MONDAY MORNING MUSEUM UPDATE – December 2, 2024 – Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum

In this week’s update: Endowment Match ends Tuesday, Harvest of Giving year-end fundraising, Heritage Christmas, and more!

In our weekly update, keep up to date on what staff and volunteers at the Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum are working on to lift up the history of Lindsborg and the surrounding region. This weekly update both looks back at what happened last week and looks ahead at what’s coming.

For November 25 – December 1, 2024:

- Our 2024 year-end “Harvest of Giving” Fundraising Campaign. continues, with one important aspect ending on THIS Giving Tuesday, December 3.
  The Smoky Valley Community Foundation Endowment Match offers a dollar-for-dollar match to all contributions made to the museum’s endowment fund thanks to the Patterson Family Foundation. But the match is only good through Tuesday! Take advantage of this great opportunity before it’s too late.
  Harvest of Giving also encompasses a $5,000 Museum Match (doubles all new and renewing memberships as well as one-time donations made between now and the end of the year); donating to the Save the Pavilion campaign; and Millfest Sponsorships. Please take a moment to learn more about each of these options and to decide what ways of supporting the museum are right for you!
- Our campaign to save the Swedish Pavilion under the Community Service Program (CSP) Tax Credits through the Kansas Department of Commerce is just INCHES from accomplishing a critical milestone!
  With 42 individuals, families, and businesses committed to contribute to the project, we have now used 63% of the grant, at $150,384.25 secured. This means we just need $1,115.75 before the funding for the essential structural repair is in the bank! Will YOU be the one to put us over the top on this important goal?
  This is a great time of year to consider making a donation under the program as the end of the calendar tax year approaches!
  Read about all the latest here and let us know how much you are interested in contributing: www.oldmillmillmuseum.org/save-the-pavilion!
  Any Kansas resident (or out-of-state resident who files a Kansas income tax return) can qualify to receive back a 70% fully refundable tax credit on their Kansas return with a donation of $250 or more to the project! The available tax credits will be used to enhance fundraising efforts for the Pavilion Restoration & Improvement Project. The credits are expected to raise $238,000 total in donations, which will fully cover critical stabilization repairs to prevent collapse of the historic structure and will partially cover installation of a new, more historically accurate roof (so even after we pass the milestone of having the money for Pavilion repairs, we will still have a ways to go to fully take advantage of the tax credits program.)

- It’s just two weeks away! Heritage Christmas 2024 will be 5:30 – 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 14. Learn more and make your plans to attend!
- Registration is open for the next Swedish Genealogy workshop on February 15, 2025! We’re very excited to have a new addition this time to the featured speakers – Maureen Taylor, the Photo Detective!
- We have started to take reservations for Millfest for Kids on Friday, May 2! Get in touch if your school or homeschool group would like to participate.
- Adam processed two renewing memberships. Total current active membership is 166. You can become a member today at www.oldmillmuseum.org/members. (And right now through the end of the year, that contribution can be doubled thanks to an anonymous donor!)
- Adam designed the Millfest 2025 flyer as well as a draft graphic for an upcoming planned mini-exhibit.
- Lenora continued working on processing donated photos and slides that will be added to the digital Historic Image Database as well as processing artifacts into the museum’s collection software.
- The museum was closed last Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday. Thank you for your patience as museum staff were able to spend time with family.
- NOW OPEN: “Skeleton-Of-Dog… Selected Geology & Natural History Artifacts from the Bethany College Collection Archives” is a temporary mini-exhibit at the museum featuring some unique artifacts not seen in public for decades!