Who are the members of the Gilmer County Historical Society and what do we do? How do we use the funds that we raise to provide value to the community and it’s members? Good questions, right?
First, we are all volunteers and we have no paid staff. We are a group of people who enjoy history, heritage crafts and community service! You probably already know the historical society is a non-profit organization, so all funds raised go right back into supporting the organization and maintenance of the buildings; but what exactly do we use those funds for besides administrative costs like pens, paper, and paying the utility bills? Right now the funds we raise manage to cover the bills. We pay the utility bills and liability insurance for the two buildings which we own. We receive no government funding. That’s pretty much it. We can’t really afford regular trash pick up, so volunteers take turns taking the trash home to put with their home trash. All of the pens, paper, administrative things like computers and printers, etc, are donated supplies and equipment, as are the equipment and supplies to run our heritage crafts programs. The items we sell in the gift shop for fund raising are handcrafted by our volunteers and donated to sell for fundraising purposes. The volunteers pay for their own supplies to craft these items and then donate the finished product to the gift shop at no cost to the historical society. It truly is a labor of love to keep our doors open!
Continue reading “Who We Are & What We Do”
