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Plans to Sustain the Republic of Texas History Complex
The Daughters of The Republic of Texas anticipate that greater visibility for the organization as a whole will be generated through the centralization of all our activities at the Republic of Texas History Complex at the site of the historic French Legation. With increased visibility - gained in part with a new more sophisticated marketing plan - will come greater numbers of visitors, the more frequent rental of spaces in the Complex for educational and social gatherings, increased gift shop sales, more charitable donations, and the like. These items combined will generate increased income in the years ahead that will sustain the Complex.
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In addition, as part of our fundraising budget for A Vision for the 21st Century, we have included the raising of a $1,000,000 endowment fund that will be invested for the long-term, the income from which will help support the operations of the Complex in perpetuity.
The Daughters of The Republic of Texas intend to engage more fully in heritage tourism in the years ahead. We are working with the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce to develop a “driving tour” of historic sites that would include our Complex. Heritage tourism is a billion dollar industry in Texas. According to the Travel Industry Association, Texas ranks second nationally in the number of cultural and heritage tourists, who spend more per day than non-heritage tourists. If our organization engages more fully in promoting tourism, we believe we will increase the number of visitors to the Republic of Texas History Complex to more than 20,000 (an increase of 50% over current numbers).
The Vision Team of The Daughters of The Republic of Texas has created a Sustainability Plan. A copy of this plan is available upon request. It outlines future staffing requirements and discusses how the operational budget will be affected by the new Complex project once it opens and becomes operational. We believe the Sustainability Plan demonstrates how The Daughters of The Republic of Texas will sustain its work at the new site in the years ahead.
Last but not least, since 2007, the Vision Team has been conducting meetings with representatives of the City of Austin and State of Texas, as well as elected officials, to inform them about our plans and to gain their advice. It may be that some additional financial support may be forthcoming from these sources, but regardless, their being knowledgeable about our expansion is key to the success of our future activities and to smooth operations overall.
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