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.

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

Bringing Technology to Your Genealogy Society

Bringing Technology to Your Genealogy Society

Several years ago, the Southern California Genealogical Society was more “home-grown” than “tech savvy.”  Fortunately, they had a couple of talented and enthusiastic folks among their ranks and they were first able to bring the society into the 20th century … and then into the 21st century.

Maybe your society is considering updating its image.  How do you figure out what to do first?  And next? 

Do you have a few reluctant luddites in your membership or on your board?  Find out how their nay-saying can be used to keep you on your toes!

Do you know if your members are reading your emails and/or publications?  Do you know how to measure your society’s effectiveness when reaching out to your membership and/or community?  Shouldn’t you?

Special thanks to Paula Hinkel, past President of SCGS (currently 2nd Vice President), for letting us peek behind the scenes and learn some valuable lessons from the mistakes SCGS made during this process and how the new technology enabled them to deliver more (and better) services to their members.

Listen to the archived FGS Bringing Technology to Your Society broadcast now below or on our BlogTalkRadio My Society Channel.

New History Internet Radio with mysociety on BlogTalkRadio