Making history for the future

The 107-year-old Illinois State Historical Society is the Prairie State's largest independent not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving, promoting, and encouraging the study of Illinois history. Located in Springfield, the Society is a grassroots organization united by a common interest in the land between the Mississippi and Wabash rivers, from Cairo to Chicago, Quincy to Paris.

The Society's success and longevity are no secret. Support in the form of annual cash gifts, bequests, Centennial Award contributions, and membership donations sustain the Society and provide it with opportunities to grow. Here are a few examples:

•  The Society's endowment fund is built primarily on bequests. It yields more than $100,000 a year in operating income.
•  Prints of the Hesler photographs of Abraham Lincoln, bequeathed to the Society by King Hostick in 1993, will generate more than $20,000 in profits this year. The Hostick Scholarship Fund supports graduate-level research for up to seven scholars each year.
•  Retired teacher Alta McCullough of Centralia bequeathed more than $80,000 to the Society in 2001. Her donation funds the Olive Foster Award, which awards cash prizes to outstanding history teachers in Illinois.
•  Annual Awards for history students are made possible by a financial gift from River Forest native Verna Ross Orndorff.
•  The Joseph and Lucille Block family of Chicago donated their collection of Presidential documents to the Society in 2002. That collection, valued at over $100,000, is now on tour in small-towns throughout Illinois, thanks to the Blocks and a grant from the Illinois Humanities Council.

No bequest is too small. No gift is unappreciated. For more than a century the Illinois State Historical Society has found new and innovative ways to make lasting contributions to the study of Illinois history. Potential donors may also consider the following options:

•  Transfer stock ownership to the Society—If done when the stock has maximum value, tax savings are also their greatest.
•   Designate the Society as a beneficiary of your life insurance policy.
•   Designate the Society as a beneficiary of your retirement plan. Before doing so, please verify arrangements and protocol with your plan's administrator.
•   Sponsoring a student membership in the Society.

For general suggestions or guidance, please contact William Furry at 210 1/2 South Sixth Street, Suite 200, Springfield, Illinois 62701, or call 217-525-2781.

ILLINOIS HERITAGE 35