Derby Public Library Endowment Fund

The Board of the Derby Public Library transferred endowments to the Foundation for investment management to care for and grow these funds which support various valuable activities and programs of the Library that are outside operating costs.

The death of their beloved eleven-year-old son Harcourt in 1897 spurred Colonel and Mrs. H. Holton Wood to donate in their son's memory, the land, the building and $5,000 to establish the Derby Public Library in 1902. Since then, many have joined the ranks of these early philanthro- pists. The Library's original endowment, started with gifts dating back to the 1940s, has grown to almost $600,000, and in 2005 was turned over to the Valley Community Foundation for ?nancial management.

"We believed it was the best move for us: they're Valley people giving back to Valley people," says Dorothy Gleason, President of the Library Board, explaining that earnings generated by endowment investment are designated for a variety of Library uses within stipulated guidelines. Part of the endowment and earnings, for instance, was used in the 1990s to help build and furnish a 7,200-squarefoot addition to complement the original Colonial Revival style building that is now listed on the National Historic Register.