News
Annual Donation Drive 2026
Day 5 total: $21,143.63!
The BTS Annual Donation Drive is our biggest fundraiser of the year. Our goal is to raise $35K by April 11.
If every BTS member donated just $35.28, weโd easily hit this goal.
If every Facebook follower donated just $5.83, weโd easily hit this goal.
Any amount is deeply appreciated and will help support and sustain our good work.
In addition to covering our largest ongoing expenses (keeping two historic houses in good shape and accessible to visitors and paying our wonderful staff), a portion of donations of $200 or more will go toward this yearโs important goal: โ
โBeloved Books Outreachโ
We are ready to literally get the books into more readersโ hands and build partnerships to help us spread the good word of Betsy-Tacy โ and we have SO MANY ideas for how to do this! One thing that will be especially helpful is having individual editions of the books to work with, rather than the larger combo volumes. The challenge is that โ with the exception of the first four books โ individual versions are no longer being printed.
This is where you come in! With your donation of $200 or more, tell us which title (or titles โ you may name up to three) is your absolute favorite. Weโll purchase โyourโ books from online booksellers and then use them in our planned outreach: engaging elementary-school teachers and homeschooling families in Mankato, reaching out to libraries in states where we have few members, stocking Little Free Libraries, etc. etc.
Each book we share will contain a sticker with info about the Betsy-Tacy Society โ and you can personalize your donation as much as youโd like via this Google Form. Weโll add as much info as you want to share to the sticker inside your chosen book.
But wait โ thereโs MORE!
โฎ All donors will receive our charming virtual โI Donated!โ stickers (designed by Board Veep Shelley Harris), which they can use on their own social media pages. Donors will also be acknowledged on our website and entered in a drawing to win our newest postcard set, featuring eight Betsy-Tacy illustrations.
โโฎ Anyone who donates $25 or more will receive a lovely PDF of โSilver Hat,โ a short story by Delos, mentioned in Betsyโs Wedding!
โฎ Anyone who donates $50 or more will receive the short story PLUS a link to our charming new YouTube video: โOnion Sandwiches at Betsyโs Houseโ!
โฎ Anyone who donates $100 or more will get the short story! the video link! PLUS a brand-new gorgeously formatted PDF excerpt from โLiving with Writing,โ culled from pages of an unfinished how-to piece written by Maud!
โฎ Anyone who donates $200 or more will get the short story! the video link! the excerpt! PLUS an opportunity to be part of our targeted โBeloved BT Booksโ outreach as described above!
โฎ Anyone who donates $500 or more will get the short story! the video link! the excerpt! the outreach opportunity! PLUS โA Betsy-Tacy Photo Album,โ 20 pages of photos chosen from the MHL archives and arranged in a beautiful PDF!
โฎ Anyone who donates $1,000 or more will get the short story! the video link! the excerpt! the outreach opportunity! the album! PLUS their own engraved paver in the walkway at Betsyโs House!
You can donate online here.
If youโd prefer to receive none of these items, that is not a problem. Please let us know โ we have a fun plan for what to do with โyourโ incentives.
If youโd rather send a check, make it payable to the Betsy-Tacy Society and send it to 332 Center Street, Mankato, MN 56001 (please write โDonation Drive 2026โ on the memo line).
The BTS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and your donation may be tax-deductible.
We are registered with several donation-matching programs. See if your workplace will match your donation!If you need more time to pull together your donation, just let us know that your gift will be delayed, and weโll take it from there.
Please donโt hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
Thank you for your support!
Celebrate Maudโs Birthday at the Houses!
Maud Hart was born after midnight on April 25 (which is another way of saying . . . April 26!!), but she was told for most of her life that her birthday was the 25th, the same as her beloved Aunt Maudโs. Who are we to argue with tradition?! Please join us for some birthday fun at the Betsy-Tacy Houses on April 25!
Each one-hour block (1โ2, 2โ3) is packed with lively activities:
โช๏ธ Self-guided tours of Betsyโs House
โช๏ธ A Scavenger Hunt at Betsyโs House
โช๏ธ Shopping at Tacyโs House
โช๏ธ Refreshments at Tacyโs House
โช๏ธ A craft project at Tacyโs House
โช๏ธ Weather permitting: outdoor games
โช๏ธ An excerpt from the "sand store" chapter of Betsy-Tacy read aloud
โช๏ธ A serenade of songs from the era by a local trio
We'll wrap up each hour by singing "Happy Birthday" to Maud โ our beloved writer who taught us all 86 years ago that the BEST present is the present of a friend.
You are welcome to drop in, but we strongly recommend buying tickets ahead of time because space is so limited. Tickets are $10 for the first person in your party and $5 for every other person.
We hope to see you soon!
A New Betsy-Tacy Book for the First Time in 70 Years!
We worked with The Creative Company on a ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ ๐ง๐๐ฐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฌ๐ฒ-๐๐๐๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐ข๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ค called Betsy-Tacy for Small Children.
With beautifully colored illustrations (the originals by Lois Lenski!) and a simple adaptation of Maud's words and stories, this hardcover edition will captivate the youngest readers and serve as an early introduction to the world of Betsy-Tacy.
We are simply thrilled with this sweet new book, and we hope you โ and your littlest friends โ love it too.
p.s. The subtitle is an homage to Lois Lenski's โSmall" characters (Farmer Small, Papa Small, Engineer Small, Pilot Small, etc.)!
Our Amazon Wish List
Want to be part of the Betsy-Tacy Houses and support our work in a very concrete and tangible way? Check out our Wish List on Amazon.com and see the various items weโd love to receive. (Many years ago, a member donated a new vacuum to Tacyโs House, and every time she visits she checks to see how โherโ vacuum is doing! ๐คฃ) We update this list regularly. Thank you for your support!
โ> Looking for older News stories? They can be found here.
Events
Click here to see our 2026 Events Calendar.
Note: โDeep Valley Timeโ (i.e., Central Time) is our default when listing an event. To be sure that youโve correctly calculated the time difference for your location, we suggest using an online world clock such as this one.