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Josephine County libraries raise $175K Tuesday Jan 3, 2017 at 12:01 AM By Madeline Shannon Grants Pass Daily Courier With a full day to spare, Josephine Community Libraries met its Yellow Envelope fundraising goal of $175,000 Friday. This is the first time the Yellow Envelope Drive has met its goal. In 2015, the campaign raised $145,582. This year's amount totaled $176,676 at last count. "The outpouring of support for this drive is a tangible demonstration of our community's dedication to its libraries," JCL Development Manager Rebecca Stoltz said. The Yellow Envelope Drive is part of an ongoing effort by the nonprofit JCL to be self-sustaining and is one of two major campaigns. The other is held in the spring, although fundraising goes on year-round at the nonprofit organization. With no regular funding from taxes, libraries in Josephine County survive on a combination of volunteer labor, donations and grants. "We've had more than 1,000 envelopes come back in," Stoltz said. "They're still continuing to come in, which is amazing." JCL operates on a budget of about $800,000 a year, one-third of the library system's budget when it received money from the Josephine County general fund. Even though the drive officially ended Saturday, donations for the Yellow Envelope Drive are still being accepted. They can be made at any of JCL's four branches — in Grants Pass, Cave Junction, Williams and Wolf Creek — or online at josephinelibrary.org. The Yellow Envelope Drive was sponsored by Cauble, Cauble & Selvig LLP, Clouser Drilling, Edward Jones Investments, Grants Pass Friends of the Library and Hart Insurance. Other support for the drive comes from the Grants Pass Daily Courier and KAJO/KLDR. The libraries in Josephine County closed in May 2007, when the Josephine County Board of Commissioners diverted funding to other departments such as public safety. Four months later, volunteers formed the nonprofit Josephine Community Libraries. By the end of 2009, JCL had reopened all four branches. Anyone interested in getting involved with the library effort can send an e-mail to [email protected]. Those interested in donating can send a check or money order payable to Josephine Community Libraries at P.O. Box 1684, Grants Pass, OR 97528; or make a secure donation on the website, www.josephinelibrary.org. Reach reporter Madeline Shannon at 541-474-3813 or [email protected].