With the help of the organization, Shelf Awareness celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Book Industry Charitable (Binc) Foundation, which does incredibly important work: helping book and comic store employees, owners, and their stores in times of financial hardship, giving educational and professional scholarships, and much more. Learn how the Foundation continues to expand its work--and is planning for the next 30 years.

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."

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."

The Book Industry Charitable Foundation, better known as Binc, is marking its 30th anniversary next month with a gala celebration in New York that, in classic Binc style, looks forward as much as it honors the Foundation's many amazing accomplishments. Those accomplishments include continually expanding its mission of who it helps and how it helps them, and thus making Binc the key safety net for book and comic store employees, owners, and their stores.

"The Foundation has been there during the headline-grabbing national tragedies like 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the COVID pandemic as well as for the day-to-day crises that can shake the foundation of a household or a store," Binc CEO Pam French said. "It's about book people caring for book people. We're proud to celebrate this community."

A key part of the gala is laying the groundwork for long-term support for Binc's mission. Some 30% of the proceeds from the gala are going to build an endowment for Binc, which will provide it with a steady income that will help with day-to-day as well disaster relief at a time when the work of store owners and employees has become increasingly challenging. (Binc relies entirely on donations.) All are encouraged to contribute to the gala and Binc's endowment.

Gala sponsors include a range of generous publishers, industry groups, authors, book world executives, and others, presented here by sponsorship level:

Premier ($100,000):
Suzanne Collins and Charles Pryor

Epic ($50,000):
Ingram Content Group, Macmillan Publishers

Author/Creator ($30,000):
The American Booksellers Association, Bookshop.org, Penguin Random House, Dav Pilkey, Simon & Schuster, Sourcebooks

Opus ($15,000):
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, HarperCollins Publishers, Anne Kubek, the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association, ReaderLink, Writers House

Folio ($10,000):
Andrews McMeel Publishing, Robert and Janice DiRomualdo, Hachette Book Group, Hudson, an Avolta Company, Michael Connelly--Hieronymus Foundation, Libro.fm, Mad Cave Studios, George and Barbara Mrkonic, Ann Patchett, the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association, the California Independent Booksellers Alliance, the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association, the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association, the New England Independent Booksellers Association, the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance, Yen Press, Zibby Media

Bibliophile ($3,000):
Ellery Adams, Basil Software, Bloomsbury Publishing, Book Advisors LLC, The Book Group, Catapult Book Group, The Children's Book Council, Chronicle Books, Pam French and Lisa Brown, Bonnie Garmus, Ina Garten, Global Publishers Group, Kodansha USA, Min Jin Lee, Gregory Maguire, NetGalley, Marilyn and Phil Ollila, Open Road Integrated Media, Scholastic, Stimola Literary Studio, TOKYOPOP, Vroman's Bookstore

Gala speakers and honorees have a range of connections with Binc, but all share love and admiration for the work that it does.

Dominique Raccah

Dominique Raccah

The gala honorary chair is Dominique Raccah, publisher and CEO of Sourcebooks, who said, "Our company's mantra is 'books change lives,' and we are passionate in that belief. Booksellers are on the front lines of our business--their work makes the human-driven book culture possible. I also have a personal stake in the health of our bookselling community: It was booksellers who were Sourcebooks' first partners and advocates when we started out nearly forty years ago. I've never stopped learning from them, but I've also witnessed how tough it often is for them to weather all the world throws their way: natural disasters, pandemics, ICE raids, not to mention rent increases and myriad other financial challenges. I see Binc as booksellers' first responders, always there when their community members are at their most vulnerable, offering vital resources that help keep them afloat. In other words, I see supporting Binc as a key investment in the infrastructure that brings books and readers together.

"We are living through unprecedented, scary times. But booksellers have stepped up. Take the example of the Minneapolis/St. Paul community. During the height of the ICE chaos there, Moon Palace Books, for one, served as a community hub for creating zines and whistle packs to distribute, and made available free anti-ICE signs. In St. Paul, Red Balloon Bookshop collected many hundreds of book donations and distributed them to students whose schools were closed because of the raids. While our current leaders model cruelty and ignorance, these heroes among us are modeling kindness and compassion. We need to support them in every possible way, which is what Binc has been doing for thirty years.

"For decades I've found booksellers to be among the most entrepreneurial, creative, industrious, and all round extraordinary people. Binc understands that and understands them. I can't wait to highlight all of that at the gala on May 13th. Our entire industry should raise a glass on that night to all Binc does to ensure our bookselling partners can continue in their mission to bring books and readers together."

Emma Straub

Emma Straub

Author and bookseller Emma Straub is serving as emcee for the Binc 30th Anniversary Gala. Her most recent book is American Fantasy, published just last week. She's the author of a range of adult and children's books and is also co-owner of Books Are Magic, Brooklyn, N.Y. She has supported Binc in myriad ways, with both direct donations as well as contributions from sales of items in the stores.

Ann Patchett

Author and bookseller Ann Patchett, who served as the inaugural Ambassador for Binc, explained her support for the organization this way: "In 2016, the sales rep from HarperCollins, Kate McCune, was at Parnassus Books, the store I own in Nashville. Kate was everybody's favorite rep, and our whole team adored her. She asked me if I'd get involved with Binc. I'd never heard of Binc, but I would have done anything Kate asked. It was such a brief conversation in a hallway, a quick question and a quick answer. It changed everything for me. I had agreed to become Binc's first author ambassador, a role that I would pour myself into for years to come. 

Ann Patchett

"Much of this had to do with Pam French. Liking Kate got me in the door and working with Pam got me to stay. Their mission--helping booksellers in need and doing it quickly, very much aligned with my own work at Parnassus. If one of our booksellers needed help, I could help them, but what about all those stores that didn't have a novelist at the helm? The publishing industry stands on the shoulders of booksellers who don't make enough money. It's our responsibility as authors, publishers, and store owners to offer assistance to the people who make our careers possible.

"One of the things I'm good for is asking people in the publishing industry for money. I've done a lot of favors over the years, and people have been wonderfully responsive when I ask them to support Binc's good work. I also try to talk to booksellers about Binc whenever I'm on tour visiting stores. I've heard so many moving stories over the years, including one young bookseller who said Binc had helped her get the money to pay for her mother's funeral.

"Binc is an extremely humane organization. I've been proud to be a part of it."

Amor Towles

Amor Towles

Amor Towles has been the Binc Ambassador since 2024, helping raise awareness and support for the Foundation. His reason for supporting Binc is simple: independent bookstores are "the primary place where readers discover a new voice," he said. "Indie booksellers read everything in a genuine hunt for exciting voices and well written books that entertain and inform--all kinds of books, for all age groups, and in all genres. They talk about the books they love with readers, and readers talk with other readers, and a chain reaction of quality finding its audience starts there. As a literary writer, I owe a great debt and gratitude to independent booksellers who started that chain reaction for me." 

He called it "a paradox" that booksellers, who are "advocates, looking for and discovering new voices," have to "accept a life of precarious economics. There is not really a backstop for them, especially in the way that the American safety net has evolved. These people who are giving their lives to create a wonderful catalytic energy for American letters find that there's nothing there if they get into difficulty through no fault of their own."

Binc provides the missing backstop, he said, "So it's a delight to continue to support Binc for the benefit of booksellers who face challenges." And he advised, "To help build a lasting resource, there's no better use of money than to contribute to the endowment."

George Mrkonic

George Mrkonic was president and vice chairman of Borders in 1996, when Binc was founded as the Borders Group Foundation, a way for Borders employees to help each other when staff members faced a hardship not covered by normal benefits. He is receiving the Founders Award.

George Mrkonic

Mrkonic remembered that the idea of a company creating a way to help employees struck him as "an internal United Way but even more compelling because the people contributing and the people receiving help were close." He suggested that Borders look into establishing such an effort, which he found especially suitable for the book retailer, where there was not "a massive cultural gap between people at the top of the company and the frontline employees." (He estimated that 80% of Borders staff were frontline and had college degrees, making them "possibly smarter and definitely more well-read" than upper level management.) Mrkonic called the Borders Group Foundation "not a form of welfare, but a form of insurance since we could all get into trouble because of illness or a storm."

When the Foundation started, he continued, "there was no difficulty raising money," especially with the company matching staff contributions. The big surprise was that "we couldn't get our people to ask for help." Borders executives worked with store managers to find staff who needed help, but "invariably the person would say 'Others need it more than I do.' " Eventually that changed, and "for a long time the Foundation worked at Borders," adding to the sense of community. Mrkonic emphasized, "I helped get it started," but many other people were involved, and he's proud that the Foundation lives on as Binc. And he is especially happy that onetime Borders executives Phil Ollila and Anne Kubek will be presenting him with the award.

Marco Davanzo

Marco Davanzo

Marco Davanzo, who is receiving the Unsung Hero Award at the gala, has been the executive director of ComicsPRO, the trade association for direct-market comic book retailers, since 2014. He's also the owner of Alakazam Comics in Irvine, Calif. 

He said, "Comic store owners and employees often do not have a safety net. An unexpected financial emergency may cause a store to shut down or a person to go into bankruptcy. The good folks at Binc realize that and are there to help with financial, medical, and mental health needs. During COVID, Binc was there on the front lines--sending monies and other support to people who were struggling. They were our hope in a season of darkness.

"On a personal note, I believe that Binc hires the best. The people at Binc are super friendly, engaging, and caring. They are the superstars of the comics industry, and I'm proud to help them celebrate 30 years of success."

Katie "Kat" Megna

Bookseller Katie "Kat" Megna said it took her months to make a call for help. "I hate asking for help in any capacity. I just was so embarrassed about it."

Kat's wife was the primary provider for their family of three when layoffs eliminated her job at a tech company and she struggled to find work.

"Her job allowed me to do what I love," said Kat, who has been at Books Inc. for 14 years. "I love being a children's bookseller but it doesn't pay the rent. We were going through our savings as quickly as we were saving it."

Family helped when they could, but the Bay Area is expensive and the bills piled up quickly. When their car broke down, Kat knew it was time.

"I talked to just one person from start to finish and didn't even have a chance to warn our building supervisor that a check for rent was on the way from Binc," Kat said. "It took my wife a year to get another job, but that month of help was enormous and got us on track."

Kat shared her story because "the more you talk about something the less stigma there is." When she was worried about a colleague who was too embarrassed to apply, she did it anonymously for him. "Binc is a lifesaver, literally a lifesaver."

Joe Murray

For 25 years Joe Murray and his wife, Danielle, have owned Captain Blue Hen Comics in Newark, Del., and had the backs of their customers. "We're a family-oriented store," Murray said. "We aim for a smile and we're here for our customers, offering emotional support, and a happy place to go."

When they were the ones in need of financial and emotional support, Joe remembered Binc.

"When my daughter was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis a few years ago it was hard enough navigating the impact it had on her and our family," he said. "The first medication she was given was inexpensive but made her nauseous. Finding something that worked meant an $8,000 monthly bill. Without Binc, we wouldn't have made it through the first year."

For him, "Binc support is like a weighted blanket. It provides financial assistance, but it also surrounds you." He recalled Binc's help in getting access to online financial tools, My Medical Journal to track a complex medical condition, the resources to negotiate down high medical bills and help pay the copays for a costly medication. "It's hard to fight the fight alone. It takes a village and Binc is a big part of that village. It's very comforting to know someone has your back."

Murray, who is the board president of ComicsPRO, uses every opportunity to spread the word about Binc and offer his support. "You can do everything right and things can still go wrong," he said. "There's no shame in asking for help."