Engaging Ohio’s Communities
Annual Report FISCAL YEAR 2020
A MESSAGE FROM OUR
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CEO & BOARD PRESIDENT More than any other time in recent years, we know that we’re living through history. As we navigate a pandemic, nationwide protests against racial injustice and a presidential election, our community increasingly relies on the context, evidence and background that history provides to give us grounding and a path forward.
• The COVID-19 pandemic pushed us to think differently about our work. Within one day of Governor Mike DeWine’s announcement closing public spaces, we shifted course to give Ohioans what they needed during this time:
Burt Logan
Thomas V. Chema
As public historians, our role is to preserve and share our past. As a recognized authority on Ohio history, we are uniquely positioned to help the public understand the complexity and nuance of history, to ensure that all Ohioans have foundational knowledge to inform decisions now and in the future. While this has been a tumultuous year for us and our partners in history, we want to take a moment to reflect on all that we’ve accomplished. • Earlier this year the Fifth District Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed the ruling that Ohio History Connection has the authority to acquire the lease at the Octagon Earthworks. In July, the Ohio Supreme Court announced their decision to accept Moundbuilders Country Club’s appeal to that decision. Our guiding principles throughout this process have been to ensure full public access to Octagon Earthworks, while also ensuring the club receives just compensation for the value of the lease. We are unwavering in our belief that this site must be accessible to all, and we look forward to making our case to the Ohio Supreme Court. • We received an 84% approval rating (excellent or superior) from our readers for our redeveloped and redesigned Echoes Magazine. This continues to be a publication that brings valuable stories and insights about history to our members.
2 • Ohio History Connection
Ø Our subject matter experts and educators created engaging, credible and convenient digital materials for students, caregivers and teachers to help them learn while they were at home and schools were closed. Ø Our curators were a part of this work. This year marked the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which granted many women the right to vote. Our team mobilized quickly to get our exhibits and resources related to this important milestone online.
Ø We hosted our annual meeting titled “The Value of History During Crisis,” which brought together business leaders from Ohio and around the country—all with a history background—to talk about how an understanding of our past positively influences our crisis response. More than 500 people registered for this virtual program with us. Ø Right now, our staff is collecting stories about Ohio’s experience with the pandemic. At the same time, they are working to document the historic protests against racial injustice taking place all over the state.
• During this moment of crisis, we’re feeling deeply grateful for donors to our Annual Fund, who are providing critically-needed operational support. This year, we saw an increase in donations to the fund of more than 30% compared to last year. We are so thankful for their support of Ohio history. We thank all who have supported Ohio history this year. A special thanks to Governor Mike DeWine, the Ohio General Assembly, our Board of Trustees, and our donors, members and volunteers across the state who make this work possible. As we move forward into the next year together, we will continue to provide Ohioans with meaningful and engaging experiences to demonstrate the relevance of history today.
Ø This year, our State Historic Preservation Office led the way in creating an online process for federal historic preservation tax credit reviews. We know how important these tax credits are to Ohio’s economic development, especially now. Our office was the first in the country to successfully transition to a fully remote federal tax review process. It was so successful that the National Park Service lauded it as a model for other states.
We thank all who have supported Ohio history this year.
Sincerely,
Burt Logan,
Thomas V. Chema,
Executive Director & CEO
President, Board of Trustees
FY2020 Annual Report • 3
LOCAL HISTORY
Ohio History Service Corps members served 98 local history organizations and provided over 17,000 hours of service.
CONNECTING PEOPLE total visitation across our historic site network.
CREATING VALUE From TV coverage, newspaper stories and more, we reached
local history organizations and individual members make up the Ohio Local History Alliance, supported by the Ohio History Connection.
new history markers were installed and dedicated by local communities. To date, there are over 1,800 markers located around Ohio, at least three in every county.
granted from the Ohio History Fund to organizations throughout the state.
A YEAR IN
Since the program began in 2012, we've made 80 grants totaling $760,000 to history organizations all over Ohio.
NUMBERS
students took part in Ohio History Day.
fourth graders used Ohio As America, our electronic history textbook.
HISTORY EDUCATION
in earned media.
unique page views on ohiohistory.org
4 • Ohio History Connection
PRESERVING PLACES
was invested in historic buildings via the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program. Often paired with the federal historic tax credit program, these credits are a vital economic driver for Ohio businesses.
new nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, for a total of 4,142 Ohio listings.
3
#
Ohio is third in the nation for the number of National Register listings. FY2020 Annual Report • 5
30000
TOTAL SUPPORT AND REVENUE
OHIO HISTORY CONNECTION 25000
FISCAL YEAR 2020
ANNUAL REVENUE & EXPENSES
Leadership FY2020
20000
15000
1% 11%
FY08 Capital
FY09
FY10 GRF †
FY11
FY12
FY13
FY14
Contracts/Grants
FY15
FY16
Contributions
FY17
FY18
FY19
Earned Revenue
FY20 Other
† General Revenue Fund
21%
SUPPORT AND REVENUE
40%
2% 4%
Historic Preservation Office Capital Projects Management and General
State General Revenue Fund State Capital Projects
Development Contribution Services
EXPENSES
45%
20%
Contributions (Financial, Materials and Services) Earned Revenue
9%
Investments
6%
Total: $28,373,000
Members
111%
Number of Visitors Across Site System
Hillary Bates Chief Development Officer Jen Cassidy Director, Ohio History Center & Ohio Village
James F. Dicke II Vice President, New Bremen Elizabeth Weibel Vice President, Chagrin Falls Robert W. Lucas Immediate Past President, Pemberville Charles R. Moses Secretary, Columbus Suhas Kakde Treasurer, Spring Valley TRUSTEES
Stacey Halfmoon Director, American Indian Relations
C. Ellen Connally, Cleveland
Sherry Henning Director, Accounting
Jon T. Elsasser, Zoar
Stacia Kuceyeski Director, Outreach
Loann W. Crane, Columbus
Chief W. Billy Friend, Wyandotte, OK James B. Hadden, Columbus Alex Hastie, Columbus Richard F. Hillis, Powell
Jerri Letcavits Executive Assistant to the CEO
Jen Miller, Columbus
Jamison Pack Chief Marketing Officer
Robert M. Roach, Columbus
Amanda Terrell Director, State Historic Preservation Office
Melody Young, Chillicothe
Michael G. Rapp, Blue Ash
Gregory H. Simpson, Milford
Larry Obhof President, Ohio Senate Kenny Yuko Minority Leader, Ohio Senate Larry Housesholder Speaker of the Ohio House Emilia Strong Sykes Minority Leader, Ohio House of Representatives Wendy Zucal President, Ohio Local History Alliance Marsha Robinson President, Ohio Academy of History Randy Gardner Chancellor, Ohio Department of Higher Education Michael Woytek President, Ohio Academy of Science Paolo DeMaria Superintendent of Public Instruction Lydia Mihalik Director, Ohio Development Services Agency Laura P. Battocletti Director, Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board Suhas Kakde Chair, Ohio History Connection Foundation Board
Erin Wingfield Director, Membership
Contributions Earned Revenue
Lauren Barber Director, Human Resources
Thomas V. Chema President, Westlake
Charles Wash Director, National Afro-American Museum & Cultural Center
16%
Megan Wood Director, Cultural Resources
-9% 6 • Ohio History Connection
Mike DeWine Governor, State of Ohio
Jeff Ward Chief Financial Officer
From FY 2010* to FY 2020, the Ohio History Connection has seen the following results:
volunteers donated 44,052 hours of their time, providing a value of $1,198,214 in support.
OFFICERS
Todd Kleismit Director, Community & Government Relations
14%
Contracts and Grants
478
Burt Logan Executive Director & CEO
Stephen George Senior Advisor to the CEO
Site Operations, Education and Interpretive Programs State Archives and Library
21%
EX-OFFICIO
Jen Aultman Director, World Heritage Project
5000
6%
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Ben Garcia Deputy Executive Director & Chief Learning Officer
10000
0
SENIOR STAFF
-11%
* Decreases are a result of COVID-19 closures. FY2020 data is preliminary and not final. For audited FY20 information, contact 800.686.1537.
FY2020 Annual Report • 7
“ As we move forward into the next year together, we will continue to provide meaningful and engaging experiences to demonstrate history’s relevance today.” – Burt Logan Executive Director & CEO Ohio History Connection 800 E. 17th Ave. Columbus, OH 43211-2474 800.686.6124 ohiohistory.org
Ohioan, pioneering astronaut and NASA scientist Dr. Kathy Sullivan is pictured with a young attendee at our 50th anniversary moon landing event.