Sessions at Federation of Genealogical Societies 2011 Conference about Focus on Societies on Wednesday 7th September

Wondering how can to make the most of my society's membership in FGS? Join FGS Officers as they discuss FGS and how it supports and works with member societies. The society delegate's communication and interaction with FGS will be discussed.

Revenue streams are crucial for genealogical societies yet fundraising can be intimidating. This presentation focuses on a range of activities from "friend raising" to meaningful donor recognition, characteristics of a successful ask, donors profiles, and a board's role in fundraising.

Whether writing or collecting a family history, this session offers a discussion of current US copyright law, International copyright, pending legislation, fair use, court actions and ethical issues of copying and sharing genealogical information electronically or in print.

Ready to plan your Society's next trip? Explore the ins and outs of hotel contracts, working with repositories, developing schedules, and preparing a tour budget.

In 2010 The African American Genealogical Society of Cleveland, Ohio (AAGS) completed the revision of the Society's Bylaws and added Standing Rules. This task was guided by the FGS Bylaws Workbook. Share in the pitfalls & successes of this process.

Your newsletter reflects the mission and objectives of your society. Learn how to edit your society newsletter to make the content shine. We review editing standards, design and layout ideas, file formats, and fonts for print and web publication.

Membership benefits draw and retain members. Benefits must be tangible and useful, but they also must be affordable for the society to offer. Successful societies' benefits packages will be shown and discussed. Learn to develop appealing benefits for your society.

Whether big or small, a society project can be a daunting task. This presentation is designed to help the society officers and volunteers manage a society-wide project from start to completion.

It used to be you could send an email blast about your genealogy research business and you were on the cutting edge of marketing. Not so in today's times - genealogists and genealogical societies must explore all the options that blogs, Facebook, Twitter, social media and other online programs offer.

Your society's web site is the most visible marketing tool your society has. Learn effective and painless ways to make your site more usable, accessible, and enticing.

Planning is the key to making your society's annual seminar financially rewarding as well as providing visibility within the community to increase your membership and highlight products and services you provide. On the other hand, a poorly planned seminar can have the opposite result. A great coordinator (who is good at delegating), plenty of planning time, and the involvement and support of your members will help your society reap the rewards from your effort.

Online conferencing and collaboration tools can make your society more efficient. Online shared workspaces allow your members to work together at a distance. See what your society needs in its "tool bag."

Information is only as helpful as the report that shows it. Good reports and charts can keep your board informed, help officers and volunteers, and keep members engaged. Learn how to create reports that drive results and keep the organization aligned and focused.

Sponsored by FamilySearch

Focus on Societies Luncheon

Society finance goes beyond bookkeeping. Programming, publications, websites, and libraries all involve fiscal decisions. Be an enlightened board member devoted to sound governance of your society. Business plans, budgets, financial and tax reporting, financial software and more will be covered.

The speaker uses her genealogy project experience to review stumbling blocks and successes of managing large database projects, including data standards, communication tools, time management, and an overview of software programs to tie a project together.

With genealogy on primetime TV, your society has the opportunity to engage and interact a new generation of genealogists including new members, society volunteers, and others.

If you think "that" or "which" are interchangeable or if you use the baptismal method of punctuation (sprinkling commas), your editing/writing skills may need help.

If you don't tell them they won't come. If you don't tell them soon enough, repeatedly, or without enough details, they won't come. Attract decent registration numbers by following some simple rules that we will apply in the session.

Leadership is a vital component of successful boards and successful societies. Learn the key elements of strategic planning, building teams, welcoming diverse options and outlooks, handling dissention, and motivating individuals toward a common goal.

Join FGS in discussing ideas for your society's leaders.

Has your society thought about starting a First Family, Pioneer Family or Pioneer Descendants Program and didn't know where to start? Then this presentation is for you. A pioneer program can be fun and beneficial to the society and community.

Check back soon for this session's complete description.

Traditionally, the cost of publishing for many societies has been out of reach. Even when society members have taken on a project, the cost of publishing the final book, including making the minimum print run has resulted in an inability to price the product at an acceptable level. What society doesn't have stored in someone's basement boxes of a publication that hasn't sold! Today, print-on-demand, as well as services like LuLu.com which handle all the details make it a worthwhile time to look again at publishing local records.

Join FGS in discussing ideas for your society's educational programs and activities.

Volunteers are the lifeblood of genealogical societies. Learn how to find these valuable people and how to keep them happy and active!

Starting a indexing project is a great way to create helpful research tools for genealogists as well as provide a fun and rewarding experience for those involved. Resulting indexes and finding aids can generate revenue for the society or provide exclusive value for its members.

If I volunteer, what are the duties? What is the term of office? The society has a proofreading policy? How do I get reimbursed for expenses? An easily compiled handbook of society rules and guidelines can answer these questions.

Join FGS in discussing ideas for your society's projects.

Join FGS in discussing ideas for your society's growth.