HUD Earmark for Jones Library Comes Through. Fundraising Report Shows Worrisome Trend

Photo: https://www.joneslibrary.org/
Board President Austin Sarat announced at the August 13 Jones Library Board of Trustees meeting that a long-awaited $1,110,661 federal Economic Development Initiative Grant administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development has been received. The award was released after a contentious Section 106 historic preservation review required for federal grants that saw project leaders give in to some requests by the Massachusetts Historical Commission, such as maintaining the nationally registered historic building’s slate roof, but reject others, such as the reuse of all rare Philippine mahogany millwork being removed.
See related: Half Million Dollar Jump in Library Project Costs
The overall project is being funded by an appropriation of $46,139,800 by the Amherst Town Council. The town is expected to receive $15,565,472 in five installments from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners toward the project, and a $1,000,000 Amherst Community Preservation Act grant. The Jones Library, Inc. has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Town of Amherst to cover all town costs that exceed $15,751,810. This leaves the library and its capital campaign with a liability of $13,822,518.
The Jones Library Capital Campaign has been fundraising since April 2021 and has transferred periodic disbursements to the town treasurer. To date the library has disbursed a total of $1,650,000 to the town.
With the money coming in from HUD, Director Sharon Sharry reported that she is preparing to transfer just over $2 million to the town. This sum is composed of the $1.1 million of federal money, $500,000 that is being withdrawn from the library’s $800,000 Woodbury Fund, and $450,000 in funds accumulated by the capital campaign through its fundraising efforts.
Capital Campaign Manager Steps Down
Trustee Lee Edwards who chairs the library’s Development Committee announced that Jones Library Capital Campaign Manager Ginny Hamilton has resigned and is being replaced by one full-time and one half-time hire.
Said Edwards, “As probably most of you know because a lot of you were at the party for Ginny in June, … she decided she is leaving us to go back to her first love which is political organization.”
Edwards alluded to Hamilton’s political skills, now that town funding for the project has been approved and a construction contract has been signed. “We are assuming that the energies that went into public relations with the town won’t need to be to be used in quite the same way,” Edwards said.
Ginny Hamilton is a founder of the Political Action Committee Amherst Forward that has endorsed local election candidates supportive of the library project and the PAC’s pro-development agenda.
Trustees Question July Capital Campaign Report
Edwards reported that the Jones Library Capital Campaign raised a total of $36,391 in July 2025. This compares with $102,608 raised by the campaign in July 2024.

She attributed this lackluster result to the change in personnel. “It has been, I will confess, a rather slow start, but partly this is because we really haven’t had any staff,” she said.
More concerning is the year-over-year change in total funds raised by the campaign. On August 1, 2024 the total of gifts, government grants, and corporate & foundation giving was reported to be $9,745,140, The August 1, 2025 report shows this total falling to $7,969,212 — a drop of $1,775,928. The current report provides no explanation.
Without calling attention to the elephant in the room, President Sarat expressed puzzlement. “I have a little bit of trouble understanding this August 1 campaign report. Maybe it’s the way it’s laid out,” he remarked.
Edwards, who serves as the Jones Library Capital Campaign Co-Chair, replied, “Yes, I share your confusion, and I sent out an inquiry and I simply had it explained to me again as though it was obvious. So, I’m glad you’re confused.”
The trustees adjourned without solving the mystery.
See related: Town Council Calls for More Assurances on Library Project Funding
