Donating/Planned Giving: Helping Rutherfurd Hall Move Forward
Rutherfurd Hall has an on-going list of items that we really need to do our work. They are also items that are "investments" that will lead to more funding and development opportunity as we launch a cultural center and museum.
While there are many needs for which we are writing grants, there are other items that are hard to secure through public/foundation funds, and require individual gifts and donations. How do I give funds to Rutherfurd Hall? Donors can make donations all at once, or in monthly payments directly debited through your credit card over a period of months. Your fully tax-deductible donation can also be given by check. We ask that you write your check to Rutherfurd Hall/BOE, and earmark it in the subject line.
We guarantee your gift will be used as you specify, and we will send you a thank you letter complete with documentation. Send your letter and check to Rutherfurd Hall/BOE PO Box J, Allamuchy, NJ 07820, or call our main number below to set up a meeting/over the phone plan through your credit card (and earn points while you give).
One of the exciting things about the wish list below is that you can learn more about what is in development currently. In advance of your support, let us say that we are so appreciative of your patronage, at any level you can give. Your donations will help us as we grow into a world class, local resource.
We need:
6 power strips: $16 each: total= $96.00
6 extension cords: 40' surge protection at $36.99 each= $221.94
60 LED Solar Stake Lights (installed and removed for special events): simple at $2.98 each = $178.80
4 Sprinklers for the gardens (help our flowers grow): rotating at $34.50 each= $138.00
4 hoses for gardens (help the sprinklers work!): 100' at $67.30= $269.60
1 used working computer 2010 or later with software (PC or Apple)
4 20MB memory sticks at $20 each= $80
1 48" wide shelf unit
3 file storage (racks): at $15 each= $45.00
a scanner $250
a printer $230
printer cartridges $76
a movable coat rack (various models can help)
a bookshelf (used)
Decorate a bathroom: You could take on decorating all the necessary niceties of a Rutherurd Hall bathroom. Donors can donate used items, go shopping for their bathroom, or simply write a check to us for the needed necessities. 14 bathrooms x $200 per bathroom (or less)= $2800
Marketing Plan: A top level marketing expert, who lived in Warren County for years, and now works for Princeton University, has offered to develop a step by step outreach plan for staff to follow for optimal event and site outreach. Since no marketing plan has been developed to date, this study and action plan will help us to create the road map for each project we launch, as well as a survey of our demographics = $6,000
Sunfish Sailing Program: We are developing a water safety and sailing classes (as well as rentals) for next summer season. We are working in partnership withSEAS(The Society for the Education of American Sailors) is an all-volunteer non-profit organization dedicated to the sport of sailing and the teaching of safe sailing skills. If you have a sailfish or sunfish boat in your garage, we would like to encourage you to donate it to Rutherfurd Hall and in return you will be able to use it on our beautiful historic lake! $3,000 buy a sailboat that you will be able to use!
Fireplace Restoration: The Sisters of Divine Charity boarded up the chapel room fireplace when they converted the Rutherfurd’s “Billiard Hall” into a Chapel. We have all the original drawings for the mantel and stone design. We are looking for a tax-deductible donation to purchase these items from a restoration hardware expert, or we are looking for a motivated shopper to go antiquing to find a comparable replacement and purchase it and have it delivered to Rutherfurd Hall for installation. Estimated cost of project to purchase through dealer and install: $4,000 (possibly less for motivated shopper) If you add an actual gas inset the project increases to= $6,400
The dining room fireplace: This site would be well suited for a gas insert unit that would allow the original fireplace to cast the warm glow onto a cocktail party, or a book club, or a creative writing seminar. While the family used to burn a combination of wood and coal, it is too dangerous to burn real fires in a nationally land marked property, but an insert is allowed and is a compromise that enables for the ambiance without compromising the safety of the building. Chimneystack, wiring, gas source input $3,500; Gas fueled historic insert unit $4,200= $7,700
Did you notice that the chandelier in the dining room is missing? We have a photograph that shows us what the chandelier looks like, but now we need the funds or the motivated shopper. What is a motivated shopper in the museum world? It is a person who enjoys going antiquing and auction hunting for a replica. If we do not have a motivated shopper, we need to purchase a comparable replica from a restoration hardware source. Chandelier: $2,500 and electrical work to upgrade system: $600= $3,100
Oral History: With the help of Richard Crawn, an expert in Rutherfurd family history, we have been conceptualizing and developing an Oral History Project for the Hall. The project focuses on people who worked at Rutherfurd Hall for the family. We have identified 6 people who are able to speak about their memories; we are really nervous that time is of the essence because all our interviewees are in their 90s. We have identified a trained oral historian to do the research and interviews with the methods that yield the most return. Can you help us now to address this time sensitive need? $6,000 (or $1000 per interview turned into exhibit material)
Glass Plate Negatives: We have recently learned about the owner, and location, or the glass plate negatives made by Lewis Morris Rutherfurd in the 1860s when he was photographing the moon, sun, and stars. While we do not own these items, we are in a position to ask for reproductions from these negatives, and they may be some of the most important discoveries in astronomy at the time they were made, We are estimating that the cost to scan (using a high end archival scanner) these plates is $400 per plate, and the cost of making a high grade photographic print from these scans and framing them is estimated at an additional $700: We need $1,100 per image to make and frame as many images as funding allows. This will create an unprecedented collection n of Lewis Morris photographs anywhere in the world on display currently. Total is $1,100 per image with the ability to make 12 prints= $13,200 or $1,100 per print.
Shelves for which we have designed a remote control, LED, no wire system for object display
A box for storing the blueprints: Rutherfurd Hall and the BOE owns 63 original to the site blueprints of both the architecture and the landscape. In order for us to preserve and exhibit these items, we have numerous steps to follow according to our CAPES survey by the NJ Archive consultant team. First we must flatten the items, then we must purchase archival storage boxes, then we wish to produce archival scans of the items so as to exhibit, and use for research , copies rather than the originals. Flattening process: $300 in supplies; $60 per box x 15 boxes (36 x 36”), and $300 per frame= $360 per image x 63= total project $22,680
Furnishing/decorative arts- signage: Each piece of furniture and art donated from the Rutherfurd family in the last year is worthy of its own interpretative text panel. While we have received the items, and the funds to restore them for public viewing, we have not secured the funds for printing the interpretive texts that enable us to tell the story, or the provenance, of the piece. We will not exhibit these pieces until we can appropriately exhibit them. Each panel requires $200 in historical research and writing, as well as $100 in printing fees. 15 pieces of furniture x $300= $4,500 or $300 per piece.
Hydro Energy Site Research: Rutherfurd Hall is one of the only country homes in America to be fueled by hydro power in the early 1900s. Much of the original structure and mechanics are still in place. We have made contact with a number of experts in the related fields needed to interpret the site. The planning phase (including how to re-activate historic system) has a total price tag of $36,000. The research has been broken into phases each at about $5,000 to accommodate multiple funding streams. If you are interested in "Back to the Future" history, this is a project for your support.
Buy Rutherfurd Hall an Intern: We believe in the school to work model; and on the job learning and mentoring is part of what we do at Rutherfurd Hall. A student will work for 3 months, up to 3 days a week, for a $175 stipend, and a letter of recommendation if deserving.
Custom Frames: We are only as strong as our frames. In order to install work, we need framing systems, with locks, that preserve the wood interiors. It is complicated. Each frame, archivally sound, costs $900.00 If you buy a frame for our project, we will name you in our exhibit text.
The overall site, next to Allamuchy State Park, is stunning.
Fireplaces are gorgeous; and even better with inserts.
Alabaster Bust in route from Rutherfurd Family
Rutherfurd Hall Physical Address: 1686 Route 517 Allamuchy, NJ 07820
