Highland County Historical Society launches capital campaign

As the Highland County Historical Society celebrates its 50th anniversary, they are launching an unprecedented fundraising campaign that will be the most significant in its history.

For the first time in half a century, the Society will be asking its membership and the community for help in making the Society a stronger and more effective organization, according to a press release by the Historical Society. Members of the HCHS Board of Trustees and the capital campaign's committee members hosted a kickoff event at the Scott House on Saturday, Jan. 31.

"We are confident the Highland County community will help us," steering committee member Rocky Coss said.

This campaign is a one-time effort to establish elements that will make the Society a stronger organization that will be able to move forward, grow and be more interactive with the community, Coss said.

"The planning process has been long, and it is nice to finally share the full details of the plans with our membership and the community at large," campaign chair John Kellis said.

As previously reported by The Highland County Press, the members of the Historical Society voted to approve a Capital Campaign at their annual organizational meeting in October.

The idea for the campaign stemmed from the finding that there were major problems with the back wall at the 150-year-old Highland House Museum. That wall and its underlying foundation were failing. The HCHS board of trustees' evaluation revealed that the wall must be taken down, a new foundation constructed and the wall rebuilt.

The finance committee was given the task of evaluating ways that HCHS could deal with the reconstruction project while maintaining their finances for future operations. The committee, led by finance chair Kellis, looked at several issues and concluded that a capital campaign was needed to address those issues.

The committee also felt that limiting the campaign to the back wall would be "extremely short-sighted," Kellis said, as there were additional needs that would still be facing the organization if the wall project was completed.

"Since that time in the fall, we have been organizing, talking with contractors, asking people for input and developing a plan and strategy for a capital campaign," Kellis said.

The plan includes five elements and will require $375,000 to $400,000. Those items include:

• Restructuring the back wall of the Highland House (budgeted at $80,000);

• Completion of other structural items, including replacing the final 18 windows that are architecturally compatible and insulated, tuck-pointing and sealing the remaining building and upgrading plaster and paint inside the museum ($65,000);

• Work on the Scott House, primarily repairing and painting for the significant rim on the building ($30,000);

• The development of a building and grounds fund that will provide funding for maintenance and repairs to the Society's buildings and grounds separate from the day-to-day operations of the society ($50,000); and

• The creation of an endowment fund, which will be legally established for the perpetual support of the Historical Society ($150,000). The principal of such a fund cannot be spent. It is there as as source of operating funds through its investment, but the Board and/or membership cannot expend the fund itself.

"This last item is necessary to increase the funding for operations and setting aside a portion of the organization's resources in perpetuity," Kellis said. "Current financial resources are carefully managed but not protected from being spent.

"Having a portion of the finances endowed will address the conflicting philosophies between needing to save our dollars and keep them for the future and needing to use funds to create a more active, participatory society."

An additional element of the fundraising strategy developed is the creation of "The Society of Angels," a program encouraging people to consider including the Historical Society in their estate planning.

Kellis said that the Society is working to develop brochures to share with estate planners, lawyers and tax professionals to give clients information "to continue the endowment fund in the future" for the Society.

"We recently received our first gift to the Society of Angels, a $15,000 pledge designating the Society as a beneficiary," Kellis said. "It is exciting to see that people would consider similar gifts to our society."

A steering committee has been formed, made up of board members and other leaders not on the Board of Trustees. That committee divided into four separate subcommittees that could develop strategies to solicit different groups of individuals and businesses.

Along with Kellis and Coss, the steering committee includes Steve Thompson, John Levo, Larry Dukes, James Gibbs, Mike Rector, Sue Boatman, Jim Rooney, Vicki Knauff, Pamela Nickell and Bob Hodson.

Additional sub-committee members are Jim Faust, Bev Carroll, Lynn Neal, Paulette Donley, Betty Bishop, Harriet Fenner, Pauline Cameron, Connie Cummings, Marilyn Matthews, Brenda Losey, Maxine Kratzer, Pete Pence and Nancy Wisecup.

Those subcommittees will soon begin contacting members of the community for its support.

"One decision that was made right up front was that the leadership needed to step up first before we ever asked the rest of the membership and business community to help," Kellis said. "I am thrilled that all of the board members have agreed to pledge to the campaign."

The leadership of the trustees and steering committee have pledged a combined $76,400 toward the total campaign goal.

The structure of the capital campaign asks people and businesses to give but allows pledges to be made over a three-year period. Kellis said that it is important for the community to note that not only is this the first capital campaign, but the Society hopes that it will also be the last.

"We've never done this before, other than very small campaigns, like to purchase a piano, and we don't plan to do it again," Kellis said. "This is to make sure that the Highland House, log cabin and Scott House are in good shape moving ahead."

Following this campaign, "the Society will raise funds through memberships, donations, programming, grant writing and estate planning as it has for the past 50 years," he added.

"We're very grateful people have stepped in to help," Kellis said. "We had ideas going in, but when we got 20 percent of the goal from the leadership … when our committees go out to talk to the community, they can say 'we aren't asking before we gave.'

"We trust the membership and business community will step up and assist its Society at this important juncture."

For more information on the campaign, contact any member of the capital campaign committee. Kellis can be reached at (513) 304-2389 or john.kellis@sbcglobal.net.