As we celebrate our 5th anniversary of a non-profit, we are so grateful for the donor support that has kept us going and kept the world’s largest video library available for thousands to enjoy every year.

Your support makes all of the difference. It’s been a tough year for Scarecrow. We’ve seen a sharp and sudden decline in rentals at a time when the cost of keeping our doors open is at an all-time high. Throughout these setbacks, however, we continued to deliver quality year-round community outreach programs at no cost to the children, families, seniors, and film lovers who enjoyed them. We provided free screenings and important opportunities for social interaction to older adults through our Silver Screeners program. We delivered a free weekly Children’s Hour that is a unique blend of storytime, arts activities and science experiments with a sprinkling of video clips that stoke kids’ curiosity about other cultures and experiences. In August, we once again produced a free series of outdoor events through Movies in the Park where hundreds of attendees enjoyed family-friendly films and pre-show activities in Magnuson Park. And we hosted hundreds of free screenings, lectures, and events nearly every night in our Screening Room. During tough times, your support helps us bridge the gap.

And it’s our mission to constantly seek new ways to share the collection. We have exciting plans and we need YOUR help to realize them. We’re currently in the initial stages of testing a rental by mail program that has the potential to expand access to the collection (if you’re interested in being a part of the trial program, by the way, drop a line to john@scarecrow.com). But in order to grow it, we need to replace severely outdated systems. We continue to seek initial funding for an Education Program that will fulfill requests by students and educators for increased access and assistance with curricula. And we’d like to extend our reach through original audio and video content created by Scarecrow’s long-tenured cinephiles. Your support of our year-end campaign will help us stay on the path toward reaching these goals.

Protecting access to physical media is more important than ever. Recently, we’ve all seen chilling stories of studios limiting access to their catalogs, removing titles from future repertory runs, and raising prices for the few cable outlets that still show classic film, all in preparation to launch their own meagerly stocked and increasingly fractured streaming platforms. The very same short-sighted complacency that lead to the loss of 90% of all silent films looms and Scarecrow is the antidote.

Please show your support of Scarecrow with a tax-deductible donation today and keep this collection alive and available for years to come.

Make your gift now!