The National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites and the William G. Pomeroy Foundation® Partner to Launch Marker Grant Program Supporting the National Votes for Women Trail
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The centennial of suffrage for many women in the United States is approaching in 2020. With this landmark anniversary embodied in the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, the National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites (NCWHS) and the William G. Pomeroy Foundation have partnered to launch a new historic marker program commemorating the history of women’s suffrage in the U.S.
The Pomeroy Foundation, which is a private, grant-making foundation based in Syracuse, N.Y., is providing grants through its National Women’s Suffrage Marker Grant Program to recognize historically significant people, places or things across the United States instrumental to women gaining the right to vote. Suffrage was a national movement involving a diversity of women and men from all walks of life.
Historic markers awarded through the program will highlight sites on the National Votes for Women Trail (NVWT). The NVWT, a project of the NCWHS, identifies the many sites that were integral to the suffrage movement, and makes them accessible on a mobile friendly website to be easily searched by location, suffragist, ethnicity, and a variety of other useful criteria.
“The National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites is grateful to the Pomeroy Foundation for their generous support and partnership in helping bring alive through their National Women’s Suffrage Marker Grant Program the little known history of the women’s suffrage movement that significantly expanded democracy in the United States,” says NCWHS President Marsha Weinstein. “Communities will be able to commemorate with the Pomeroy Foundation’s historic markers the places where local grassroots activity took place, thereby recognizing the remarkable efforts of the foremothers and forefathers who fought to win women the right to vote which will inspire women to vote today.”
“The Pomeroy Foundation is proud to partner with The National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites on this important effort to develop the National Votes for Women Trail,” says Paula Miller, Executive Director of the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. “Helping to preserve and celebrate history is one of our main initiatives at the Foundation. With the 100th anniversary of national women’s suffrage less than two years away, we wanted to do our part in recognizing the heritage behind this milestone occasion.”
If you have an idea for a historic marker to commemorate women’s suffrage in your community, please contact your NVWT State Coordinator to begin the nomination process: https://ncwhs.org/votes-for-women-trail/state-coordinators/. You can also contact the NCWHS directly: https://ncwhs.org/about/contact-us/. Municipalities, nonprofit academic institutions and 501(c)(3) organizations are especially encouraged to submit a nomination. Pomeroy Foundation signage grants are fully funded and cover the entire cost of a marker, pole and shipping. The local partner is responsible for installation of the marker.
About NCWHS
The National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites is a non-profit organization established to support and promote the preservation and interpretation of sites and locales that bear witness to women’s participation in American history. NCWHS is dedicated to making women’s contributions to history visible so all women’s experiences and potential are fully valued. Visit: www.ncwhs.org
About the Pomeroy Foundation
The William G. Pomeroy Foundation is a private foundation established in 2005. The Foundation is committed to supporting the celebration and preservation of community history; and to raising awareness, supporting research and improving the quality of care for patients and their families who are facing a blood cancer diagnosis. To date, the Foundation has awarded nearly 800 grants for historic signage in New York State and beyond. Visit: www.wgpfoundation.org
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MEDIA INQUIRES
Marsha Weinstein
NCWHS President
mweinst413@gmail.com
Nancy Brown
NVWT Chair
518-774-7282
Steve Bodnar
Communications Manager
William G. Pomeroy Foundation
steve@wgpfoundation.org
315-913-4068