Fred R. Collier provided the initial endowment for CISSL through a generous gift to the Rutgers Foundation. The Collier Fund, established in 2000, supports research focused on educational libraries at Rutgers' Library and Information Science Department.
Born in New Brunswick in 1913, Fred R. Collier was a retired Johnson and Johnson executive whose initiative and skill allowed him to overcome a lack of formal education in rising from mailroom clerk to president of one of J&J's subsidiaries.

His donation signified his regard for learning and literacy, as well as for the opportunities CISSL and school libraries provide students seeking a better path through life. CISSL welcomes supplementary support from those of similar conviction.

Ruth and Jay Toor have made substantial donations to support the establishment of CISSL. Their generous support provided initial funding for CISSL's administrative staff and a scholarship funds for masters students specializing in school libraries.

Ruth is a school library consultant with an MLS from Rutgers University who is retired from a distinguished career in the Chatham, New Jersey, public schools. She is a well-known writer, workshop presenter, and publisher who, as past president of AASL and EMAnj, continues to serve as national and state leader in the profession.

The Carole and Norman Barham Family Foundation's generous donation to CISSL supports MLIS students preparing for certification as school library media specialists in K-12 schools via CISSL.

The foundation established the Beverly E. Schoen Research Fellowship to support graduate students conducting research projects and initiatives relating to school libraries in the United States, with a preference for projects in New Jersey schools.

Carole Barham has an MLS from Rutgers and is a retired school media specialist, having headed school libraries in East Brunswick and serving as head librarian at Columbia High School in South Orange/Maplewood, NJ.