You don’t have to be crazy to commit to raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for a historical
society in a small Maine town – but it helps! In 2003 our Georgetown
Historical Society (GHS) Board of Directors set a goal of finding a
permanent home and establishing an endowment to help ensure its future.
For those who don’t know, Georgetown is a midcoast Maine island community connected by bridges to the mainland. We
have a year-round population of less than 1100 and an active seasonal
population twice that number, many of whom have deep family roots here.
GHS incorporated in 1975 and our volunteers
are responsible for: a temporary headquarters with a growing collection of
local historical reference materials; an old schoolhouse museum; monthly
community discussions about local history and local people; research and
publication in the fields of local history and genealogy; an annual
Celebration of the Arts festival; an on-going oral history project;
publication of our bimonthly journal, The Georgetown Tide; and a nascent web
site. It had become increasingly difficult to do
all of these activities while not having a permanent and secure home base.
Like lots of Maine towns our coastal community is changing at a rapid pace,
putting more pressure on us to preserve the documents, photos,
recollections, and traditions that have made us what we are. We considered
many options. After months of deliberation, the Board decided to build a
new home on 2-acres of land donated by a local family and the Town of
Georgetown. Carol Wilson of Falmouth, our wonderfully talented and very
patient architect, has skillfully guided us over several years to create a
place that blends traditional New England architecture with contemporary
needs and style.
The under-construction Georgetown Historical and Cultural
Center is 3,200 square-feet with a central foyer from which outstretch two
wings – one to house the research library and archival vault and one for the
exhibition/event space. It’s located in the center of town, just a short
walk to the Town Office and the elementary school and on the road to the
transfer station. A perfect location! The projected cost for such a dream:
$705,000 for the building plus $250,000 for an endowment..
It’s been a long, tough slog to get this
far. Knowing it would take a huge commitment of time and energy, we made a
pledge that no matter what else happened we wanted to still be good friends
and neighbors when all was said and done! There were a few times (okay,
more than a few times) when each of us has felt exhausted and overwhelmed by
the demands of the undertaking. And let’s not ignore the week after week,
month after month, never-ending meetings, despite the fact that we used
e-mail to keep in touch!
Fortunately, every once in a while we’ve had
some “Yes!” days to keep us motivated. We were buoyed when major donations,
long in the making, materialized and leapfrogged our fundraising total.
There was the March 2006 day when we broke ground and the recent one when we
stepped into the partially dry-walled building and could visualize how it
will look when finished.
Among the most gratifying days are those when
neighbors have sent modest donations that represent huge commitments on
their part. And then they thank us for making it happen!
Every such project is different and certainly
we have made our share of missteps. (If you really want to know what those
are, you can ask us.) However, based on our experience thus far, here are
some suggestions for any organization considering such an undertaking.
- Know who you are. If
you don’t have a long-range plan and a mission or vision statement, do
that first. Who we were for the first 25 years is markedly different from
what our plans propose us to be. We kept the best of who we are and
expanded into new ventures.
- Get your organization
ready. Have your Board and key committee members on board. While in the
beginning not all of our Board members were convinced we could do this,
they were supportive and stayed involved all along the way. Be sure your
infrastructure can stand the added weight. We completely revamped our
board and committee structure. Whether it’s a renovation or new
construction, you’ll need committees for raising funds and planning and
managing the building, Have a financial system and a Treasurer and
Finance Committee that can handle the new responsibilities, and get those
thank you letters out promptly.
-
Beg, borrow, or hire pros to help you plan and organize.
If you need to do so, bring in someone to help with a long-range plan and
conduct a survey of your membership and your community. Visit other
organizations with similar missions and see how they operate. We did and
we learned a lot. Seek free advice from professional fundraisers,
organizational consultants, and financial experts. Or, if you have to,
pay for it. In the long run it will make a huge difference.
-
Keep your campaign homegrown. We hired a consultant to
help us do a long-range plan and an architect to design our building. We
consulted with pros to plan our fundraising campaign and restructure our
committees. However, we did our own fundraising feasibility study through
confidential interviews of a diverse group of several dozen residents.
Local volunteers have done all of our fundraising letters, personal
solicitations, and community events. Who else could speak more
effectively about the value of the project?
- Think creatively about
donations. Of course we have sought cash donations and multi-year
pledges. We’ve solicited in-kind donations of labor and services from
businesses and individuals, received a Maine State Archives grant, and
several private foundation grants. The U.S. Navy Seabees selected us as
one of their ten nation-wide construction-training projects for the summer
of 2006. At our annual meeting we auctioned items with a historical twist
including a tour of old steamship landings and tidal mills, in a classic
car, with lunch at the local five-star restaurant. Not every fundraiser
will bring in a lot of money. But they can build community, raise
awareness, and bolster volunteer morale.
- Have a physical
presence in your community. For 25 years we were homeless and lived out
of board members’ attics and basements. Since we started the campaign,
our home is a small temporary headquarters on the main road in the middle
of town. It is a continual reminder of our existence and of our capital
campaign – thanks to our beautiful (donated) campaign sign. Plus, folks
drop in to see what we have on display, to donate money or items for the
archives, and just to say hello. Our bi-monthly publication, The
Georgetown Tide, also helps us to keep in touch.
- Don’t forget who you
are and what you do. Just because you’ve embarked on a major capital
campaign you can’t slack off from doing what you normally do. Keep
publishing that newsletter, conducting those community education programs,
minding your membership, responding to genealogical inquiries, tending
your website, and so on. Who you are is what your community loves about
you. Make sure you have the resources to keep on doing what you do.
On a
personal note, we offer the following to any who undertake such an
adventure:
· Ask your family in
advance for understanding and forgiveness. Warn family members that they
have now been drafted by familial association into this adventure and must
prepare themselves. Remember, even though it seems like you are spending
more time with your capital campaign colleagues than with your family, as
long as you are not setting up cots to hold midnight planning sessions at
the office, there’s hope that you’ll someday get the rest of your life
back.
· Give your friends
permission to change the subject when you have once again rambled on much
too long about you know what.
· Don’t give up your
hobbies. You won’t have any time for them but don’t give up at least
thinking about them.
· Find your patience
and your sense of humor and keep them close at all times.
