Friends! If you’ve been following us since we launched the Tucson Tome Gnome in September 2021, then you know that September is the month when we celebrate our official anniversary (“tome gnome”iversary)! We are officially two years old! Tada!!!

This also means we are “officially” kicking off our fundraising campaign to support our book-hiding and book-sharing adventures in 2024.

2023 has been a big year for the Tome Gnome (and it’s not over yet!). We’re so grateful for the donations you all made last year to support all of the work we’ve been doing this year! Here are some highlights from 2023 so far:

• In January 2023, we increased our monthly hidden books from 30 to 45 copies every month
• In March, we (finally!) got our 501(c)(3) nonprofit status (and we invited best-selling author TJ Klune – who’s been an amazing supporter of our work – to join us as a founding board member of our nonprofit, and he said “yes!”)
• In May, we were featured on NBC’s TODAY show (for real – it was wild, unbelievable, and so fun!)
• All year, we’ve participated in a lot of fun collaborations and events with local organizations: #ThisIsTucson’s Tucson Together Market, Big Read Tucson, National Poetry Month book-hiding, a “solutions-focused” book-hiding event, hiding books at the Glitter Ball and Reveille Men’s Chorus Spring Show, launching the “Solutions-Focused Community Book Club,” hiding books at the Korean Rose and the LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce Breakfast, and, most recently, hiding books and meeting folks at Trail Dust Town’s Throwback Book Fair ❤

Whew. It’s been a whirlwind.

But, if you happen to be new here, you should check out our “Media Coverage” page to read all about our adventures leading up to this year- it’s been a wild journey!

However, like any nonprofit, everything we do is funded by donations from the community… which is why we need your help. To support our book-hiding and book-sharing efforts in 2024, we are looking to raise $10K. None of us take any salaries for our work – the Tome Gnome is a labor of love, and ALL our time spent keeping it running and hiding books is donated to the cause. So, we’re asking all of you to help us keep the Tome Gnome going in 2024 by donating to our fundraising campaign (and… if you donate $100 or more, you will be entered to win some fun prizes that we’ll be raffling off once we meet our goal!) 🙂

But if you need more convincing, please read on to learn more about what we do, why we do it, and why we need your help!

WHAT WE DO: Founded by three friends in 2021, the Tucson Tome Gnome runs a monthly bookish scavenger hunt. Every month, we select a book and hide 45 copies of it all over Tucson and surrounding communities for our friends and neighbors to find. We then ask people to read, enjoy, and rehide their found book for the next person to discover. In addition to our monthly book hiding, we also partner with The Tucson Agenda and the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona to host a “Solutions Focused Community Book Club,” and we collaborate with local businesses and nonprofits in Tucson on events that create book joy for older teens and adults!

OUR “WHY”: The Tome Gnome believes that creating book joy for older teens and adults is important. When we first considered launching the Tome Gnome, we realized that there weren’t many (any?) nonprofit organizations or literacy initiatives focused on promoting the joy of reading for adults. As co-founders, each of us had people in our lives who had enjoyed reading when they were younger but had given it up when “grown-up” responsibilities took over. Or, conversely, we had friends who had never known the joy of reading when they were younger but had started to discover that joy in adulthood! This felt like a huge missed opportunity (where is the book joy for grown-ups?!?!), especially given there is so much research highlighting the benefits of lifelong reading, including the development of increased empathy (which we all know is critical in our increasingly polarized world). Having said that, we also love sharing books because we think it’s nice to put some random kindness into the world during a time that has otherwise been challenging.

OUR VALUES: Besides supporting the creation of book joy for older teens and adults, the Tucson Tome Gnome also ardently stands against book bans and book censorship, and we strongly believe in the importance of reading diversely. Free people read freely.

We believe in the power of reading – it’s why we do what we do. For ALL people, books can be windows into the realities of others, not just imaginary worlds. These windows build empathy. Books can also be mirrors that reflect readers’ lives – we believe it’s important for people to see themselves in books and know they are not alone in their experiences of the world.

The Tome Gnome is committed to serving as one of Tucson’s first Book Sanctuaries. As a book sanctuary, we are committed to:

• Collecting and protecting endangered books.
• Making those books broadly accessible (book hiding, anyone?).
• Hosting book talks and events, including sparking conversations about diverse characters and stories.
• Educating others on the history of book censorship.  

Given that most of the recent attempts at banning and censorship have targeted non-white and LGBTQIAP+ authors and subjects, we actively support those communities and perspectives. When partnering or collaborating with other organizations on events, we ensure that at least 50%-75% of the books hidden/selected for the event represent non-white or LGBTQIAP+ authors. You can read more about our stance on diverse reading and book censorship here.

OUR IMPACT: Since our launch in September 2021, we have hidden approximately 1,150 books throughout the greater Tucson area (!!!). This includes our monthly book-hiding as well as book-hiding/book-sharing events. The estimated market value of those books is over $20,000 (not counting supplies, fuel for hiding days, etc.). These books represent ~70 unique titles and authors. WHOA.

Looking a little deeper, for 2023, our total is (as of this month) just over 600 hidden/shared books, and we still have several months left in the year! For three part-time book gnomes with other full-time commitments, this feels like a huge win for our growing, book-loving community!

Taking an even deeper dive into the data, since 2021, approximately 80% of the titles we’ve shared are by nonwhite and/or LGBTQIAP+ authors, which we’re really proud of. And when looking at our total count of hidden books, we’ve hidden far more by volume/count of books – approximately 87% – by nonwhite and/or LGBTQIAP+ authors – with our community. As we shared above, given that most recent book banning and censorship attempts have targeted non-white and LGBTQIAP+ authors and subjects, we are proud to actively support those communities and perspectives – and share these important stories with our community.

HOW WE USE YOUR DONATIONS: The Tucson Tome Gnome is a labor of love! All the money we raise supports sharing books with the community. We don’t take any salaries or payment for our work. The average cost for 45 copies of each month’s book is around $700 (we only buy from local indie bookstores!). The expenses also increase as we add various costs for supplies and printing custom stickers, bookmarks, etc. Additionally, this year, we hope to engage in even more book-sharing opportunities to benefit the community – particularly supporting those who may not have direct access to books. These additional initiatives include things like co-hosting book-sharing events with other nonprofits in Tucson. Thus, our fundraising goal for 2024 is to raise $10,000 to help us continue to hide free books through 2024!

PERKS OF DONATING: All donations, regardless of amount, are super helpful – we are incredibly grateful for ALL the community support we receive. But if you’re feeling super generous and donate $100 or more to this campaign, you will be entered to win one of a variety of prizes, including signed books from one of our founding board members (NYT Bestselling author TJ Klune), gift certificates to a variety of local businesses, and perhaps even a bookish gift basket (or two… or three). The prize drawing will take place once we’ve met our fundraising goal!

IN SUMMARY: Although we all have other full-time commitments, we love doing this work and would love to keep it going! So, if you like what we’re doing, we’d love to have you support us with a donation! As of March 2023, we are officially a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so your gifts to us are tax deductible 🙂

Thank you so much for investing in us and the broader Tucson community!