[MassHistPres] Bank accounts for hist comm

[Mike Potaski]

Hi Connie: in Uxbridge, the Historical Society acts as a "friends of" or trustee for private funds raised on behalf of municipal entities e.g. Historic Commission and 300th Anniversary Committee. Donors contribute to the Society and designate the contribution to a specific entity/project. The Society is a 501(c)3, so the donor gets a tax deduction. The Society treats the funds as a donor-restricted contribution and accounts for the money separately from the Society's general funds. Disbursements are made upon the vote of the Commission/Committee. A past effort by the Commission involved a memorial to the enslaved people of Uxbridge, and an ongoing project will be an historic marker on the common which will be partly funded by a town meeting appropriation and partly by private donations. For the 300th Anniversary Committee we processed funds for refreshments at the 1st Night Celebration and anticipate more activities over the next year.

Another advantage is that the Society can raise and disburse funds for deposits on goods and/or services which cannot be done under municipal procurement rules.

Michael Potaski
Uxbridge Historical Society
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From: MassHistPres <masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu> on behalf of Connie Hellwig via MassHistPres <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2026 1:43 PM
To: Masshistpres <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
Subject: [MassHistPres] Bank accounts for hist comm

Hello everyone - Our Historical Commission would like to have an online fundraising platform to raise funds for our conservation efforts, i.e., 19th century book conservation, antiques restoration, etc. Our financial director has told us we cannot have our own bank account or online fundraising via PayPal or gofundme, etc. Have any of you managed to obtain a bank account for your Historical Commission?

Connie Hellwig
Chairman
Salisbury Historical Commission
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