Received $1,043 Payout from DCCF Endowment, Which Went Into the General Fund

Director’s Report

Date: April 14, 2014

General

·  Kepp is donating an office desk and lateral file cabinet. They will be delivered Saturday with help of NIU students.

·  Received $1,043 payout from DCCF endowment, which went into the general fund.

Attendance

·  10 (NIU Museum Studies class)

Blacksmith Club

·  1 new volunteer inquiry

Collection

·  The diary in our archives thought to be that of Joseph Glidden is actually that of John Glidden. It bears the inscription “J.W. Glidden DeKalb, IL” inside. An entry confirms John as the owner: “… standing at the grave of my aunt Mrs. Joseph Glidden …”

·  The John Glidden diary was scanned at NIU for possible excerpts to be used in the QR code project. The digitized copy is also now at the Homestead.

Communications/PR

·  The new “Heritage” newsletter went out to 15 Heritage members and 18 large/regular donors. The plan is to make it semiannual.

·  Working with Debbie Behrends on a feature article for Sycamore/Genoa Life about the Barn Tour.

·  Sent letters to NIU president and NIU foundation president in support of preservation of the Annie Glidden house at the request of Barry Schrader.

Education

·  Presented an outreach program to St. Mary-Sycamore 4th grade.

·  Hosted the NIU Museum Studies class and gave a tour. We were one of 4 museums the class visited this semester (NIU Art Museum, NIU Anthro Museum, Sycamore History Museum)

Exhibits

·  Received an offer from Barry Schrader of 2 lithographs pertaining to the publishing industry. I accepted, although have not taken possession of items. They can be used either in a future “Joseph Glidden: Beyond Barbed Wire” gallery or in a future print shop.

·  Jim Hovis has a stock certificate from the Glidden Publishing Company. I took a picture of a copy, but Jim agreed to scan the original and has given us permission to use it for a future exhibit (again, either in the gallery or print shop).

Fund Raising/Finance

·  Worked with Linda Fulton on an action plan and aids for the Give Local campaign.

·  Attended “How to Drive Donations in One Day” webinar regarding the Give Local campaign.

·  Mailed 2nd renewal notices to 115 past due members.

·  Provided general support for Divas Dish.

Grants

·  A Sony video camera, tripod, and case has been purchased from Lundeens camera in Rockford with proceeds from Kiwanis and Roberts Foundation grants. Its first planned use is of Roger Keys’ presentation on May 17.

·  A combined grant with DAAHA to Roberts Foundation was submitted for Barn Tour funding in the amount of $2,500, just over one-half of projected budget. We were assured by Tom Matya that we could apply for a grant on our own in the fall and DAAHA on their own this spring even though we were submitting this combined grant.

Membership

·  Renewal notices from past due members, mostly from 2013, resulted in 20 renewals in the last month. Includes 1 Genealogy, 2 lapsed Heritage, and 1 lapsed Individual.

·  Current membership: 118

Programs

·  Programs confirmed since last month:

June 22: Kids Day (games on the lawn; working on a petting zoo)

Aug. 10: Arts at the Barn (3 vendors to date)

Sept. 28: presentation on Patents and Copyrights by law school professors

·  Hosted the barn owner’s orientation meeting regarding the Barn Tour.

Volunteers/Interns

·  Met with NIU Museum Studies undergrad who wants to volunteer for the summer.

·  NIU Cares Day volunteers will move furniture and clean on April 12.