The Austin Public Library Friends Foundation has been selected as the 2012 Engaging Conversations® beneficiary.

Engaging Conversations® is our annual fundraiser, started by the firm in 2000.  Guests are placed around dinner tables hosted by some of the most accomplished and intriguing people in the country, providing a rare opportunity to engage in conversation with business and civic leaders, entertainers, authors, educators and other exceptional individuals. Each year, a different Central Texas charity is selected as the beneficiary of the fundraiser.

Since its inception, the event has raised a combined total of over $480,000 for these organizations:

• 2011 Austin Children’s Shelter
• 2010 Mainspring School
• 2009 Family Eldercare
• 2008 People’s Community Clinic
• 2007 Health Alliance for Austin Musicians
• 2006 Capital Area Food Bank of Texas
• 2005 Hospice Austin
• 2004 St. David’s Root Cause Project
• 2003 Caritas of Austin
• 2002 Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas
• 2001 CASA of Travis County
• 2000 SafePlace