Results of the Finlay Foundation membership challenge were announced at a luncheon in Concord today. Within the historical society category, the winner was the Lake Winnipesaukee Historical Society, followed by Hampton Falls and Salisbury.
Founded in 1985, the Lake Winnipesukee society added 699 individual members to its year-ago base of 112. They have already launched a campaign to expand their museum, which opened in June 2004, by building a 3,000 square foot timber-frame addition—our sincere congratulations to them.
The final numbers submitted by the New London Historical Society showed a respectable year-over-year membership increase of 85%, attributable to 151 new household members and to the more timely renewal of existing members.
Thanks to all the volunteers and donors who helped us with this challenge. We did not win the $25,000 grant, but the Finlay Challenge was a great incentive for all of us to improve our recruiting and retention efforts. We knew from the outset that we would be well rewarded for making the attempt.