Reaching New Heights: POP Project’s 2019 in Review and 2020 Goals

The POP Project was so excited to celebrate our 10th birthday in 2019! True to our mission, we chose to observe the milestone by sorting, packing, and delivering 10,000 books to dozens of area organizations and drop-off points. We also held a number of volunteer opportunities, coordinated local activities to promote literacy, and participated in several strategic community collaborations. 

By December 31, POP had our most successful year yet—and one we hope helps us soar toward some very exciting opportunities in 2020!

Keep reading or skip straight to these sections of our 2019 Annual Report:

• BIG SUPPORTERS: Our thanks to you for a successful year!
• BIG AMBITIONS: POP’s 2019 goals
• BIG MOMENTS: Our best moments of 2019
• BIG GIVING: Annual funding sources and holiday fundraising results
• BIG RESULTS: Our book delivery programs and results
• BIG PLANS FOR THE FUTURE: A preview of POP’s goals for 2020 and how you can help

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BIG SUPPORTERS: You!

We couldn’t have flown as high as we did in 2019 if not for YOU, our supporters!

Thank you to our donors, volunteers, social media followers, book donors, and amazing Board of Directors for all your help last year. We collected and sorted through thousands of books to determine their best homes. We delivered free books to dozens of locations in our community. And most importantly, we made a difference in the lives of thousands of local men, women, and children in Asheville, Buncombe County, and across Western North Carolina. 

We couldn’t have done anything in 2019 without your help, support, and belief in the power of a good book. Here’s to reaching even higher in 2020!

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BIG AMBITIONS: POP’s 2019 Goals

As we kicked off 2019, POP had four goals for the year ahead. These goals buoyed us along during our work all year:

Better expand into surrounding counties in WNC:

GOAL: In 2019, it was our goal to make at least 10% of our book deliveries to organizations in Henderson, Madison, Haywood, and Transylvania Counties.

RESULTS: We met that goal and delivered 1,358 books to surrounding counties in WNC, as well as 749 books to other states. In total, nearly 20% of our deliveries for 2019 were outside of Buncombe County.

Hold a “Rethink Ink” book sale fundraiser:

GOAL: Utilize a “Rethink Ink” fundraiser to find home for difficult books we have collected while raising money for our general mission.

RESULTS: On May 14, POP set up a tent at the West Asheville Tailgate Market to sell some of our hardest-to-give books: cookbooks and home and garden books. The crowd loved us, and we had a great time! In total, we found homes for nearly 100 books.

More programming for Banned Books Week:

GOAL: Host a great community program around Banned Books Week by creating events and partnering with local organizations who work to ensure that banning books becomes an idea of the past.

RESULTS: With our book deliveries taking precedent in the fall, Banned Books Week fell by the wayside. We did not host a program in 2019.

Place additional drop box locations around Asheville:

GOAL: POP would like to make drop boxes available to people on all sides of town by adding at least one box in 2019.

RESULTS: In June, POP set up a new drop box site at Hanger Hall School for Girls at 64 W.T. Weaver Boulevard in North Asheville. BIG thanks to Hanger Hall for supporting our goal to get more books into the community.

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BIG MOMENTS: POP’s Top Moments of 2019

These special moments kept us flying high all year long!

• Going for the Goal with our “10 for 10” Book Delivery Initiative: For 2019, the POP Project was more committed than ever to ensuring that all of the books we are entrusted with were used for constructive, personal expansion. In honor of our 10th birthday late in the year, we chose to impact the lives of 10,000 people in our community by delivering 10,000 FREE books by the end of the year.
• Participating in NC SciFest: POP was excited to be chosen to participate in the 4th annual NC SciFest by shelving FREE science books in one of our Little Free Libraries.In addition to the books provided by the NC SciFest, we included bookmarks, buttons, and temporary tattoos.
• Holding Rethink Ink at the WATM: In May, POP held our annual Rethink Ink book sale fundraiser at the West Asheville Tailgate Market. It was the perfect spot to find new homes for many of our cooking, home, and garden books that have been in our stacks too long. In total, we found new homes for almost 100 books!
• Coordinating a Successful Days of Impact Delivery Day: Over one afternoon in October, staff members from A-B Tech helped us sort, count, pack, and deliver more than $4,300 of books to agencies around Asheville and Buncombe County. That’s nearly 10% of our deliveries for the whole year, all in a matter of a few hours!
• Participating in Asheville’s Give Local Online Fundraiser: POP was one of 45 nonprofits selected for the fifth annual Mountain Xpress online fundraising program. Thanks to your tremendous support, POP raised $1,500 over 60 days, which has helped us kick off 2020 on the right foot!
• Turning 10 Years Old!: November 29, 2009 was the day the POP Project was officially declared a federally-recognized nonprofit. We celebrated 10 years of giving away free books by holding a book drive at Barnes & Noble at the Asheville Mall.

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BIG GIVING: POP’s 2019 Finances

Talking finances has a way of deflating the mood in the room. In 2019, POP was very fortunate to begin the year with funds in the bank, but we did not meet our total funding goal for the year. However, by managing purchases, focusing on our mission, and utilizing our volunteer teams, we ended the year strong!

Our budget goal for 2019 was $3,000. Through fundraising, book sales, and individual donors, we raised $1,377.73 or 46% of our goal. (See below for the breakdown.)

Our spending was more conservative than in 2018, but still exceeded our incoming funds. In total, we spent $1,713.57 on storage, general administrative costs, book programs, and shipping and travel. (See below for the breakdown.) Luckily, our surplus from previous years kept our financials afloat.

Together with our end-of-year fundraising results, POP is starting 2020 with $1,726.60 in operational funds, or 58% of this year’s budget goal of $3,000.

We wanted to start the year with half of our 2020 budget in the bank. We are so thrilled to have such a great start on the fundraising efforts for the year ahead! 

In the end, here is how our income and expenses broke down in 2019:

BUDGET GOAL 2019 = $3,000

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BIG RESULTS: POP’s “10 for 10” Book Delivery Goals

Not only was 2019 POP’s biggest year for book deliveries yet, but we beat our own records by double-digit percentages!

The POP Project turned 10 years old in 2019—a huge milestone for a volunteer-led community nonprofit! Instead of patting ourselves on the back and moving forward with business as usual, we had an idea: Why don’t we make 2019 our most ambitious year yet? Our mission is to spread the power and possibilities of literacy through a greater access to books. So, we wanted to impact more lives than ever before by delivering more books than any year in our history. Our goal was to impact 10,000 lives by delivering 10,000 FREE books in honor of our 10th birthday!

It was not an easy goal. POP’s previous best year on record totaled only 7,009 books. But our team buckled down, found innovative ways to utilize volunteer help, and got to work. By the end of the year, we sorted, packed, and delivered thousands of books to local area schools, children’s programs, housing and healthcare centers, food pantries, Little Free Libraries, and detention centers to serve the people most in need of a greater access to books. 

DELIVERY HIGHLIGHTS: In addition to overall quantity, we had a secondary goal of making at least 10% of our book deliveries to organizations in Henderson, Madison, Haywood, and Transylvania Counties. We met that goal and delivered 1,358 books (13.5%) to surrounding counties in WNC. In our effort to go above and beyond, we also delivered 749 books (7.4%) to locations outside of WNC, mostly in the Upstate. That means that nearly 20% of our deliveries for 2019 were outside of Buncombe County.

DELIVERY HIGHLIGHTS: POP also maintained seven Little Free Libraries in the area throughout the year. Their activity doubled in 2019, demonstrating just how important LFLs are in the community. Our library at AFD Station 2 in the Southside neighborhood was by far our most active—we delivered 954 books into it alone during 2019!

Our 2019 deliveries totaled 10,088 books, and had a value of $50,440—65% above our books delivered in 2018, and 44% above our previous best year. 

Compared to 2018, the number of deliveries was up by 205% to 162 and the number of locations to which we delivered was up by 311% to 84. 

Here’s a breakdown of the number and type of books delivered for 2019 as compared to the previous two years:

	2017	2018	2019
Schools and Children’s Programs	3,446	3,288	2,009
Community Nonprofits, Housing Centers, and Organizations in WNC	2,406	1,512	2,761
State Prisons; Local Jails and Detention Centers	498	271	2,742
Little Libraries	533	936	2,138
Comic Books & Graphic Novels	n/a	19	38
Other	126	70	400
TOTAL FREE BOOKS DELIVERED:	7,009	6,096	10,088

2019 Book Delivery Locations

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BIG PLANS FOR 2020—and How You can Help

No doubt, POP made a significant impact to our community during 2019, but we still have a long way to go before everyone in WNC has sufficient access to books. We want to keep expanding our donation base, programs, and volunteer opportunities for the coming year, and we need help doing it. 

Here are just a few of our goals for 2020, along with ways you can help us meet them:

Continue giving to surrounding counties in WNC: 

GOAL: In 2020, it is our goal to make at least 15% of our book deliveries to organizations in Henderson, Madison, Haywood, and Transylvania Counties. 

HOW YOU CAN HELP: Do you know of any shelters, development centers, detention centers, food pantries, or healthcare facilities in these counties that could benefit from a few good books? Let us know how we can help.

Hold our annual “Rethink Ink” book sale fundraiser: 

GOAL: POP accepts almost all kinds of books, and so we have collected many that we currently cannot find homes for. Our “Rethink Ink” fundraiser serves as one of our largest fundraising events of the year. 

HOW YOU CAN HELP: Can you suggest public, accessible locations that would be good spots for our 2020 “Rethink Ink”?

Include 100 comic books among our book deliveries: 

GOAL: Comic books and graphic novels can be an important stepping stone in both early childhood and later-in-life literacy. This year, we would like to commit to our goal of finding new homes for used comic books.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: If you have gently used comic books and graphic novels that you would like to pass along to new readers, we would love to accept them! 

Move to a smaller storage unit: 

GOAL: In addition to our volunteer space in Woodfin, POP maintains a storage unit in West Asheville. But with 70% of our funds going to maintain that unit, it’s time to downgrade to a smaller size and a smaller bill.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: Let us know if your organization could use free books. The less books we have to store, the less space we need to pay for!

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Additional Ways to Help POP

The POP Project works to make sure no book goes without a home, goes unread, sits on a shelf and collects dust, and that all of the books with which we are entrusted are used for constructive, personal expansion. 

In addition to the goals listed above, there are many more ways to ensure that POP continues to make a positive impact on our community. Please consider donating time, money, or ideas that will directly impact our programs.

Help us meet our $3,000 fundraising goal for 2020! Make your one-time or recurring donation today!

Donations can be made via PayPal on our site or mailed to the POP Project, PO Box 18653, Asheville, NC 28814. The POP Project is a 501(c)3 organization. Please consult your tax advisor about deductible donations.

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