A surprise donation from George and Estelle Sands has brought the Princeton Public Library’s expansion project within $2 million of its fund-raising goal.
By: Jennifer Potash
A Princeton Borough couple have donated $5 million to the Princeton Public Library expansion project, bringing the library within $2 million of its $11.5 million fund-raising goal.
George and Estelle Sands, of Elm Lane, announced the $5 million pledge Monday.
The $17.5 million library, to be built on the site of the existing library on Witherspoon Street, will be called The George and Estelle Sands Building. The organization’s name will remain the same: Princeton Public Library.
Mr. and Mrs. Sands, who have lived in Princeton for 55 years, divided their gift $2.5 million for the library’s Community Cornerstone Capital Campaign and $2.5 million toward establishing a permanent endowment fund for the library, said Leslie Burger, director of the library.
The couple, who largely eschew publicity, expressed in a news release issued by the library a profound love of Princeton and a desire to leave a permanent family legacy.
"We fell in love with Princeton when we moved here and we’re still in love with it today," said Mrs. Sands, an artist. "We’re very pleased to have this most special opportunity to give back to a town that has given us so much."
Mr. Sands, a real estate investor, said he could not "think of a better legacy than support one of the most important public institutions in town. This library is truly a cornerstone of our community and this new building will give our town the best library in the state."
The George H. and Estelle Sands Foundation, which makes gifts to pre-selected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests, distributed $63,700 in 1999, according to the foundation’s federal tax return. As of the 1999 tax return, the foundation had $1.67 million.
The largest gift in 1999 was $29,000 to the Princeton Public Library. Many gifts in the $500, $1,000, and $2,000 range were made to organizations such as The Arts Council of Princeton, The Medical Center at Princeton, The Princeton First Aid & Rescue Squad, the Princeton Borough Homeless Fund as well as educational institutions and charitable groups in Point Pleasant and Palm Beach, Fla.
Ms. Burger said the couple contacted the library about making the gift.
Princeton Borough Mayor Marvin Reed called the gift "wonderful" and said the real significance is in the portion designated for the library’s permanent endowment. He added Mr. Sands was active in developing many housing development in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s though his company, Hilton Realty Co. of Princeton, located on Nassau Street.
"It is important as this gift goes beyond funding the expansion project to building up the endowment fund without adding a significant burden on the tax bill," Mayor Reed said.
Some elected officials had expressed concern during the design phase of the new library about the additional operating expenses the larger building could incur for the two Princetons, which jointly own the library site and share the library’s budget.
Ms. Burger, at a joint meeting of the Princeton Borough Council and Princeton Township Committee in March, said the library intended to begin an endowment fund.
The library’s capital campaign has now raised $15.5 million, including the $2.5 million from Mr. and Mrs. Sands and $6 million from Princeton Borough and Princeton Township.
Total pledges and gifts from individuals and institutions account for $9.5 million of the campaign.
Princeton University has given $500,000 and the library also received a $1 million grant from the J. Seward Johnson Sr. 1963 Charitable Trust.
Also, the library has applied for a maximum $2.6 million in state funding. A decision on the grant could come next month, Ms. Burger said.
The capital campaign should receive a big boost from Mr. and Mrs. Sands’ gift, library officials said.
"We really want the community to feel they are a part of this new library," Ms. Burger said. While the library’s chances of receiving state aid for the expansion look good, "It’s not a done deal," Ms. Burger said.
During the summer of 2000, the library had only a handful of pledges for the expansion project, said Harry Levine, chairman of the library’s board of trustees.
"Now, thanks to the Sandses, we see a very bright light at the end of the tunnel," Mr. Levine said.
The library’s capital campaign committee, led by A.C. Reeves and Joan Hicks, Margaret Knapp and Gordon Griffin, has worked though an initial list of 150 potential donors with a couple of hundred more to go, Jamie Kyte Sapoch, the library’s fund-raising consultant, said last month.
The library plans to kick off the community participation portion of its capital campaign next month, Ms. Burger said.
Some early events include asking library patrons and residents to contribute their federal tax refunds, called "give-back checks" in library campaign literature, to the expansion project.
By early October, the library should be in its temporary location at the Princeton Shopping Center, Ms. Burger said.
The existing library, which opened in 1966, is slated for demolition this fall.
The new library, designed by the West Windsor-based architectural firm The Hillier Group, is expected to open by late 2003.

