The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) announced today that the 2022 – 2023 Georgia History Festival, which culminated on April 22, 2023, with the Trustees Gala, has surpassed all previous institutional fundraising milestones by raising a record $1.9 million to further the institution’s educational and research mission. Funds support GHS’s year-round educational programming and research services for students, teachers, researchers, and general audiences from across Georgia and beyond.

“This incredible achievement for GHS would not have been possible without our 2022 -2023 Georgia History Festival committee members who worked tirelessly to reach this milestone,” said Dr. W. Todd Groce, President and CEO of the Georgia Historical Society. “Because of their efforts and the generosity of our corporate sponsors and individual donors who support the Georgia History Festival each year,” he added, “GHS will continue to bring exceptional educational programming and research services to Georgians and those who desire to engage and learn more about Georgia and American history.”

The funds raised during the Festival go directly toward creating and delivering educational programs that teach history to students across Georgia, teacher training opportunities, research services, publications, and specialized care for the more than five million documents, photographs, rare books, and artifacts that make up the oldest collection of Georgia history archival materials in the nation. Each year the Georgia Historical Society collection is used by more than 60,000 scholars, researchers, and genealogists representing every US state and many countries around the world.

The Georgia History Festival is the signature K-12 educational program of the Georgia Historical Society. Through this year’s Festival, GHS reached over 250,000 K-12 students, 2,614 Georgia teachers, and 33,979 members of the general public from across the state through a variety of public programs, exhibits, in-school events, and educational resources, bringing history to life for students of all ages. This year’s events included the popular Colonial Faire and Muster living-history program held at Wormsloe State Historic Site, Super Museum Sunday where over 100 sites across the state opened their doors to the public free of charge, and a Constitution Day open house at the GHS Research Center.

During this year’s Festival, GHS education staff conducted dozens of in-school programs and professional development training sessions for teachers and students across Georgia focusing on standards-based resources created in support of this year’s educational focus, “Reconstruction and the Gilded Age.” Resources included new classroom activities based on original archival sources and a new video highlighting key moments and individuals associated with this pivotal, yet tumultuous, period in our national story.

The Georgia History Festival culminated in April with the Trustees Gala, the Georgia Historical Society’s premier annual event. Each year, this elegant and much-anticipated evening draws top local, state, and national leaders to honor and pay tribute to the best the State of Georgia has produced.

The 2023 Trustees Gala featured US Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock’s induction of Dan Amos, CEO and Chairman of Aflac Incorporated, and Donna Hyland, President and CEO of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, as the 2023 Georgia Trustees.

For more information about the Georgia History Festival, please contact Keith Strigaro, Director of Communications, at (912) 651-2125, ext. 153 or by email at [email protected].