Capital Campaign Update

Report from the Capital Campaign Committee

By now members should have received a mailing about the Capital Campaign. We hope you will consider being a part of this effort. We are on our way towards reaching our goal of raising $1.2 million and providing financial stability for our society for many years to come.  

How the idea got started

The idea to have a campaign began in fall of 2015. The CGS board appointed a committee who has been working on campaign strategies. The silent phase is now complete with almost $350,000 raised. Recently a mailing was sent to all members.

Over the past few months, the committee has posted several articles about what we’ve been doing including encouraging members to become life members. All money received from life memberships goes directly into the Sherman-Haughton Fund (formerly known as the Endowment Fund).

Why it’s needed

We hope you have read the material in the mailing and understand how important the campaign is to assure the continued success of the society. Our goal is to grow our existing financial “safety net” so that CGS will be prepared if we undergo challenging times as we did during the 2008 recession.  

Our goal to raise $1.2 million is an enormous endeavor.  We have confidence that our generous members will come forward with what they can donate to assist us in reaching this goal!

Here are some ways you can help us reach our goal:

• Donate $1,000,000 and have the library named after you.  For example, it might be called The John & Mary Smith Library of the California Genealogical Society.
• Contribute over $100,000 and you will have the opportunity to have your genealogical research done and/or published. If this is something you might consider, please contact Jane Lindsey.
• Make a donation of $10,000. If 20 members gave $10,000 each, then that would raise $200,000.
• Become a life member for $1,200. If 100 members become life members that would raise $120,000.
• Donate $100. If all 1000 members gave $100, then that would raise $100,000.
• Encourage others to join CGS. If we gained 100 basic memberships $4,000 would be raised.  If we gained 100 family memberships, we would have another $5,500.

Please remember that no contribution is too small!  We appreciate your support.  Thank you.

Capital Campaign committee

Chris Pattillo, Chair

Jane Lindsey

Sandy Fryer

Copyright © 2017 by California Genealogical Society

Help us reach our $15,000 Annual Appeal goal

We need your help to achieve our goal 

The Annual Appeal for the California Genealogical Society so far has raised 40 percent — $6,000 — of its $15,000 goal. We’re currently on-track to meet it (thank you all) and are ahead by approximately $1000 compared to the same time last year. However, we still need your help to reach 100%.

Treasurer Kathie Jones states, "So far, 68 members have contributed $6,000.  I’m encouraged that our members are digging deeper this year to support our resource-rich genealogy society and library. Our average donation this year has increased to almost $87 per person.” 

Why is the money needed? 

Membership fees only cover 40% of our operating expenses; most of the rest comes from special events and tax-deductible donations from members like you.  Kathie says, "The cost of real estate in the San Francisco Bay area continues to be our number one expense for the society---meaning our rent consumes about 70% of our budget."

Our library, with thousands of volumes, is one of the premiere genealogy libraries on the West Coast, and is one of the main reasons that many of you joined the society.  We also learned through our member survey results that The California Nugget, our biannual genealogical magazine, is another huge draw for our members.

2017 Goals 

This year, the goal was set at $15,000 - $2,500 more than last year’s target to help us continue offering quality trips, classes, events and speakers for you, such as the world-famous Cyndi Ingle.  Cyndi’s seminar was sold-out and received rave reviews from the attendees.

We also led our first-ever trip to Washington, D.C. “Our genealogy research trip in November was a great success---we added almost $4,000 to our coffers and had a collegial group of genealogy-minded people who had a fantastic experience exploring all of the available federal and DAR records. I couldn’t be more happy with it!” exclaimed President Linda Harms Okazaki. 

Linda also wants to remind you to check your mail to see if you have received the Annual Appeal letter that was sent out in mid-November.  If you haven’t already done so, please consider contributing to the society. "Don’t forget that there’s a 2016 tax deduction created by contributing before year-end. I also want to thank each and every one of you that have donated or have volunteered in some way this year. Without your incredible dedication, none of this would be possible,” says Linda. 

What’s ahead in 2017?

Member Lisa Gorrell will lead our 17^th annual genealogy research trip to Salt Lake City in April and on September 23^rd we will play host to the incredible Judy G. Russell, also known as The Legal Genealogist.  We hope you’ll consider one or both of these amazing genealogical experiences.  Both help us raise needed funds for the society and library. We also have an interesting and constantly evolving slate of classes for you to choose from in the New Year.

The genealogy community is amazing 

In order to ensure that our society remains a leader in the genealogy field (in just over a year we'll reach our 120th anniversary), your help is needed.  With all the rapid advances in technology, we’re managing to stay current and remain a relevant resource for scholarship, education and community thanks to all of you.

Please donate today.

You make our success possible.

Thank you.

Copyright © 2016 by California Genealogical Society

Endowment Honors

by Chris Pattillo 

In October of 2016, the board of the California Genealogy Society (CGS) approved a recommendation to rename our endowment fund as the Sherman-Haughton Fund. There are numerous reasons for doing so, but the most important one is that the board wanted to honor and recognize the significant contributions – both financial and in-service – that Frederick “Rick” Sherman and Ken Haughton have made to our society.

Rick Sherman

Frederick S. Sherman, Ph.D.

Known to everyone as “Rick” joined CGS in 1980 and from that time until his death he filled many vital roles in the society.

His first position was as Library Chairman. Then he served for ten years as Research Director, and volunteered as a member of our heroic Desk Duty team. He also participated in in a key strategic planning effort shortly before his death.

Rick was a willing speaker and enjoyed helping others with their research. He even made trips to Salt Lake City 
on behalf of members to find clues about their ancestors. Rick served as President of our society from 1994-1996.

In a 2008 Blog post honoring Rick, member June Nash Lindquist had this to say about Rick, “We all value Rick's sage advice, and cheerful and generous spirit. Rick is so knowledgeable on so many directions of research. We always appreciate his witty and wise conclusions to very knotty problems."

Generous in many ways

Rick and his wife Pat were exceedingly generous in many ways. Over the years they made regular financial contributions to help fund important projects. In 1983, their donations covered the cost of purchasing Bibliofile – at the time a new software program that was used to catalogue the library’s holdings. 

In 1996, a sizeable contribution from Rick and Pat helped to underwrite a 600 square foot expansion of the library when it was located on Brannan Street in San Francisco. As recognition of their gift, a new reading room was named in their honor. Also, when the library moved to its current location, Rick and Pat paid for the new shelving.   

But of all of Rick’s many contributions, the one that will no doubt have the most lasting impact is the endowment that he started in 1992. Rick initially donated $6000 to start the endowment and he contributed more funds each year through 2001. In total, Rick and Pat gave over $490,000 towards our endowment – in addition to their other financial gifts.  These gifts are a huge reason for our continued societal success.

Ken Haughton

Ken Haughton

Our other benefactor joined the society in 1978. Early on Ken served on the board and for many years served as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). He also participated in one of the society’s strategic planning efforts. 

Ken is a very knowledgeable family history researcher. He is particularly knowledgeable about how DNA can be used as a tool for genealogists and has even spoken about it for the society. He also has written several family histories and articles.

Ken and his wife Beverly joined Rick in 1997 by making a sizeable donation. They have continued to make very generous contributions every year ever since. As CFO, Ken set up our endowment and invested it in a small number of prudent mutual funds. Over the years Ken managed these funds and by December 31, 2009 our endowment balance was over $794,000. (This includes a building fund that was started by CGS past president, David Adams.)

As someone who knows Ken well, Jane Knowles Lindsey said, “Ken and I have known one another since our days in the 1990’s as Trustees of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. While I served as CGS president, I frequently called on Ken to lend his expertise in so many areas that helped strengthen CGS.”

A wonderful financial teacher

It was at about this time that Jim Sorenson and I were both appointed to the Investment Committee and Ken taught us how he had been managing the society’s money. I was honored to work with Ken who reassured me that by investing responsibly our assets would continue to grow. Ken must have felt comfortable with us because in 2010 he stepped down as chair of the Investment Committee and I filled the vacancy. Since that time, Jim and I, and now Tom Jones, have continued to oversee and manage the endowment in the same manner that Ken did for thirteen years. Ken has always generously answered my questions and now serves as a sounding board as we continue to make minor adjustments to our investment portfolio. Today, the value of our combined funds is over $1.3 million dollars.

Securing the future

The purpose of creating the endowment was to provide long-term security for the society and to cover unforeseen expenses, should they arise.  Over the years the cost to support the society has grown significantly. As part of our 120^th anniversary we have a plan to grow the endowment by $1.2 million. It is a lofty goal, but one we feel is well worth pursuing. The increased endowment will help ensure that CGS will be able to continue to help our members discover their past for the next 120 years.

In recognition of the many contributions to CGS by Rick Sherman and Ken Haughton, we are pleased to announce that the endowment will now be known as the Sherman-Haughton Fund.

Help us continue the tradition of supporting genealogy research, events and library through our endowment.  Please contact Jane Lindsey or myself to discuss how you can be a part of this historic fundraising effort.  Thank you.

Photos provided by Jane Knowles Lindsey

Copyright © 2016 by California Genealogical Society