The Hodge Group is a national leader in facilitating public-private partnerships. Through our work with dozens of libraries, we’ve seen how private philanthropy can unlock government funding and vice versa. In our experience, the most exciting library projects are successful with a good mix of both public and private support. It was heartening, then, to see this week’s election results in Ohio.
Fourteen Ohio libraries had levies on the ballot this Tuesday, and all fourteen passed. In fact, the levies passed with an average of 71% support for them. People appreciate how precious libraries are, especially in our current environment, and they are responding in kind by voicing their endorsement to ensure libraries can remain state-of-the-art facilities for life-long learning. That levy support, displayed below in overwhelming terms, can now be leveraged to secure private dollars.
When government and the private sector collaborate, amazing things can happen. Americans are hyper about philanthropy, and this week’s levy results speak to the lasting impact community support can have for continuing vital public-private partnerships.