Publication Challenges to 21st Century Societies

Originally appeared in The Graphic, June 30, 1877 (p. 617); courtesy of Wikimedia

If you are the editor of a society publication - whether it's a journal, quarterly, or magazine, print or electronic (or both) - you have probably experienced a few challenges along the way, from marketing to content acquisition to distribution of your publication.

Do you have recurring columns or other items that your readers can count on seeing in every issue?  Are your news items consistently out of date because they are published in your quarterly rather than in a more timely newsletter or blog post?  Are you limiting the ways your readers can receive your publication?

Guest Matt Wright (former Co-Editor of the FGS Forum) discusses these and other challenges associated with a wide variety of society publications and many ways to overcome them or use them to your advantage.

Listen to the archived broadcast of "Publication Challenges to 21st Century Societies" on the blogtalkradio My Society channel by FGS, or you can listen below:

Check Out History Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with mysociety on BlogTalkRadio 

WordPress for Your Society Website

Gone are the days when hiring a professional computer programmer to be a "webmaster" was required if a society wanted an online presence.  These days, it's easier than ever to build your own website without having to know all that computer code!

Listen in as WordPress "guru" Taneya Koonce explains how easy it is to get started with WordPress and build your society's website (including a blog).

Many organizations use WordPress as the platform for their websites ... big and small ... from BestBuy and Xerox to the North Carolina GenWeb Project.

Some of the benefits of using WordPress:

• It's FREE**
• Allows you to focus on your content rather than spending all your time worrying about your layout
• Your content is readily searchable on all major search engines
• It's easily customizable
• Many (20,000+) plugins can be installed to perform pretty much any task you can think of to automate your site, leaving you more time to create content

Maybe now is a good time for your society to create (or update) its online presence!

Listen to the archived broadcast of "WordPress for Your Society Website" on the blogtalkradio My Society channel by FGS, or you can listen below:

Check Out History Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with mysociety on BlogTalkRadio

For more information, check out these articles from our Society Strategy Series:

• Society Web Sites: Plain and Simple
• Ten Ways to Market Your Non-Profit Like a Business

**WordPress.com is absolutely free, but you are limited in the plugins you are allowed to use.  With WordPress.org, you may incur some expense in purchasing a domain and a hosting company, but the WordPress platform is free of charge.  Some plugins are also available for a fee.

High Touch: Keeping Connected to Your Society Members

As a society, do you spend a lot of time and effort trying to recruit new members?  Have you given any thought to your current members? 

Join guest Pam Treme, Editor of Florida Lines, the newsletter of the Florida State Genealogical Society, as she provides hints on how to keep in touch with your current society members the way(s) they need to be contacted so they don't feel forgotten.

Some older members may not have (or may not be comfortable with) current technology and prefer to be contacted by phone or by "snail mail."  On the other hand, if you have younger members, they may prefer to get their news from a Facebook page or website.  Other members may prefer text messages.

And how about that time before, during, and after your meetings?  Are you connecting with your members as much as you are with potential members?  What about your out-of-town members?  Are you making sure they're kept in the loop?

Listen to the archived broadcast of "High Touch: Keeping Connected to Your Society Members" on the blogtalkradio My Society channel by FGS, or you can listen below:

Check Out History Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with mysociety on BlogTalkRadio

For more information, check out these articles from our Society Strategy Series:

• Planning & Conducting Meetings
• Put Your Best Foot Forward: How Small Societies Get Noticed
• Now That You've Attracted Those Members, Keep Them!

Society Leadership: Presidents' Day

Presidents' Day is just around the corner.  What better way to celebrate than discussing the integral role of the President of any genealogical society?

How do you make a smooth transition from one elected board to the next?  Your term will be over before you even know it -- are you prepared to help your successor step into your role?  Do you have a plan for your office and your board?  Does your plan fit into the mission statement and purpose of the society?  Does it reflect the wants and needs of your members and your society as a whole?

Guests Sue Kaufman (past President, current Education Director of member society Texas State Genealogical Society) and Pat Oxley (past President of FGS) explain how they used their leadership experience to overcome challenges to move their respective organizations forward.

Listen to the archived broadcast of "Society Leadership: Presidents' Day" on the blogtalkradio My Society channel by FGS, or you can listen below:

Check Out History Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with mysociety on BlogTalkRadio

For more information, check out these articles from our Society Strategy Series:

• Leadership Styles
• A Strategy for Legislative Change
• Boardsmanship! Nine Principles
• Planning & Conducting Meetings

Grants and Fundraising for Genealogy Societies

courtesy: taxcredits.net

You've got all your ducks in a row, your papers are all in order, and now your society is ready to tackle some of those initiatives...but the funding just isn't going as far as you thought it would.

Help is available!

Many large organizations, including state genealogical societies, offer grants to smaller local genealogical and historical societies to help fund preservation, restoration, and other projects.

Join guests Julie Hill of Archives.com and Ron Darrah of member society Indiana Genealogical Society as they discuss the grant programs available from those two organizations* and others. 

Listen to the archived broadcast of "Grants and Fundraising for Genealogy Societies" on the blogtalkradio My Society channel by FGS, or you can listen below:

Check Out History Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with mysociety on BlogTalkRadio

*Archives.com has discontinued their grant program since the original broadcast. Links mentioned in the broadcast are no longer valid.

For more information, check out these articles from our Society Strategy Series:

• Creating Society Archives
• Community Service Projects
• Preparing a Budget
• Maximize Your Volunteer Donations

Legal and Tax Considerations for Your Genealogical Society

Is your society incorporated?  Did you know that most societies are not incorporated as a 501(c)(3) corporation, but are organized and incorporated under their individual state laws and merely qualify for tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code?

If your society is not incorporated, is your President aware that they might be held personally responsible for every contract or agreement involving your society?

What does "not-for-profit" actually mean?  Did you know that it's totally okay for your society to make money?

Join guest Frederick E. Moss, JD, former Associate Dean and Professor of Law at Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, in this episode as he discusses these and other challenges your society may be facing, or may face in the future.

Listen to the archived broadcast of "Legal and Tax Considerations for Your Genealogical Society" on the blogtalkradio My Society channel by FGS, or you can listen below:

Check Out History Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with mysociety on BlogTalkRadio

For more information, check out these articles from our Society Strategy Series:

Legalities of Establishing a Society
Five Steps to Organizing a Society
Incorporation and IRS Regulations

Crafting an Effective Member Survey

We've talked about analyzing your society to begin implementing changes to programs, publications, bylaws, etc.  But it's usually not a good idea to change things just for the sake of change ... so how do you know what changes need to be made?

You ask.

Surveys don't have to be limited to your current members. You can use the internet and social media to your advantage and be able to reach specific demographics all over the planet, depending on the purpose of your survey.

Have any idea whether you'll use structured questions or open-ended questions? Do you know the best time to conduct a survey? What tools are the best for surveys? Guests Paula Hinkel and Taneya Koonce share their expertise on every aspect of designing, implementing, and analyzing a survey to provide the most "bang for your buck."

Listen to the archived broadcast of "Crafting an Effective Member Survey" on the blogtalkradio My Society channel by FGS, or you can listen below:

Check Out History Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with mysociety on BlogTalkRadio

For more information, check out this article from our Society Strategy Series:

• Now That You've Attracted Those Members, Keep Them!

Roundtable Programs for Your Genealogy Society

While you're working on your program schedule for the new year, consider this: with a little pre-planning, you can provide a unique interactive educational opportunity for your members without having to wait for a conference or webinar. 

Join guest John Sabol, author and lecturer on Slovak genealogy, as he discusses what he calls "speed dating for genealogists." These are roundtable programs that allows your society members to connect with an experienced researcher for a specific record group, locality, ethnic group, or any other topic.

These discussions can be spread out over an entire day or just for a couple of hours. It all depends on how many people are participating. There are so many different ways to facilitate this type of program, the possibilities are endless!

(Not to mention that discovering which topics have the most interest can help your program chair provide more relevant speakers and topics for your regular society programs AND your newsletter or journal editors to provide more relevant articles for your members).

Listen to the archived broadcast of "Roundtable Programs for Your Genealogy Society" on the blogtalkradio My Society channel by FGS, or you can listen below:

Check Out History Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with mysociety on BlogTalkRadio

For more information, check out these articles from our Society Strategy Series:

Seasonal Program Ideas
Multi-Track Programs
Perfecting the Art of Planning a Local Seminar

SWAT: Analyzing Your Society from the Inside Out

Is your society stuck in a rut? Do your programs make watching paint dry seem exciting? Learn how can you analyze your society, taking into account its strengths and weaknesses, in order to improve member benefits and programs.

And what about after your brainstorming session? How do you overcome the "lull" in between board meetings to keep the momentum going?

Make this new year THE ONE for your society! From a board "retreat" to a simple whiteboard and pizza, guest Janet Hovorka and impromptu guest Paula Stuart-Warren discuss the different ways your society can put their heads together and come up with unique ideas to improve and/or expand the benefits and programs for your members.

Listen to the archived broadcast of "SWAT: Analyzing Your Society from the Inside Out" on the blogtalkradio My Society channel by FGS, or you can listen below:

Check Out History Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with mysociety on BlogTalkRadio

For more information, check out these articles from our Society Strategy Series:

• Long Range Planning
• A Lakeside Retreat
• The Society in Crisis!

Focus on Genealogy Society Bylaws

Get ready for the new year!

2015 is almost here. You've got new board members, and lots of great ideas from your members. How do your old bylaws stand up to all these shiny new developments? Is it time to dust them off and see if they need updating?

So you're probably thinking, "pshh, why are bylaws important, anyway?" Because - among other reasons - even genealogy societies need structure. Otherwise, they will crumble into so much rubble. In this episode of FGS Radio - My Society, guest Roberta "Bobbi" King provides a more detailed response to that question (and many others)!

By the way ... did you know that FGS offers the services of its Bylaws Review Committee as a benefit to members? Whether you're starting your society from scratch or simply revising your bylaws to allow for recent technology, you'll want to take advantage of that service if your society is planning any revisions.

But FIRST, you'll want to get the Bylaws Workbook (2nd ed.) to plan and draft successful bylaws.

Listen to the archived broadcast of "Focus on Genealogy Society Bylaws" on the blogtalkradio My Society channel by FGS, or you can listen below:

Check Out History Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with mysociety on BlogTalkRadio

For more information, check out these articles from our Society Strategy Series:

• Legalities of Establishing a Society
• How to Run an Election
• When Disciplinary Action is Required: An Outline of Procedure
• The Policy and Procedure Manual

If Your Society Folded Today, Would Anyone Care?

What does success look like?

The new year is fast approaching, and we're asking the hard questions here at FGS.

What does success mean to your genealogical society?  Membership numbers? Meeting attendance? Quantity (or quality) of historic document archives?  Have you set measurable goals?  Are you actually tracking the numbers?  How active is your board, and your society as a whole, when it comes to working toward reaching those goals?

Guest Randy Whited provides insight into planning, measuring, and amending goals to see the greatest success.  From the date and time of your society meetings to creating special interest groups and programs, learn how your society can become and continue to be relevant to the community - whether it's a small local society or a regional or state-wide society.

Listen to the archived broadcast of "If Your Society Folded Today, Would Anyone Care?" on the blogtalkradio My Society channel by FGS, or you can listen below:

Check Out History Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with mysociety on BlogTalkRadio

For more information, check out these articles from our Society Strategy Series:

• Long Range Planning

• Now That You've Attracted Those Members, Keep Them!

• Put Your Best Foot Forward: How Small Societies Get Noticed

Strategic Planning for Genealogy Societies

Learn tools & tactics to develop a strategic plan.

With the new year approaching, short- and long-range goals are at the forefront of many society board meetings. Let's face it: everyone has an opinion and some are louder than others. Sometimes it's enough to put the entire board at each other's throats or bring board members to tears.

From member surveys to hiring an outside consultant, guest Kenyatta D. Berry, past President of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), explains some of the tools and tactics societies can utilize to get past all the personal feelings and the "we've always done it that way" attitude in order to develop a realistic strategic plan that board members can agree upon.

Listen to the archived broadcast of "Strategic Planning for Genealogy Societies" on the blogtalkradio My Society channel by FGS, or you can listen below:

Check Out History Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with mysociety on BlogTalkRadio

For more information, check out these articles from our Society Strategy Series:

Long-Range Planning
Growing Your Society: An Outline of Ideas

New Year, New Board Members

Many local genealogical and historical societies are electing (or re-electing) board members this month. Sitting on a society board is a lot of work. It's hard enough to get volunteers to step up, so how can we make the transition easier for them so they don't run away screaming before the beginning of the year?

Need ideas for for making the transition from one board to the next less painful for everyone involved?  Guest Polly Fitzgerald Kimmitt, CG provides some ideas for that — like writing a mission statement and a brief history of the organization for the new people to review or creating standing rules for day-to-day operations. Also included are ideas for smoothing the interaction between new and pre-existing board members.

Listen to the archived broadcast of "New Year, New Board Members" on the blogtalkradio My Society channel by FGS, or you can listen below:

Check Out History Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with mysociety on BlogTalkRadio

Want to know more?  Check out these topics from our Society Strategy Series:

How to Run an Election
Installation of Officers
Boardsmanship! Nine Principles

Also, check out one of our latest blog posts on the ins and outs of a well-crafted Mission Statement from FGS Director Cherie Bush:

Genealogy Societies: A Case for Creating a Mission Statement

Print on Demand Publishing for Your Genealogy Society

Print on Demand Publishing for Your Genealogy Society

Has your society ever published a book?  Are you still storing boxes and boxes of those books in someone's basement because you had to buy a thousand copies in order to get a good price, and now you realize you'll never sell them all?  We can't help you get rid of those books, but there's good news for future publications!

Guest Lisa Alzo (author, lecturer, and former FGS Publications chair) discusses how societies can reduce costs and still offer quality publications by using print-on-demand services.

From selecting a print vendor to preparing your publication for printing to obtaining an ISBN number, Lisa offers many tips for making the process easier, which means less impact on volunteer time.  Find a typo after you've published?  With traditional publishers, you would have to start over.  With print-on-demand, you can fix those errors at no extra cost and little effort.  Lisa even offers some insight into making the step from print-on-demand to full electronic publishing (e.g. Kindle, etc.).

Listen to the archived broadcast of "Print on Demand Publishing for Your Genealogy Society" on the blogtalkradio My Society channel by FGS, or you can listen below:

Check Out History Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with mysociety on BlogTalkRadio

Want to know more about society publications?  Check out these links from our Society Strategy Series:

• The Society Newsletter
• Editing and Proofreading Society Publications
• A Publication Strategy for Societies

Dear Santa: What I Want This Year for My Genealogy Society

The second week in November is Dear Santa Letter Week, and is typically reserved to encourage children to write their letters to Santa - mainly so grown-ups can harvest those ideas for gifts, but more importantly to exercise writing skills and creativity, while making family traditions.

We've taken a somewhat different approach.  In this episode of FGS Radio - My Society, fellow genealogists from all over the country call in and tell us what they want for their societies from "Santa."  Maybe you can get some ideas to start the brainstorming process and start making goals and objectives for your own society for the coming year!

Listen to the archived broadcast of "Dear Santa: What I Want This Year for My Genealogy Society" on the blogtalkradio My Society channel by FGS, or you can listen below:

Check Out History Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with mysociety on BlogTalkRadio

Need additional resources for planning your society's future?  Check out these links to our Society Strategy Series:

Long Range Planning
Five Steps to Organizing a Society
Growing Your Society: An Outline of Ideas

FGS Society Strategy Series Now Available to the Public

For Immediate Release
February 28, 2011

FGS SOCIETY STRATEGY SERIES NOW AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC

Genealogy Society Management Papers by Well-Known Authors

February 28, 2011 – Austin, TX. The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) announces that a vast collection of its Society Strategy Series papers is now available—free to the public—at the FGS website (http://www.fgs.org/societystrategy/).

The Society Strategy Series is a collection of papers filled with suggestions and instructions for the management of genealogical societies, historical societies, and family associations. These papers have been expertly written by respected authors in the genealogy community to help you and your society grow and prosper.

Timely Topics by Well-Known Authors

Topics covered in the Society Strategy Series papers include:

• Series I: Strategies for Societies
• Series II: Strategies for Presidents
• Series III: Strategies for Vice-Presidents
• Series IV: Strategies for Treasurers
• Series V: Strategies for Secretaries
• Series VI: Strategies for Program Chairpersons
• Series VII: Strategies for Librarians
• Series VIII: Strategies for Editors

Most genealogists and genealogy society members will recognize the authors of the Society Strategy Series papers which include Jana Sloan Broglin, Karen Clifford, Betty Robertson Kaufman, Roberta “Bobbi” King, Gary Mokotoff, David Rencher, Curt Witcher, and the late Sandra H. Luebking and Marsha Hoffman Rising.

Newer Society Strategy Series topics are placed in the Members Only area of the FGS website for a period of one (1) year as a member benefit for FGS member societies. Additional new papers are being written and are planned for the coming year.

Helping Genealogy Societies Grow and Prosper

FGS is proud to make the Society Strategy Series available to the entire genealogical community as a means of helping societies become better at managing and growing their organizations.

New Society Strategies Series Paper Released

FGS has just released a new Society Strategies Series paper. The new paper, #S4-5, is titled "Bookkeeping 101" and was written by FGS Teasurer Cath Madden Trindle, CG. FGS Members can access the new paper at the Members Only area of the FGS website at http://www.fgs.org.

FGS is in the process of reviewing all of the Society Strategies Series papers and will be updating them as appropriate. We also have some new papers being created that address 21st century societies' issues. Watch the FGS Voice and the FGS website for announcements of these new papers.

Two More Society Strategy Series Papers Go Online

FGS publishes its Society Strategies Series papers which offer suggestions and instructions for the successful management of genealogical societies, historical societies, and family associations.

Two papers have just been posted to the FGS Members Only webpage:

• SI-28 - When Disciplinary Action Is Required: An Outline of Procedure
• SI-29 - Delegate ABC’s

The Society Strategies Series papers are free to FGS Member organizations as one of the membership benefits. The papers are available as PDF file downloads from the Members Only webpage at the FGS website. Non-members may purchase copies for $2.00 each, plus shipping and handling, at the FGS Store at https://www.fgs.org/catalog. (A minimum order amount applies.)

FGS is in the process of reviewing and updating all the Society Strategies Series papers, and new topics will be added soon.