMPL
Kathy Trombacco
FMPL
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 02/07/2021GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.