Shop Online and Help the Historical Society

The Westhampton Beach Historical Society recently joined national online fundraising efforts by becoming a Museum Partner with ShopforMuseums.com. Partnering with hundreds of museums, parks, zoos, aquariums and science centers across the country, ShopforMuseums.com serves as a means to raise much needed money to support operating costs at these facilities. Anyone who shops online can have a portion of their purchase donated to a museum of their choice with no extra cost to the consumer.

ShopforMuseums.com was developed by a former science museum director in Oregon, who recognized firsthand that adequate support for museum operations is the foundation upon which the future of any museum is built. In a time of ever increasing state and national budget cuts, museums are faced with raising larger amounts of money on their own.

Although major gifts are most often donated for capital projects or endowments, the fiscal health of museums depends on contributions for general operating support. This type of support is often overlooked and we seldom see major social events organized to raise money for museum operations. Yet it is this operating support that keeps museum doors open and their staffs paid. ShopforMuseums.com was developed to help raise undesignated funds that museums can put towards their operating costs or where ever their need is greatest.

Consumers can shop with over 200 national retail merchants and at no extra cost, have a percentage of each online purchase donated to an organization of the shopper’s choice. Examples of merchants include Overstock.com, Ebay, Lands’ End, The Sharper Image, USA Today, Office Depot, Chef’s Catalog, Sears, Hickory Farms and FTD Florists. Even major travel companies participate including Delta Airlines, Orbitz, Easy Click Travel and Enterprise Rent-a-Car.

Businesses can choose to contribute on-going support to a museum at no extra cost by ordering monthly office supplies, computers, cellular phones, furniture, corporate gifts and flowers, plus coordinating corporate travel through ShopforMuseums.com.

Participation is simple and secure. To designate a portion of an online purchase to the Westhampton Beach Historical Society, shoppers simply go to www.ShopforMuseums.com and log in. Then choose to support the Westhampton Beach Historical Society. Shoppers click on the link of the store they would like to visit and go about their shopping. The percentage of each purchase gets tracked automatically as long as shopping begins each time at ShopforMuseums.com.

Museums serve a vital role within our communities and country. Museums serve as stewards of culture and heritage, as educators of adults and children, as teachers of multiculturalism, as preservers of natural places, and as gathering places within our communities.

Please support The Westhampton Beach Historical Society when you shop online by using ShopforMuseums.com.