The Saul O Sidore Memorial Foundation, a private non-profit foundation based in New Hampshire, announces the establishment of annual grants, in memory of the late Rebecca Lee Spitz of Hollis. These grants will be available only to the municipal libraries of New Hampshire.

Grant awards will be considered only at the semi-annual meetings of the Foundation, which occur in the Spring and Fall of each year. Grants will be targeted primarily toward those town (or city) libraries that will be most favorably impacted by the proposed projects, and are least able to afford to undertake them. While projects providing new programs are preferred, replacement and/or update projects will be considered if the need can be solidly justified. Ordinary operating budget fund requests will not be considered.

The trustees' plan is to award two grants per year, one in the range of $2-3,000 and one for about half that amount, although the Foundation is not rigidly bound by those limits. Libraries receiving grants will not be eligible to re-apply for ten years.

Applications may be submitted at any time of the year, and will be considered at the next trustees' meeting. Applications may be in letter form and they must either be on official town letterhead, or include documentary proof that the library is the official public library for the municipality. (A library needing certification of their official status as a public library should contact the State Library). The applications must specify and describe in detail the project(s) for which the grant is to be used, the budget for the project(s), the annual budget for the library, (showing the major revenue and expense categories) and a brief narrative about the library and the town it serves. The application must also include the town's tax rate, its equalized tax rate, and must specify what portion of the tax rate goes to support the library. Applications will be kept on file for one year (two trustees' meetings), but must be updated and resubmitted, if appropriate, after that interval.

Libraries receiving grants are expected to report back to the Foundation, not more than one year after receipt of the grant, indicating how the funds were spent and reporting on actual results of the grant project as compared to the planned results.

Send applications to: Saul O Sidore Memorial Foundation, c/o R. Sidore, 24 Gage Road, Bedford, New Hampshire 03110.