Historical Society needs $20,000 for building fund match

The Shelter Island Historical Society is just $20,000 short of its $200,000 goal to match two building fund contributions of $100,000 each with a deadline tonight at midnight.Two couples — Belle and Jerry Lareau and Nancy and Ed Barr — pledged the money providing other donors matched their contributions.

The bulk of the funding has come from Elizabeth and William Pedersen. Ms. Pedersen is president of the Society’s Board of Trustees while Mr. Pedersen is the architect who designed the structure that is to house new archive space along with classroom and display areas.

The Pedersens have agreed that if costs exceeded the anticipated $1.7 million, they would pay the balance for such finishing touches as landscaping.

Society Executive Director Nanette Breiner Lawrenson made a last minute push Monday to bring in the final $20,000 that would be needed to secure the two pledges.

“Every donation makes a difference,” she said, encouraging donors to call in pledges that can be handled via credit cards or to donate online.

“All donations received or postmarked by midnight Tuesday will be matched” up to the $200,000 total, she said.

Assuming that last bit of funding is forthcoming, the Society will have raised a total of $1.6 million, enough to start the building project once permits are in place.

She expressed confidence that the immediate matches would be forthcoming and that the final $100,000 could be raised in plenty of time for the project.

If the effort to secure the full pledges failed, the project would be $140,000 short of its goal. Should that happen, Ms. Breiner Lawrenson has expressed confidence that the balance can be raised without needing to take a bank loan.

The trustees had approved securing a bank loan if it had been necessary. But three members resigned, concerned they said,  that borrowing for the project could result in a default jeopardizing ownership of Havens House, the Society’s headquarters.

Contributions via credit cards can be phoned in at 749-0025; paid online at shelterislandhistorical.org or mailed to the Society at P.O. Box 847, Shelter Island, New York 11964.