Amish Country Byway wins national award for leveraging resources
MILLERSBURG – The Amish Country Byway of Ohio is a winner of the 2024 Byway Award for Leveraging Resources. The award is given by the National Scenic Byway Foundation. It is one of the foundation’s eight national awards presented annually.
The Amish Country Byway Committee, along with the Holmes County Historical Society, initiated a partnership with the museums and other nonprofits called the Heritage Partnership. The Heritage Partnership linked nonprofit organizations that tell the story of the byway and enhance the visitor experience. The volunteer nonprofit organizations joined in a cooperative fundraising effort. In its ninth year, seven nonprofit partners are now raising an average of $40,000 annually.
The purpose of the Heritage Partnership is to consolidate expenses and increase revenue among the nonprofit organizations. HP unified the efforts of each nonprofit organization regarding their randomly scheduled membership and donation/fund-raising drives into one consolidated annual campaign. Instead of year-round rolling memberships and donations among each of the seven nonprofits, the drive became a singular event starting late October, running through December.
The Amish Country Byway offers the opportunity for donors to support specific byway projects. In 2017-2018 it garnered matching donations for a permanent Agriculture History Exhibit at the Holmes County fairgrounds featured in a restored century-old barn. In 2021-2023, the group sought funds to support historical markers for each of the towns along the Byway.
Heritage Partnership Members include the Holmes County Historical Society, Killbuck Valley Natural History Museum, County-Line Historical Society, Holmes County Genealogical Society, Holmes County Friends of the Library, Holmes County Center for the Arts and the Clark Community Center.
Each organization experienced growth in membership and donations. Volunteer support is maximized with the consolidation of the campaign letter-writing, revenue deposits and donor acknowledgements. The project increased fundraising trust among the participating organizations.
Along the 190-mile Amish Country Byway visitors experience sites, sounds and cultural lifestyle of the Amish and northern Appalachian people. For additional information visit www.holmeshistory.com/heritage-partnership, www.visitamishcountry.com or www.TravelByways.com.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Amish Country Byway wins national award for leveraging resources
