For Georgia Archives Month 2025, our focus turns to the outdoors and its connection to our lives. Where we live becomes a character in our narratives and impacts the story of who we are. Even within a short period of time, most Georgia residents have seen alterations to their towns, cities, and surrounding areas. While some attention is paid to preserving the habitats through ecological means, it is also important to preserve the memory of these spaces through collections of oral histories, photographs, maps, and other documentation.

Check out this blog post from SGA member, Elaine Slayton, the Archivist for Riverside Avondale Preservation !

It’s hard to believe it is mid-August, especially as we have had an unusually cool and rainy summer. Nevertheless, school is starting up and we are on our way to the fall season. 

And fall means that the SGA Annual Conference is just around the corner! This year we are trying something a little different. Instead of the usual multi-day format, we are condensing the conference into one day jam-packed with great sessions. We decided to modify the format to make the conference more affordable and accessible for our membership, especially our student members or those with financial challenges. The Program Committee responded to the call from the membership for a conference program emphasizing basic and practical archival skills. Mark your calendars now for Thursday October 7 when we go “Back to Basics” at our wonderful conference venue at Middle Georgia State University, where SGA is “Macon” it happen! It is exciting to see the conference come together – kudos to the Program and Local Arrangements committees for all their hard work. This year we are offering separate registration for the Keynote so that we can offer this as a virtual presentation. Our Keynote speakers are Invisible Histories cofounders Joshua Burford and Dr. Maigen Sullivan. Invisible Histories is a 501(c)3 community-based archive that provides educational resources and professional development for 13 southern states. Their mission is to locate, collect, research, and create community-based educational programming around LGBTQ history in the Deep South. 

Register for the meeting AND the keynote here: https://soga.org/annualmeeting. You won’t want to miss either of these!

Educational Events and Facility Tours

“Community Archives From the Ground Up” was the theme for a workshop held in June at the Georgia Tech Library, with guest presenter James Newberry, Director of Special Projects in the Department of Museums, Archives and Rare Books at Kennesaw State University. If you missed the workshop, you’ll have another opportunity to participate next month. Two pre-conference workshops are in the works (scheduled for September 29th and 30th), one of which will consider best practices for working with oral histories, and the other on aspects of digital preservation. Stay tuned and be sure to take advantage of these special educational opportunities!

The SGA Outreach Committee has been busy creating wonderful tours for SGA members, including most recently a tour of Emory and Georgia Tech’s shared Library Services Center. Earlier this year, SGA members enjoyed going behind the scenes at the Atlanta-Journal Constitution Archives in Midtown in April, and Emory’s Pitts Theology Library and Rose Library in June, in conjunction with the Georgia Archives Institute reception at the Pitts Library. In May, SGA members enjoyed a tour of “Defining Skylines: John Portman and the Architectural Evolution of Downtown Atlanta” at the Georgia Tech Library.

Archives Night at the Fox Theatre

I had the privilege of tabling for SGA at the Fox Theatre’s Fourth Annual Archives Night event on Sunday, August 11. Who doesn’t love the Fabulous Fox and its fascinating history? It was wonderful to see fellow SGA members Paul Crater from the Atlanta History Center, Josh Kitchens (in his role as archival consultant to the Fox) and Eli Arnold, University Librarian and Archivist at Oglethorpe University and to hear how together they helped to preserve the documentary history of the Fox Theatre. To find out more about Archives Night at the Fox, check out this blog post: https://sogablog.org/2022/07/.

These are just some of the many ways SGA is working for the membership to foster a sense of community and life-long learning. And as always, if you have any ideas or suggestions on how to make SGA better, please reach out and let me know.

Enjoy the rest of the summer, and I hope to see you in Macon in October!

Apply for the Georgia Archives Institute https://www.georgiaarchivesinstitute.org/apply until March 15!

This year’s institute will take place June 2-13, 2025, in Morrow, GA.

It includes a week of classroom instruction, plus a 3-day internship at an Atlanta institution.

Scholarship opportunities are available at https://www.georgiaarchivesinstitute.org/support!

For more information, visit: https://www.georgiaarchivesinstitute.org/

By Debbie Wolfe

I attended a webinar on grant writing hosted by the Society of Georgia Archivists earlier this summer. The webinar was led by Lilly Heidari, Grants and Development Manager at the Historic Oakland Foundation. I found it to be an insightful experience, especially since my only exposure to grant writing so far has been a grant writing class I took this spring. This webinar taught me that anyone looking to break into the world of grant writing must not only understand the technical aspects but also appreciate the nuances that can make or break a proposal. Here are the five key takeaways I gathered from the session.

Familiarize Yourself with Grant Terminology

As a professional content writer, I often have to familiarize myself with my discourse community and use the appropriate keywords in my writing when addressing that audience. The webinar emphasized the importance of grasping terms like “grant makers” and “grant seekers”, and other commonly used terms for grant writing. As with any discourse community, understanding key terms will help navigate conversations and written applications with confidence.

Identify Different Types of Funders

In my grant writing class, I discovered that grants come from various sources, each with different expectations and procedures. In the webinar, Ms. Heidari explained that funders are categorized into three main groups: government agencies, foundations, and corporations. She noted that government agencies can offer funding at the county, city, state, or national level, while foundations typically focus on specific causes such as the arts or education. Ms. Heidari further clarified that corporations, often motivated by philanthropy and tax benefits, may also provide substantial support.

Understand the Grant Proposal Structure

A grant proposal is more than just a request for money; it’s a comprehensive document that tells the story of your project and why it deserves funding. During the webinar, Ms. Heidari outlined the three core components of a grant proposal: the narrative, the budget, and supporting attachments. The narrative answers critical questions like “Who are you?” and “Why is your project important?” The budget provides a detailed breakdown of the funds needed, and the attachments can include anything from impact reports to letters of support.

Utilize Pre-Award Resources

One of the most valuable insights from the webinar was the importance of preparation during the pre-award stage. Many government agencies and foundations offer resources such as webinars and training sessions designed to help applicants submit strong proposals. In my grant writing class, I chose to apply for an AARP Community Grant. I attended their webinar, where the hosts graciously walked attendees through the grant application process. Furthermore, they provided dozens of examples on their website of successful grant applications from the past. Ms. Heidari explained that these resources are often available online for free and provide crucial guidance on navigating the specifics of the application process.

Grasp the Grant Life Cycle

The webinar and my grant writing class taught me that grants typically follow a life cycle consisting of three stages: pre-award, during funding, and post-award. The pre-award phase involves preparing and submitting the application, while the during-funding phase requires managing the awarded funds and submitting progress reports. Finally, the post-award stage involves submitting final reports and maintaining relationships with funders. Understanding this cycle is essential for managing grants effectively and ensuring long-term success.