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Joining the Associates

If your interest in early American history has led you to this Web site, I hope that you will accept our invitation to deepen your commitment to this important field of scholarship by becoming an Associate of the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture for 2010.

Associates comprise more than 1,000 individuals whose interest in early America inspires them to make an annual investment in the Institute’s work and in the standard of scholarly excellence that has been its hallmark since 1943. These contributions extend and enhance the funding provided by our two permanent sponsors, the College of William and Mary and Colonial Williamsburg, so that we can continue to advance an understanding of the early American past through our traditional agenda of publications, fellowships, and conferences and by encouraging promising new initiatives in research and writing.

Progress in the settlement of the Omohundro estate in the months since Mrs. Libby Omohundro died in May 2008 has recently begun to make a portion of the funds generated by this generous bequest available to the Institute.  However, the serious financial challenges that confront the College of William and Mary and Colonial Williamsburg have forced them to curtail the amount of support they provide to the Institute.  As a result, the Institute must use the returns it receives from the Omohundro endowment to make up for the decreases that have already occurred and to prepare for the potentially more drastic cuts predicted for the future.  In maintaining the reach and sustaining the quality of its programs, the Institute must therefore continue to rely upon the generosity of its Associates.

Among the important initiatives that depend upon Associates’ giving are the annual conferences that convene in June.  Gifts from Associates also contribute measurably to the Institute’s ability to maintain H-OIEAHC and a state-of-the-art Web site and to participate in JSTOR and the History Cooperative.  Twenty-first-century technology has made taking advantage of electronic opportunities an increasingly important dimension of the Institute’s work—and to do so at a level commensurate with our commitment to excellence requires a considerable investment of staff expertise and financial support.

Nor is being a member of the Associates a one-way street. Clicking on the icon above will show you the tangible benefits of becoming an Associate, among them a subscription to the William and Mary Quarterly, invitations to Institute receptions, and, depending on your level of membership, a selection of books from the Institute’s list and individual access to JSTOR. 

In addition, we are also pleased to offer Associates who make a first-time gift at the Sustaining level of $250 or above, a copy of the two-disc DVD set “The bloody Writing is for ever torn.” The package includes a visual record of the experience of the Institute’s August 8–12, 2007, conference in Accra and Elmina, Ghana, on West Africa’s Gold Coast, from which 1.8 million enslaved people were shipped to the Americas and the Caribbean, and an educational supplement developed for classroom use.  Associates giving at the Regular, Contributing, Perpetuating, or Supporting levels will have the opportunity to purchase the set for $49.95, a savings of $10 off the price for non-Associates.

This past year 1,043 Associates contributed a record total of $141,164, thereby providing almost 9 percent of the Institute's budget. We cordially invite you to join this special group of colleagues in supporting the advancement of research and writing about early America by becoming an Associate of the Institute for 2010.