MENUAnnual Fund 2024
Dear members and friends of VCHS,
It is that time of year when an appeal is made to your generosity to help your society and museum financially. I will also report on several areas of our financial condition.
Let’s start with the heating/AC appeal. I heartily thank all of those who helped us reach our matching goal for the grant application which we applied for early this year. It is with great sorrow that I must tell you that we did not get the grant. We were notified in late June. It was like a gut punch for us as we were so hopeful. We will not give up, however. Already we are looking into other grants. This project is really a must do for us, therefore we will continue to collect funds, search for grants and do whatever is necessary to move forward.
Regarding the heating/AC project, those of you who pledged funds to be paid upon receipt of the grant were contacted recently by email or snail mail as to the disposal of the pledge. Those who already gave to the fund, rest assured, your donation will be held in our designated heating/AC fund. Our current balance in that fund is $21,488.27. We need almost $500,000 according to the engineering figures. So, you can see we are far from our end goal, but we will persevere.
Would you consider naming the Vernon County Historical Society as a beneficiary in your estate plan? I personally have done this because I feel the Society serves a needed purpose in our community. I want to see the VCHS continue to be purposeful in the future.
In the meantime, I appeal to your generosity to help us now with a donation of any size to support us in our day-to-day expenses.
One bright spot to talk about is the fact that our endowment fund, which we have with the Viroqua Area Foundation, paid us $500 this year. The VCHS Board voted to put these funds into programming. Our executive director, Kristen, has had some excellent programs so far this year. These programs were well received and attended by the whole community. The additional money in this account will give her more leeway to expand our programming.
I leave you with our mission statement: The Vernon County Historical Society preserves and promotes Vernon County history for the education and enjoyment of all. Your Board and I appeal to your generosity for support now and into the future. We also want to thank you for your support in the past. We cannot do what we do without your help.
Dian Krause, Board Chair
Yes! I will contribute to the 2024 Annual Fund by making a donation to the Vernon County Historical Society: