Norwegian-American Historical Assoc

“The association has four classes of members. The designation of such classes and the qualifications of such classes are as follows: student members: any natural person with proof of enrollment may become a student member upon paying to the administrative director, one year in advance, annual dues for a student membership. Associate members: any natural person or any corporation, institution, or other organization may become an associate member upon paying to the administrative director, one year in advance, annual dues for an associate member. Sustaining members: any natural person or any corporation, institution, or other organization may become a sustaining member upon paying to the administrative director, one year in advance, annual dues for a sustaining member. Patron members: any natural person or any corporation, institution, or other organization may become a patron member upon paying to the administrative director, one year in advance, annual dues for a patron member.”

“St. Olaf college appoints two directors of the board of directors. The members elect the remaining directors of the board of directors. Student members, associate members, sustaining members and patron members can include any natural person or corporation, institution, or other organization. They may become a member upon paying the dues for that membership class. Any persons who became a life member prior to may 1, 2004, shall continue his or her membership through his or her natural life. Each member, regardless of classification, shall be entitled to one vote on each matter submitted to a vote of members. Members may use historical materials in the archives of the association in accordance with policies established by the board. The president of naha-norway shall have the right to appoint a naha- norge representative to the naha board for a two-year term, for the duration of that person's tenure in that office, to be a full voting member of the board of directors of the association, holding the same term- limits, obligations and rights as those afforded the elected members of the board, and shall count towards the total of 25 board members.”

“The form 990 is distributed to the board's finance committee for review as soon as preparation is complete. The committee addresses any questions, concerns, and/or suggestions that might arise. When all issues are resolved, the finance committee approves the form 990 and it is distrubuted to the board.”

“The association's conflict of interest policy covers the board of directors and prohibits transactions which potentially would create a conflict of interest, unless such conflicts are disclosed in writing to the board of directors prior to the transaction occurring. The board of directors or the executive committee review and determine if a conflict of interest exists. Board members who have an identified conflict of interest are prohibited from voting on matters related to that potential conflict of interest and must recuse themselves from discussion on related matters. Proceedings related to conflicts of interest are documented in the meeting minutes.”

“The executive committee works with the human resources department at st. Olaf college to determine the appropriate salary range for the administrative director position based on specific job responsibilities, level of experience and performance. Published salary surveys of peer organizations are used during this process. The board approves the salary within the range presented. Annual increase ranges are suggested by st. Olaf college based on the average increase determined by the college board of regents, and the associations's board makes a recommendation within that range based on director performance. The executive committee minutes document the deliberation and decision.”

“The association's governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements are available to the public upon request.”

“The mission of the norwegian-american historical association (naha) is to inspire connections to norwegian-american experiences through discovery, scholarship, and stewardship. To achieve this goal, we maintain an active acquisitions program focusing on materials related to norwegian-american immigration, immigrants and their descendants. In addition to maintaining the largest archive of norwegian-american life, we maintain an active publications program to encourage scholarship and hold regular events for our members and the public.”

“Membership: naha's primary membership activities include hosting educational events and tours. We also produce a quarterly print newsletter to inform and educate members about our collections and topics related to norwegian-american immigration history. In 2024, we held three events. In march, gunnar nerheim, university of stavanger professor emeritus of modern history, spoke about his book, norsemen deep in the heart of texas: norwegian immigrants 1845-1900. The free event was co-hosted by norway house. In august, naha partnered with st. Olaf alumni travel for "norway: a thousand years of migration." this 10-day tour explored how people have been on the move to, from, and within norway over the past millennium, changing the course of transatlantic history. Beginning in stavanger, the group traveled north to the migration centers of bergen and trondheim, with additional stops in stiklestad and snsa. In october, nearly a hundred members enjoyed our biennial member meeting at st. Olaf college. The day included three presentations, a book launch, a nordic-themed lunch, news from naha leadership, and election of new board members. Recordings are available of our biennial presentations on our youtube channel.”

“Archives: naha continues to actively collect and preserve materials related to the norwegian-american experience. In 2024, we hosted 55 visiting researchers from the united states, canada, and norway, to our reading room, worked with student interns and classes at st. Olaf college, digitized 17,516 primary source materials, and welcomed 60 new donations to our collections. We received a generous grant for 297,303 from the national endowment for the humanities (neh) to preserve, digitize, and make accessible five collections that document the relief efforts of norwegian-americans for occupied norway during world war ii. (unfortunately, the funding was rescinded in april of 2025 as part of doge federal cost-cutting efforts.) we received two additional grants: one from sons of norway foundation to digitize 274 oral histories and a minnesota legacy grant to rehouse naha institutional records.”

“Psa 3 publication: in the fall of 2024, naha released volume 42 of our scholarly journal, norwegian-american studies, published in cooperation with the university of minnesota press. The journal is dedicated to showcasing the best work in the field of norwegian-american studies, including the related disciplines of history, literature, religion, art, and cultural studies. In addition to several peer-reviewed articles, the journal includes photographic features, book reviews, works-in-progress, and updates on teaching, learning, and researching in the field of norwegian-american studies. In addition to our print edition, free digital access to the journal and all past issues are available to naha members on project muse digital library. Naha also distributed to its members "muus vs muus: the scandal that shook norwegian america," a co-publication with minnesota historical society press.”

“Fellowships, awards, and internships: in 2024, naha awarded two fellowships. The naha archives fellowship encourages research that primarily focuses on the naha collections. The naha publications fellowship will stimulate scholarship in the field of norwegian-american studies that results in a publishable manuscript. Each year, naha offers internships for students to pursue their interests and gain practical experience in archives, public history, and nonprofit management.”

“Reduction in lifetime membership liability 46,483”