Connect and collaborate
with genealogy enthusiasts.
Get answers to genealogical questions and break down brick walls that traditional genealogy alone cannot.
Group Projects give you the opportunity to connect with others who have similar interests and research goals, share information, and expand your search beyond simply matching another tester.
BE PART OF A GROUP PROJECT
Work with others to explore genetic heritage.
Projects do more than help the members–they have the potential to help:
- Others who descend from the same lines.
- You learn about where your ancestors lived and settled before the onset of surnames.
- Support citizen science and help in the discovery of new haplogroup subgroups and migration patterns.
- Membership is FREE and voluntary, and you can join or leave a project at any time.
Types of Group Projects
FamilyTreeDNA Group Projects usually focus on a common geographic origin, surname, or ethnic heritage but may also be based on other aspects of a paternal (Y-DNA) or maternal (mtDNA) lineage.
- Surname Projects are for people with the same/similar surname or variant.
- Y-DNA Geographical Projects look at the overall Y-DNA profiles of a specific region, whether it’s an entire country or just a county. The group’s purpose is to show the tested makeup of that area.
- Y Haplogroup Projects include main branches, such as R1b or J1, but also subclades down the tree. The upstream projects focus on the big picture for that haplogroup or branch of the haplogroup, whereas the downstream ones focus on more specific lineages. These projects look at the origin of a haplogroup or subclade and its spread through time and geographic regions.
- mtDNA Geographical Projects look at the overall mtDNA profiles of a specific region, whether it’s an entire country or just a county. The group’s purpose is to show the tested makeup of that area.
- mtDNA Lineage Projects look at individuals with or suspected of having the same maternal line.
- mtDNA Haplogroup Projects focus on mtDNA haplogroups or subclades, their origins, and their spread through time and geographic regions.
- Y-DNA Geographical Projects look at the overall Y-DNA profiles of a specific region, whether it’s an entire country or just a county. The group’s purpose is to show the tested makeup of that area.
- mtDNA Geographical Projects look at the overall mtDNA profiles of a specific region, whether it’s an entire country or just a county. The group’s purpose is to show the tested makeup of that area.
- Dual Geographic Projects these projects combine Y and mtDNA, and often Family Finder™, for a comprehensive look at the genetic ancestry of a location, from an entire country or geographic region down to a county, city, or shtetl.
- Family Finder Projects were designed to target a specific couple, around 5-6 generations back, and their descendants. Other Family Finder projects allow the exploration of specific surnames by those who do not yet have a Y test candidate or are connecting collateral lines.
How to join a project
ADOPTEE GENEALOGY PROJECT
A starting point for adoptees and people with unknown parentage.
This is a Group Project whose administrators have spent years honing their skills in using DNA testing to facilitate finding unknown parentage. Administrators and members alike share tips and techniques for getting the most out of your DNA testing investment.
GROUP PROJECT ADMINISTRATORS
Guiding you every step of the way
FamilyTreeDNA Group Project Administrators are unpaid volunteers who are interested in the genealogy and history of a particular surname, haplogroup, lineage, or geographic region. They have tools to compare your results with the rest of the Group Project and can facilitate communication between members.
Have questions? We have answers.
Here are the most frequently asked questions about FamilyTreeDNA. If you have additional questions, feel free to visit our Help Center or reach out to our Customer Service team.
Why should I participate in a project?
Group Projects offer a message forum called the Activity Feed to help communicate with other project members and share genealogical information. Many groups include helpful links to relevant third-party sites such as genealogical and family associations and informative wikis. From the Group Project page, you can also compare your Y-DNA and mtDNA results with other members and find the contact information for your Group Administrator. Due to privacy concerns, the amount of information shared about other project members is limited, though the administrator(s) can act as intermediaries if you wish to contact them directly.
How many projects can I join?
We do not restrict the number of projects a customer can join; however, it is important to note that while FamilyTreeDNA does not impose a limit to the number of projects one can join, we will not tolerate customers joining multiple projects with the purpose of data mining or finding information that is not relevant to one’s personal ancestral origins. FamilyTreeDNA reserves the right to remove people from projects at its sole discretion or if it feels that a participant is abusing the system in a way that may infringe another participant’s privacy.
How does project participation affect my privacy?
Joining a project does expose some identifying information about you to the project volunteer administrator. It may also expose non-identifying information about you through the project’s Public Project Website.
The project volunteer administrator can see your results and some of the information listed in your myFTDNA account such as your contact information. The project volunteer administrator will not be able to see your password. You will be able to edit the access level given to Group Administrators in your account:
- Sign in to your kit.
- On the navigation bar at the top of the page, hover your mouse over your name and Kit No. in the upper right-hand corner of the page.
- Click Account Settings.
Projects often set up a website on which member results are posted. How these results are identified is up to the project volunteer administrator. Results are often listed by the participant’s oldest known ancestor, kit number, or last name. You may wish to discuss what information will be available on the project’s website before joining a project.
Will I still be able to match against the entire database?
Project participation will not limit your ability to discover matches in the entire FamilyTreeDNA database. In fact, fellow project members have expanded Y-DNA 12 matching to allow for a GD of 1. In other words, those who match you on both 11 out of 12 markers and 12 out of 12 markers will appear in your match list if you are both in the same project.
In addition, on your matches pages in your FamilyTreeDNA account, you can filter your matches by Group Project.
What if my surname or region is not listed?
Make sure you try different spelling variations of the surname or region you’re looking for. If a region had a previous name (example: Prussia for Germany), try searching by that previous name as well. If you still cannot find it, apply to start your own Group Project!