Welcome to the New NGS

Welcome Society and Organization Members to the New NGS!

There is a lot of excitement as NGS and the Federation of Genealogical Societies merge to create a “new” NGS. More than 9500 individual members welcome our new society and organization members to this wonderful genealogy community.

NGS and FGS board members, NGS staff, and many volunteers put in a full year of planning, designing, and executing merger plans. Now that the merger is complete, more work continues. The new NGS Board of Directors took office 1 October and they, plus the NGS staff led by Executive Director Matt Menashes, are standing by to welcome all the new societies and organizations into NGS. The NGS staff is here to help you transition your membership and answer your questions.

We added a new position to the board of directors, the Vice President for Society and Organization Management. Cheri Passey, the first person to serve in this role, will work to ensure that society and organization management is a high priority for the new NGS. NGS has already created new membership plans and benefits to support organizations. The new NGS welcomes all

  • Genealogical and Historical Societies
  • Family Associations
  • Libraries, Archives, and Museums
  • College departments and degree programs.

Continuing the Heritage of The Federation of Genealogical Societies

For more than forty years, FGS made many important contributions to the field of family history. From the very beginning, FGS leadership understood the need to coordinate projects so societies, libraries, and archives would not duplicate the work of other groups at various local and state levels. FGS also knew activism was needed to protect access to genealogical records and to advance preservation instead of destruction of records. These critical roles in the genealogical community are now part of the new NGS. The new “House of Delegates,” made up of one representative from each member organization, will provide advice to the NGS board. Delegates will have the opportunity to offer ideas to improve society and organization management, identify programs NGS might offer, and advise on changes happening in the genealogical community.

NGS will continue to represent its members on RPAC, the Records and Preservation Action Coalition, as well.  Members of the RPAC steering committee meet regularly to advise the genealogy community on maintaining access to vital records and on supporting strong records preservation policies and practices.

Supporting Your Genealogy Organization

We have added many resources to assist your genealogy society or organization. Many of these resources, including the entire FORUM magazine archives, were brought over in the merger. New and updated resources will be added over time. Check out the society and organization resources on the website under the Societies & Organizations tab in the top menu, or from the Societies & Organization Leaders box on the homepage.

National Genealogical Society Can Help Build Your Family History

While you are here visiting the NGS website, we hope you will take some time to browse our website and learn more about NGS and the many genealogical related resources we offer to help you build your skills and your family tree. Genealogy education and training are at the core of NGS’s mission.

Our educational resources meet the needs of people at all levels of genealogy experience. You will notice our website is a great introduction to family history education for your society members and patrons as well as your friends and family. Now that DNA testing has brought millions of people to the doorstep of family history– and your organizations–they need help developing the skills essential for researching a family tree.

The focus of NGS’s education program is to create content that welcomes every person interested in family history no matter their level of expertise. By offering many avenues from which to learn, we offer each family history researcher the ability to choose how they are most comfortable learning. At NGS, we call this “personalized learning”.

NGS’s Pathways for Personalized Learning

  1. Getting Started
  2. Going to the Next Level
  3. Building Advanced Skills
  4. Joining the Community

 The NGS website offers four learning pathways and content organized to help everyone with an interest in just beginning or continuing to build their family history. It typically takes years to gain experience and build skills, and every individual who becomes interested in family history advances uniquely. The learning paths help genealogists build a strong personal education plan over time. The pathways are easily accessed from the homepage or the Learning Center’s main or left navigation. We are particularly pleased to add a new fourth step, “Joining the Community,” which leads the public to your society or organization via a searchable directory and the events calendar.

Cruise the Learning Center and the NGS Conference Website

When you have the time, go page-by-page through our Learning Center and Conference menus. There is a lot more to check-out that may inspire your genealogy work. And link to our conference site or go directly https://conference.ngsgenealogy.org/ to learn about our upcoming May 2022 conference, In Person in Sacramento, CA, and/or virtually At Home, and add to your learning over time by buying On-Demand recordings in packages from our 2022 NGS Family History Conference.

Don’t Miss These Free Resources as You Browse Around the Site

  • Free Fillable Pedigree Charts and Templates
  • Complimentary articles for non-members from NGS Quarterly, NGS Magazine, and NGS Monthly
  • The completely revised and updated Family History Skills course for NGS members
  • Links to eighteen websites that are invaluable to family history researchers
  • Many more research aids in the Free Genealogy Resources section

Welcome to the new NGS and thank you for being such an important part of the genealogy community.