Help Us Preserve Bucks County's Cultural Heritage.

My name is Jonathan Neuber. As the president of the Bucks County Cultural Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Hilltown, PA., I am proud to announce our first ever multiyear fundraising drive to help our organization raise $26,000 by the end of 2026 (the year of America’s 250th anniversary). All funds raised from this initiative, our Keep Bucks in Bucks for 2026 and Beyond fundraising drive, will be directed (at the discretion of our board of directors) towards various expenses, goals, and operations that will assist our organization in the pursuit and fulfillment of the objectives embodied in our mission and vision statements.

Our Mission:

We support continued preservation of cultural, environmental, genealogical, and historical information-along with relevant artifacts and real property-in a manner that will enhance the public's knowledge of Bucks County's cultural heritage.

Our Vision:

Bucks County Cultural Society endeavors to be the leader in uniting and preserving diverse facets of our county's cultural heritage for both present and future generations.

Some of our goals, with respect to this fundraiser, include seeking the public’s support to help our organization be in a better position to both maintain and expand the following:

1. The digitization, maintenance, preservation, and storage of our collections.

2. New acquisitions of historical material. In general, we seek to acquire items not present in other institutional collections, items that will add to the historical record and thus provide a benefit to the community by bringing clarity to neglected areas of Bucks County’s history. Funds may also be used to acquire items that are available at other institutions. In the latter instance, one of the goals would be to expand access to the item or material in question and, when possible, make the item(s) available online or in an otherwise accessible digital format. For example, the potential acquisition of an old book for the purpose of digitization when the book is only available in a university reading room, on microfilm, for sale, or via paid access to an online platform. The goal would then be to remove some of the economic and geographic barriers to access that particular item.

One of our collecting priorities is adding to our collection of family archives, while also increasing our collection of 17th-20th century Bucks County ephemera. Another priority is the expansion of our ability to acquire documents and artifacts relating to historically marginalized groups within the county, as well as those marginalized groups outside the county, but who have historical or genealogical ties to members who reside or have resided in Bucks County. Additionally, we seek to identify, acquire, and preserve material relating to the early history of printing in Bucks County.

3. The expansion of our ability to meet additional expenses for both present and future initiatives, along with expenses arising during the course of our nonprofit’s normal operations.

Whether you can donate $20 or $200, our board appreciates your support and willingness to help us, for 2026 and beyond, keep Bucks in Bucks.

Founded in 2020, the Bucks County Cultural Society employs no salaried executives, directors, or paid hourly employees. We are an all volunteer organization based in Hilltown, PA (Hatfield, PA mailing address). We are also a registered 501 (c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 85-0806394). As a small nonprofit our organization does not own a building. However, our ability to hold collections and documents in rented climate controlled storage affords us the opportunity to access our collections for research inquiries and to be a repository for at risk artifacts and documents that would otherwise be irreparably fragmented, kept in private collections, or lost to time. Additionally, we are working to digitize our holdings and provide–when our board deems it permissible and within existing copyright law–images that can be accessed and used by the public. For more information about our fundraiser and our organization, we encourage the public to visit our website: www.buckscountyculturalsociety.org

Cover Photo: Farm of Chapman & Ella Carver in Bridge Valley, PA. Ella Carver (nee Doan) is pictured in black dress. Photograph by Linford Rhoades Craven of Doylestown, PA. Collection of Bucks County Cultural Society.