Society's survival is no secret

It's been a tough year for arts and humanities programs that depend on government funding. Each day brings news of another closure or cutback. When hard choices have to be made, it seems history often takes the first hit. This should concern us all. Our whole social environment is what those who have gone before us have made it. Without knowledge of their successes and failures, we cannot fully understand the world in which we live. So the Society works to preserve the record of great people and great events—and to support others with the same goal.

So how have we been doing lately, you might ask? Since the Society receives virtually no government funding, the answer is "better than those who do." In 2003 we are dedicating eight historical markers—a modern-day record. The average issue of Illinois Heritage is 25 percent longer than it was last year. The Olive Foster Award for teaching excellence was reinstituted this spring. We will honor at least 50 Centennial businesses in October. Our symposium in December will feature a multi-media presentation on the Wright Brothers centennial and its connection to Illinois. In short, nothing has been reduced. Nothing has been eliminated. We may be a grassroots organization with a shoestring budget, but we are getting our job done efficiently and with impact. The primary reason for this success is neither new nor a secret. It's membership support. This comes in many forms— annual cash gifts, Centennial Award donations, the presentation of papers at the symposium, or volunteer help at our various gatherings. But the form of membership support with the greatest impact and longest effect is bequests. For example:

•  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 us by King Hostick in 1993, will generate more than $30,000 in profits this year.

•   Last year the Block family of Chicago gave the Society some 20 documents handwritten by American presidents, including Lincoln. Their value has been conservatively estimated at $130,000.

•  Retired schoolteacher Alta McCullouch bequeathed $80,000 to the Society in 2001 to fund the Olive Foster Award.

•  Awards for student historical writing are made possible by a bequest from Verna Orndorff.

•   Cash gifts are the most common form of bequest. But you may also consider the following:

•  Transferring stock to the Society

•   Designating the Society as a beneficiary of your life insurance policy

•   Designating the Society as a beneficiary of your retirement plan.

No bequest is too small. None is unappreciated. And for more than a century, we've shown that they work. For general suggestions or guidance on how to make a bequest, contact the Society's executive director, Tom Teague, at 217-525-2781 or at ishs@eosinc.com. For specific information, contact your investment counselor or attorney.

2 Illinois Heritage