Past Matters, Spring 2025, Published 2/17/2025
Greetings! Since this is the first time we have reached out to you since the start of the new year, please accept our heartfelt wishes for a happy and successful 2025!
As you might recall, about a year ago the Friends of the Texas Historical Commission (FTHC) went through a strategic planning process during which we updated our key strategic goals for the next few years. These included continuing to strengthen the relationship the FTHC has with the Commission it supports; shore up our alignment with the agency to define and develop the Texas story; focus on building support for place-based education across the Commission; keep stewardship of the critical historic resources front and center; and work through collaboration and partnerships.
During the strategic planning process, we also recognized that in order to accomplish all of these strategic goals we have to continue to build sustainability in the organization. What this looks like for a nonprofit organization of our size and scope is financial sustainability as well as organizational strength and endurance.
The Friends of the Texas Historical Commission has a small but mighty staff that works on everything from capital campaigns supporting THC’s historic sites to major fundraising campaigns around education and stewardship initiatives. Even as we continue our traditional fundraising efforts, over the years we have also stepped up to support the THC in creating and implementing additional out-of-the-box strategies in pursuit of its mission. We help secure critical additions to THC’s portfolio of historic sites through real estate transactions, and we engage with partners across the state and beyond to further THC’s leadership position in the field of historic preservation and heritage tourism.
Recognizing the expanding complexity of the work we do, our board leadership also identified succession planning as a key priority during our strategic planning process. In order to ensure there are minimal impacts on our operations in the event of a transition, we’ve worked to create organizational sustainability through the creation of a succession plan, or as I like to call it, our “What if we were hit by a bus?” plan.
All jest aside, we have been keenly aware of the need to build a process into our everyday operations that makes sure that any transition – planned or otherwise – happens as smoothly as possible without disruption to the critical support-building that is core to our mission. In February of this year, the Executive Committee of our Board of Trustees, as well as FTHC staff and members of the THC leadership, went through a day-long succession planning process to identify and plan for any future transitions (at all levels). This meant understanding all critical functions; identifying gaps in skills and institutional knowledge and addressing them through training and mentoring; and ensuring that the Board leadership is aware and prepared to step in if needed to ease the transition and maintain trust in and the integrity of the organization.
We are profoundly grateful to our board leadership for recognizing the need to go through this planning process, now rather than when we are in the middle of a transition, so that we are ready for any changes in the event of a change. We look forward to providing more details of this plan as we refine it over the next few weeks.
While we work more intentionally on organizational sustainability, I also want to take this opportunity to share my thoughts, and an appeal, related to the importance of financial support in building strength and endurance within an organization. Legacy gifts – once in a lifetime transformational gifts made by donors like you – can elevate an organization for decades. These gifts are inspiring, not only to us as the organization that benefits from them, but also for our donors and their families.
Research shows that planning for legacy gifts is not just the purview of high net-worth individuals. The fact is that the majority of donors who make planned or legacy gifts to organizations are not among the wealthiest. With the various giving “vehicles” available, – including bequests to Qualified Charitable Deductions or QCDs, life insurance and IRA beneficiary designations, gifts of assets (stocks and securities), Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) or other more complex options – planned giving makes philanthropy accessible to people of all income levels. While some planned gifts may be deferred, gifts of assets can be put to work immediately, without impact to a donor’s cash flow.
As you go through this tax season, and possibly look at planning your estate, we urge you to not only take care of your loved ones through the process but also consider this opportunity to shape your legacy based on your personal values. Should you require additional information about options available to you for this purpose, please do reach out to us at THIS LINK. We will be happy to connect with you to answer questions or provide information.
As always, thank you for your faith in us and the work we do – we are deeply grateful! Your gifts help us preserve the stories and histories of all Texans, so we can continue to build community through storytelling. We look forward to your continued support!
On behalf of the Board of Trustees and the staff of the Friends of the Texas Historical Commission—warm regards and best wishes!
Anjali Zutshi, Executive Director