Winchester Historical Society Inc.

aka Winchester Historical Society   |   Winchester, MA   |  winchesterhistoricalsociety.org

Mission

The mission of the Winchester Historical Society is to promote an awareness of Winchester's history and share it with the community. The Society achieves its mission by collecting and preserving Winchester's historic records and artifacts; by its educational programs, exhibitions, and publications; and through its stewardship of the Sanborn Historical and Cultural Center, home for the Society and open to the community for exhibits, meetings, and events.

Ruling year info

2005

President

Mr. Thomas Sevigny

Main address

15 High Street

Winchester, MA 01890 USA

Show more contact info

Formerly known as

Winchester Historical and Genealogical Society

EIN

23-7383040

NTEE code info

Historical Societies and Related Activities (A80)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990-N.

Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2019, 2018 and 2017.
Register now

Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

This profile needs more info.

If it is your nonprofit, add a problem overview.

Login and update

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Public Programs

The Historical Society offers 6-8 public programs related to the history of Winchester and New England each year. The Society also exhibits selections from its collections in the Sanborn House.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Children and youth

The Society serves as steward of the Sanborn House. This involves restoration and ongoing maintenance of the building, and rentals to individuals, businesses, and organizations.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Children and youth

The Society has collected and preserved documents, photographs, and artifacts related to town history since the nineteenth century. Today the documents and photographs are housed in the Archival Center in Town Hall and the artifacts are in the Sanborn House. Following the lead of the Archives, the Society has begun to enter its collection into online catalog which will provide access to all Winchester historical collections, regardless of format or location, and stimulate increased donations.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Seniors

The Society's publications target different audiences and facets of Winchester's history. These range from a newsletter, Black Horse Bulletin, to a scholarly monograph series, Architects of Winchester. We have published several books: Winchester, Massachusetts, Architectural History of a Victorian Town; Children's History of Winchester; and Artists of Winchester.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Seniors

Youth Programs involve the Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, neighboring Ambrose Elementary School, and interns from Winchester High School

Population(s) Served
Children and youth

Where we work

Affiliations & memberships

American Association for State and Local History 2005

Massachusetts Nonprofit Network 2013

New England Museums Association (NEMA) 2005

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We demonstrated a willingness to learn more by reviewing resources about feedback practice.
done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • Who are the people you serve with your mission?

    On our website we have a form that allows members and others interested in speaking to our site manager or members of our board. Whenever we sent out email messages on our upcoming programs, anyone who receives the email can reply to the email and it is sent to the Site Manager who addresses the email or forwards it on the right board member to address the question. We offer office hours Monday to Friday between 10 AM and 2 PM. During COVID-19 pandemic, these office hours are by appointment only.

  • How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?

    Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Community meetings/Town halls, Suggestion box/email,

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,

  • What significant change resulted from feedback?

    We shifted our programming from in person to ZOOM to continue to reach our constituents and as a result our average attendance has doubled. Our members are included in our Program planning committee and they actively solicit program ideas from our members. Our programs are conversational by nature and we receive feedback during this programs.

  • With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

    Our board,

  • How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?

    Our engagement with our members has made us more responsive to their needs. We are actively seeking to become more and more engaged in the broader conversations occurring in our community. We have attended the "Winchester Nonprofit Convening Focused on Racial Equity" meetings hosted by the Network for Social Justice and are looking to partner with them to host an upcoming conversations around the Chinese Exclusion Act and how this has impacted Asian families in our community.

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive,

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback,

Financials

Winchester Historical Society Inc.
lock

Unlock financial insights by subscribing to our monthly plan.

Subscribe

Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more about GuideStar Pro.

Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

Winchester Historical Society Inc.

Board of directors
as of 5/2/2021
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Mr. Thomas Sevigny

State Street Corporation, retired

Term: 2014 - 2022

Thomas Sevigny

State Street Corporation, retired

Susan Turpin

Community Volunteer

Hilda Wong-Doo

Fidelity Corporation

Ann Hibbard

Community Volunteer

Electra Govoni

Self Employed

Ernestine Ravanis

Community Volunteer

Jay Noble

Community Volunteer

Robert Colt

Community Volunteer

Anne Brako

Community Volunteer

Linda Doucette

Community Volunteer

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 5/2/2021,

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Male, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or Straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 08/07/2019

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.