The estimated cost of the regional library was $5,340,000, and that amount has been raised. Momentum for the regional library culminated in 2015 when Accomack County committed $2,000,000 to the library capital project. Then in 2016, through the efforts of Senator Lynwood Lewis and Representative Rob Bloxom, ESPL received a $500,000 appropriation from the Commonwealth of Virginia for the regional library. In addition, in 2016 the Eastern Shore of Virginia Community Foundation awarded a grant of $50,000 toward building the regional library. The library capital campaign raised the remainder of the necessary funds, through private foundation grants, additional government funding and grants, and corporate and individual donations. In 2018 Governor Northam designated an additional 1 million dollars to fund the Eastern Shore of Virginia Heritage Center.
The Eastern Shore Public Library Foundation (the “Foundation”) is a Virginia not-for-profit corporation formed in 2009 to raise capital and endowment funds for ESPL. It is a 501(c)(3) organization and donations to the Foundation are tax deductible. The Foundation will serve as the lead agency for grant applications and donations in the capital campaign.
“The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully extracted from Nature, of the greatest minds that ever were, with the best teacheres, drawn from the entire planet and from all our history, to instruct us without tiring, and to inspire us to make our own contribution to the collective knowledge of the human species. I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries.
— Carl Sagan
Since its inception, the Foundation has raised more than $850,000 in cash, including $25,000 received in a matching grant from the Marietta M. and Samuel Tate, Jr. Morgan Trust. A portion of these funds has been used to cover the costs of architects and engineering studies, to pay for a study of fundraising capacity and to pay the costs of the capital campaign. The Foundation paid the cost of the conceptual drawings for the proposed Onley location and the proposed Accomac expansion, as well as preliminary plans and environmental and engineering studies of the Parksley property. Together with $5,000 from the Town of Parksley, the Foundation provided the funds to purchase the Parksley property. In addition, the Foundation has received significant in-kind gifts for such things as legal services, graphic design and public relations services and office space. The Library Foundation will raise the remainder of the necessary funds, through a Capital Campaign for the Eastern Shore of Virginia Heritage Center and private foundation grants, additional government funding and grants, and corporate and individual donations.