The OGSA is an all-volunteer 501c3 non-profit association, and membership dues are the primary source of support for the OGSA's operations, research library, quarterly journals and other member benefits. Some of those include:
• Free access to the Minnesota Genealogical Society Library, containing OGSA's collection
• Discounts on Ostfriesen Ortsippenbuchs (OSBs) and other research materials, some that are solely distributed in the US by OGSA
• Discounts on many resources developed by or translated by our members, exclusively available through the OGSA
• Opportunities to participate in OGSA social and educational activities throughout the year and at our conferences
• Discounted rates on research requests
• Support for the development and preservation of information about our ancestral Ostfriesen heritage and culture
We strive to keep our membership costs low through volunteers' efforts and good organizational oversight. To help accomplish this, we offer membership options that allow online journal access or postal mailed options. The online journals are provided in pdf format, allowing the use of color photos while mailed journals are printed in black and white.
Membership renewals are due by December 1 to allow timely issuance of new year mailings and the first quarter journal. Please pay early, if possible, and contact us if paying for your renewal would be a hardship this year.
You can join
on-line using a credit card or PayPal or download our
membership form and send a check with your order. Existing members can renew their memberships online when they log-in or sending a check with the membership form.
Membership Options
Our membership options include:
1. Membership with electronic journals which can be downloaded from this website - $22 annually.
2. Membership with mailed journals within the USA and online access - $32 annually.
3. Joint memberships with two people in a household at the same prices listed above. We will only mail one copy of printed journals if you select this option but either member can download them.
Quarterly journals are scheduled to be available the first of January, April, July, and October. Click on the Journals link to access the editions stored on the site.
You can check the
Surname Research database in the Members Section of this website to identify other researchers who may have a shared interest in your families or communities.
Membership in OGSA is not just for you, it is also for your friends and family. A membership makes a great birthday or holiday gift, and your generosity will be appreciated throughout the year.
Membership Renewals
This system will automatically provide a prompt for your membership renewal 60 days in advance of the expiration date when you log into your account. We will also send you an email in advance as a reminder and you can select the link and your renewal will be processed for up to three years if desired through a credit card or PayPal. The system also creates an order form that can be sent in if you would rather mail a check to our office.
Please note that a PayPal account is not required if you wish to pay via a credit card and our transaction will not be processed until you successfully enter the authorization code after the prompt and enter your credit card or PayPal data.
For PayPal autopay users: We are trying to cancel the renewals as they occur since this system integrates the renewal notices and PayPal into an automated membership system to remove the manual steps and chances for errors that were previously required. This should help us to more effectively support you.
Thank you for supporting the OGSA!
