Among the benefits coming soon to member genealogy societies and family, history associations are a series of review programs designed to help your organization improve. Keep an eye on this page for news about when these reviews will begin following the October 2020 merger with FGS.

Whether your organization is working to revise its bylaws or simply has a question on specific elements of your bylaws, NGS is committed to providing your organization with the tools to ensure continued success. Roberta “Bobbi” King, co-author of The Bylaws Workbook: A Handbook for New and Established Societies, completes bylaws
reviews for NGS. We offer two types of review:

Two types of bylaws reviews will be available:

1. Complete Review: Most often completed in preparation of an organization’s revision of their bylaws. Ms. King will review and comment on your organization’s bylaws, make suggestions for possible revisions, and provide other insights to assist in your revisions. The time allotment for this service is 3 hours and the cost for this review is $50.00. Click here to order the review.
2. Sectional Review: The sectional review will look at a specific section of your bylaws, provide comments and suggestions and answer any specific questions you might have. The time allotment for this service is 1 hour and the cost is $25.00. Click here to order the review.

Please Note: The focus of this review is to raise potential issues and suggest possible approaches to resolve them. Our reviewer, although experienced in the operation of genealogy societies and family history associations, is not an attorney and suggestions by our reviewer and/or NGS should not be considered as legal advice. No attempt will be made to assure compliance with the legal requirements for a particular jurisdiction. Please consult with a local attorney for legal requirements and advice.

Your organization’s newsletter is the best way to keep your members informed about their benefits and what the organization is doing.

Two types of newsletter reviews will be available:

1. Content Review: An organization can submit a newsletter and request a complete review or may ask a specific question(s). The complete review will include suggestions concerning design elements and format, clarity, and content.
2. Conversion to Electronic Newsletter: If your organization wants to “go green” and produce an electronic newsletter, we can provide suggestions including type of format and/or how to create a quality newsletter using PDF software.

Your website might be the first encounter a potential member has with your society. It is the hub of information and benefits for your current members and the entire genealogy community.

Your society or organization will be able to request a review of one, several, or all areas of your society’s site. The review will not provide detailed guidance for the redesign and programming of your site. Rather, reviewers will make suggestions for changes in design, layout, format, font use and contrast, ease of navigation and use, effective use of graphics, and inclusion of content.

Your society will still need to work with your webmaster or with a design consulting company to devise and implement changes to the actual website. However, we believe a website review will be helpful in highlighting areas of focus.