Preserve the Pensions: Try a Matching-Funds Campaign

Preserve the War of 1812 Pensions

An excellent way for a genealogical society to raise funds for the Preserve the Pensions Campaign is to create a matching-donor program within your own society. Instead of just raising funds to donate to PTP, take those funds and use them as a “starter or seed fund.” This is the money that you can use to match funds which are donated. The following are suggestions that can help you and your society:

• Create a seed-fund by holding a money-raising event, such as a bake sale or a garage sale.

• Add a box on your society membership renewal card. An additional $1.00 sent in at the time of a renewal is something most people can afford. You’d be surprised to see how the dollars add up.

• Sponsor a walk. Perhaps designate a destination which has historic value, particularly if it’s an 1812 site, in your locality. You could have T-shirts or other mementos made just for the event. This activity will be done at our FGS 2014 Conference in San Antonio!

• Does your society already sponsor a fund-raising event each year? Tap into that event and designate some of those funds to be used as a starter fund. 

Remember that starter-funds can match individual donations, which can be matched again by the Stern-NARA fund for a limited time. From there, Ancestry.com matches those funds, which quadruples the donation. Funds need to be raised for the pension records that desperately need to be preserved. 

Please share your matching funds ideas with us at office@fgs.org and on the 1812 Preserve the Pensions Facebook Page.

Visit PreservethePensions.org for more information about the War of 1812 Pension Digitization Project, which is a Community Digitization Project sponsored by the Federation of Genealogical Societies, the National Archives Records Administration, fold3.com, Ancestry.com, and Family Search, and supported by generous genealogical organization donors as well as individual donors.