Event:

Learn how to engage the Montana business community to support your library. Most businesses, large and small, donate to support causes that benefit their community. In this hands-on session you’ll learn how to identify business prospects, write a basic case for support, and most importantly, how to make the ask.

Janay Johnson has spent her career wrangling dollars and goodwill for causes ranging from animal shelters to national parks to large landscape conservation. She's been at the helm of the Bozeman Library Friends and Foundation for the last 8 years--a dream job for an English major bookworm.

Sara Busse is the Executive Director of ImagineIF Library Foundation. Sara has spent her 25-year career advancing nonprofits through effective communications, creative marketing, and successful fundraising. Her first job, at 12, was shelving books at the local library, so tucked into the stacks always feels like home. 

Brianne Laurin has served as the Executive Director of the Great Falls Public Library Foundation since July 2023. With 16 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, Brianne has extensive fundraising expertise from her previous positions as Director of Development at McLaughlin Research Institute and the C.M. Russell Museum, as well as development roles at prestigious institutions including Fordham University and Georgetown University School of Medicine.