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| Pam French | |
Consider all that Binc has accomplished in 30 years. All told, it has helped more than 12,000 people. It has given more than $14 million in financial assistance. It has awarded 1,070 scholarships. It has made more than 950 mental health referrals. As CEO Pam French said, "Binc is battle tested and always rises to the occasion. It's part of a community where book and comic people come together for each other."
Binc was founded in 1996 as the Borders Group Foundation, with funding from company executives, staff payroll contributions, publishers, and vendors. From the beginning, the foundation's aim was to help booksellers in need and to provide scholarships.
One of its biggest efforts came on September 11 when a huge Borders store in the World Trade Center in New York City was destroyed. Staff made it out safely, and afterwards the Foundation provided assistance. Similarly, when Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005, the Foundation helped Borders staff in the areas that were devastated. As CEO Pam French put it, "When there are national and global tragedies, the Foundation has been there to help."
When Borders went out of business in 2011, the Foundation could have closed, too. But the board of directors decided instead to continue and expand its purview to help other bricks-and-mortar booksellers as well as, eventually, comic shop staff. The Borders Group Foundation was reborn as Binc.
At that point Binc's challenge was to develop skills and functions that it didn't have to deal with when it was part of Borders, which provided infrastructure, including IT, payroll, offices with computers, direct and easy communications with its audience, and significant funding. "We always had strong operational and program skills," French said. "But then we became a very small business and had to be entrepreneurial like any small business."
Binc learned these new skills quickly, becoming known throughout the book world, and began raising funds from new sources. Then came its biggest challenge: the Covid-19 pandemic, which, beginning in March 2020, affected stores and staff across the country. Lockdowns closed many bookstores and comic book shops for a year and more. Stores tried to sell more online and curbside, but sales plummeted and staff were furloughed or had their hours cut. Suddenly people couldn't pay the rent, mortgage, utilities, and other expenses. The need was huge: for a time, the organization received a new request for assistance every 15 minutes, all day every day. In response, Binc did extraordinary work, rallying to raise money and donating $4.3 million to stores and individuals in 2020 and 2021.
The financial assistance program has grown over the years to include booksellers, comic store staff, bookstore and comic bookstore owners, and their stores. Binc's help covers a range of hardships and emergency situations caused by natural disasters and accidents as well as financial difficulties resulting from medical problems or difficult personal situations. These can include funeral expenses, domestic violence, avoiding eviction or utility cutoffs, or loss of income in households. Binc also offers mental health support and help in learning about community resources--all to help recipients to get back on their feet. Binc has streamlined the process of applying for and receiving aid, and often reaches out to staff and stores in areas that have been affected by floods, hurricanes, fires, and other disasters. As CEO Pam French noted, "We constantly hear, 'Wow, you got me assistance long before state or federal aid came through.' "
Binc also has a long history of awarding scholarships for professional development that allows book and comic people to attend industry events like the ABA's Winter Institute, regional booksellers' association trade shows, the ComicsPRO industry meeting, and the Denver Publishing Institute, a scholarship offered by Binc in collaboration with the Institute and Sourcebooks.
In recent years, Binc has continued to expand in ways that help more book people in new ways:
In 2022, Binc launched its mental health wellness program after book and comic store people said such help was needed. In the beginning it offered four sessions over six months. Early this year, the number of sessions offered increased to six over six months. Binc has made more than 950 mental health wellness referrals.
In 2023, Binc launched BincTank, its business incubator program designed to increase equity in bookstore ownership by supporting entrepreneurs from historically underrepresented communities. The successful three-year pilot program consisted of two cohorts, with 22 entrepreneurs participating. As a result, already 18 communities have a bookstore, and more will be opening.
Binc CEO Pam French said, "Binc believes every community deserves their bookstore. We wanted to be part of the solution, and we're very proud that BincTank is the only incubator for bookstores in the nation. Our board approved a three-year pilot program and we're now evaluating the program and its impact to determine the path forward."
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| Susan Kamil | |
In 2024, the Susan Kamil Emerging Writers Prize was established by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and bestselling author Charles Duhigg and his wife, Dr. Liz Alter, a professor of biology at California State University Monterey Bay. The prize provides financial support for aspiring writers who work in bookstores or comic stores to help them focus on a full-length manuscript, is administered by Binc, and honors Susan Kamil, who was executive vice president and publisher of Random House when she died in 2019. Her publishing career, spanning more than 40 years, began in the 1970s working in the children's book division of Macmillan Publishers. She was known for recognizing new literary voices and introducing them to the public. After the latest round of recipients is named, some $125,000 will have been given to a dozen aspiring writers.
This year, Binc updated its store disaster policy so that in the event of a natural or man-made disaster, $2,000 can be provided before long-term needs are determined. The funds can be used for rental of a storage unit, materials to secure a damaged store, cleaning supplies, or any immediate need. Binc cannot assist by covering a store's payroll or merchandise bills. Additional store assistance may be available if expenses exceed the $2,000 grant.
Binc CEO Pam French noted, "When disaster strikes a store the need is instantaneous. To ensure a store is able to reopen the doors quickly some things can't wait for estimates or an insurance response, and we wanted to recognize that by providing support in those first days."