Many of L.A. Public Library’s branches are lacking in some basics, due to limited resources and limited funding. Brian Kaufman, a partner of Westridge Capital, wanted to use his resources to help bring funding to the library system.

“My mother was a teacher in a public school for over 30 years and a big supporter of the libraries, so I used public libraries all the time growing up,” Kaufman said. “The combination of my upbringing and the fact that Los Angeles has such a rich library system that serves such a diverse community really pushed me to get involved.”

Just over a year ago, Kaufman, along with Michael Jones, executive vice president and CFO of Lambert Television; writer Gina Lain; and former film producer Savannah Stevens started Young Literati, a philanthropic social group with members 21 to 45 years old.

“There was a lot of interest by younger Angelenos to support this great L.A. institution,” Kaufman said. “So we put together a group that would attract people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. The group is interesting from a literary stand point, but also helps raise money for the libraries.”

Young Literati plans to use a portion of its funds each year to support a particular library branch chosen in collaboration with City Librarian Fontayne Holmes and give the remainder of the funds to the Library Foundation of Los Angeles.

“Our mission is to improve the community one small area at a time,” said Lori Enterline, a coordinator in the group. “Each year we will choose one branch and give that branch whatever it needs most.”

This year, its first, Young Literati raised over $45,000 and chose to sponsor downtown’s Felipe de Neve branch on Sixth Street. The branch serves more than 95,000 people. The group donated 10 new computers, raising the branch’s total number of computers to 31.

“The Felipe de Neve branch serves one of the densest and most diverse populations in Los Angeles,” Enterline said. “It had very few computers and they were all in bad shape, so we decided this was the most useful contribution we could make.”

The group presented the computers to the library on June 2nd.

“Computers are so important in our society,” Holmes said. “Students need them to succeed in school and adults need them to access all kinds of information. But many people in our communities do not have access to a computer at home. We feel so fortunate to have this great support from the Young Literati. Their contribution makes a significant difference.”

Young Literati’s funds come from a combination of membership dues and ticket sales to events such as cocktail parties. Last year, the group organized five evenings featuring well established individuals who spoke about their work. Speakers included author Aimee Bender, commentator Susan Estrich, television producer Rob Long and filmmaker Jessica Sanders.

“These events are a chance for young Angelenos who are interested in supporting the libraries to get together in a social and intellectual setting,” Kaufman said.

The group’s upcoming event will have a beach party-like setting and will feature speaker Craig Ferguson, host of “The Late Late Show.” The events are open to members as well as non-members and tickets range from $20 to $100.

“In the past year, we’ve had between 60 to 120 people at the events,” Kaufman said. “You walk before you run, so we’ve been trying to have more intimate events while testing the various aspects of what we are trying to put together. Now that we’re confident in our operations, we hope to host bigger events in bigger venues with more attendees.”

Young Literati has not yet chosen the branch it will sponsor in its second year, but Kaufman and fellow group members will meet with Holmes to determine which branch is most in need.

In time, he said he hopes to get to them all.