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As the world’s founding genealogical society and as the standard-bearer of genealogical and historical excellence, we are making a critically important and time-sensitive investment in our organization’s future success. With your support, American Ancestors and New England Historic Genealogy acquired the adjacent building at 97 Newbury Street. This historic expansion will provide urgently needed space to better serve you, our growing constituency of over 325,000 members, offer new services, and tailor personalized learning experiences to more effectively reach all generations.

Download the Brochure
Cornerstone brochure

We seek your involvement and support in this incredible journey to transform the family history experience and expand a national treasure. Our Cornerstone Project design features a large, open and more welcoming entrance for thousands of visitors, dynamic visitor spaces, new offices for staff and operations, and state-of-the-art technologies to protect people, collections, and facilities.

Visitors will enter an expanded Visitor Complex, home to a technology rich, multi-generational friendly Discovery Center featuring computer kiosks, visitor recording booths, multi-media presentations, and visiting exhibitions and museum installations that explore themes of heritage, freedom, and immigration. The Discovery Center will connect to several other spaces that support innovative family history experiences, including a Learning Center and Lecture Hall offering programming aimed at new and existing audiences.

Visitors will also enjoy a Museum Store with an array of family and local history-themed merchandise. On the upper floors there will be a new home for our Scholarly Publishing Center, expanding the footprint for the team that produces the world’s leading genealogical publications; the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center’s staff, collections, and archives, including a new exhibition space; and a Business Management Center supporting internal operations.

A first-floor gateway will link the two buildings, creating an expanded campus network, and a new elevator and a staircase will connect all floors of both buildings. Advanced fire protection, updated mechanical systems, and accessibility upgrades will be made to the integrated buildings. Large energy efficient windows will be added on Newbury Street, and glass paneling will direct light to offices on the rear side of the building. Two new roof decks will enhance the visitor experience.

Our expansion project provides the best opportunity to develop new content that will be made accessible in our innovative Discovery Center and at AmericanAncestors.org. We will gather, digitize, and transcribe materials covering the United States and more than 30 other nations to provide the best experiences for a broad and diverse audience of visitors and online users from around the world.

IMPACT OPPORTUNITIES

Your contribution will ensure our success in three key areas:

Safeguard financial sustainability and grow operations to meet constituent demand

  • Exterior and interior enhancements, energy efficiency measures, and ADA compliance
  • Upgraded heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems
  • New fire suppression, electrical systems, stairs, and elevator

Increase public access to diverse groups and preserve legacies in the new discovery center gifts will support:

  • Large first floor openings between both buildings to enhance visitor experience
  • Flexible space for exhibits using museum technologies to create interactive visitor experiences
  • Engagement of the community, tourists, and shoppers on Newbury Street to learn more about family history through innovative programs and events

Broaden scholarly and community engagement in the new learning center gifts will support:

  • Programs with young people and elders
  • Enhanced audiovisual equipment for projection and recording of lectures
  • Specialized educational programs and lecture series to meet the diverse needs of members, community groups, and the public

WAYS TO GIVE

Your support of the Cornerstone Campaign will help to provide comprehensive expert family history services with historical narrative and cultural context for generations to come. Your participation will help ensure the success of this campaign.

Gifts of any amount will help to complete this important project and will be acknowledged in the Annual Report following the successful conclusion of the Cornerstone Campaign.

Campaign gifts may be made in a single payment or pledged and paid over a three-to-five-year period with:

  • Cash
  • Gifts of appreciated securities
  • Planned gifts, including IRA distributions and life income arrangements

Please contact our Advancement Team for more information at 617-226-1247 or Advancement@nehgs.org.

THANK YOU

We gratefully acknowledge leadership gifts already made to our Cornerstone Campaign. Our roll of donors will be regularly updated.

Founders’ Circle ($1,000,000 or more)

Nordahl and Suzanne Brue
Thomas Bailey Hagen
Tabitha King
Anonymous (1)

Associates’ Circle ($100,000 or more)

Judith Avery
Helen H. Berkeley
John G. L. Cabot
Stephen H. Case
Judith W. and Louis M. Freeman
John F. Keane
David W. Kruger
Andrew P. Langlois
Jo Anne Makely
William R. Marsh M. D.
Nancy S. Maulsby
Carol R. McGee
Peck Stacpoole Foundation
The Arnold Garrison Foundation
Nancy Clay Webster
Wallace S. and Isabel B.* Wilson
Bonnie Reilly
Kristin and Roger Servison
Justin and Genevieve* Wyner
David W. Kruger
Anonymous (4)

*Deceased