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Make
a Gift or Pledge
By
interpreting Maryland's history and the role the state has played
in U.S. history, the MdHS enables its visitors-on-site, on-line and
from across the state and country-to understand their own place
in the world. As the foremost cultural resource for the study of
Maryland history, the society provides learning opportunities unparalleled
by any other organization.
The
Maryland Historical Society's Annual Fund represents contributions
above and beyond membership dues. These contributions provide the
funds necessary for the MdHS to present and expand its educational
programs and exhibitions, maintain and improve its facilities, and
preserve and interpret its extensive collections. Currently, 96%
of the Maryland Historical Society's operating funds come from the
private sector, with 16% of the MdHS budget financed through the
Annual Fund.
The
society's holdings comprise the most significant collection of Maryland
cultural artifacts and historical materials in the world. With over
250,000 objects in the museum collection and over 6.5 million books,
manuscripts, photographs, and genealogical records in the library,
the society serves as the leading authority on Maryland's past.
Committed
to fiscal responsibility, the society relies on the generosity of
its community to meet the gap between earned revenue and expenses.
Education programs, outreach services, permanent and changing exhibitions,
collections preservation, and publication projects - all of the
society's primary methods of communicating Maryland's history and
enriching the citizens it serves - would not be possible without
Annual Fund support.
Some of the ways Annual Fund gifts were
used in the past year were:
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Education - to facilitate over 18,000 student visits and
outreach kits used by nearly 43,500 Maryland schoolchildren throughout
the state.
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Museum - for exhibitions, and to enhance the preservation
of the permanent collection, including the moving of the 9,000-item
costume and textile collection to expanded climate controlled
storage.
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Library - To enhance computerized access to collection
materials, enabling on-line researchers access to MdHS collections.
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Publications - to produce the excellent and informative
Maryland Historical Magazine
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Facility - to support operations of 10,000 square feet
of new space at the MdHS in response to additional storage and
exhibition needs brought about through the acquisition of Baltimore
City Life Museums' collections.
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