Our Big Ask for a Bigger Opportunity

We have some very exciting news we would like to share – a gesture of support that could be transformative for the Foundation. Yes, really, it is that big.

Two anonymous supporters have pledged to donate to the Foundation and will match every amount we raise, dollar for dollar, to a maximum of $50,000.

Yes, you read correctly, $50,000. This is a stunning gesture of support, and if you will consider making a financial gift, with your help, we hope we can reach this target.

This pledge, match-funding dollar-for-dollar, means, in reality, that we could potentially reach $100,000. It requires incredible generosity from supporters but it could enable us to achieve our objectives outlined below and help to put the Foundation's finances on a more secure footing.

It is not in the bag yet though, these are pledges, we need to actually raise funds to make the donors’ generosity a reality.

It need not only be cash, for donors in the USA you can also donate shares of stock (via the Irish American Partnership), which will be converted into funds designated for the Foundation by IAP. 100% of all donations made via IAP will go towards our "Big Ask" campaign.

And don’t forget gifts of cash or shares are tax deductible, thus for individuals doing some tax planning a gift will help to reduce your 2025 taxes in the U.S. A donation can therefore benefit the donor’s bottom line too.

Digital Townland Atlas

Last year, to universal acclaim, we launched Andrew Kane's monumental Townland Atlas of Ulster. This incredible publication mapped all 16,000+ townlands in the nine counties of Ulster and identified each of them by parish (Catholic, Church of Ireland and civil) and landed estate. We want to turn this into a Digital Townland Atlas – an online resource that will grow over time. However, this is much, much more than simply putting the book online. Find out more about our plans for a Digital Townland Atlas.

Parish Source Guide

Alongside the Digital Townland Atlas, we plan to develop an Ulster Parish Source Guide. This will identify historical and genealogical records for all 300+ parishes in the province of Ulster and will be based on documents in archives as well as printed sources and publications. It will be an essential go-to resource for anyone looking for their ancestors in Ulster. You can find out more by following this link to the test page of the Parish Source Guide and view a sample entry for Ahoghill parish.

New Digital Content

At the same time, we want to vastly increase the level of content on our website for the benefit of the public and our members. We would like to go further - and faster. Since its launch in January 2024, our new website has grown immensely through the addition of new databases, e-books, and ‘Discover’ area content to the new site. Recently, we added a new 'Sense of Place' section to the Discover area and we plan to add new features over the coming months. Our YouTube channel is also expanding and we want to continue to add new talks to it. Find out more about recently-added resources and databases.

Opportunity has come calling – we don’t want to miss the boat

1. For charities like ours, generosity of this kind does not come along very often - we want to seize this opportunity with both hands.

2. The power of match-funding - even a modest gift of a few pounds/dollars/euro will build up with the match funding pledge. Our donors are ready to equal anything you can give.

3. Pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps – you can help us continue to be self-sustaining. The Foundation is a completely self-funding charity and has been for more than 18 years. We get no public funding, rather we are a net contributor to the local, and island-wide, economy. We bring hundreds of visitors to this island each year and support their research journey.

4. Creating more resources to help the research community. The majority of the funds will be used to develop more web resources – the Digital Townland Atlas, Parish Source Guide and genealogical databases, you are helping us to help you – a mutually beneficial relationship.

5. Futureproofing - you are supporting the Foundation to preserve and promote our shared past for future generations.