Nancy Wilkie Emergency Fund for Heritage Preservation
Nancy Wilkie Emergency Fund for Heritage Preservation supports heritage protectors worldwide with rapid funding for urgent interventions to prevent irreversible damage to archaeological sites.
Funder: Archaeological Institute of America
Due Dates: Not specified (Emergency fund applications)
Funding Amounts: Approximately $5,000 per grant; greater or smaller awards at committee discretion
Summary: Rapid, flexible funding supports urgent interventions to prevent irreversible damage to archaeological heritage worldwide.
Key Information: Funding recipients should be checked against the U.S. Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.
Description
The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) administers this emergency fund to support timely, on-the-ground responses to urgent threats facing archaeological sites worldwide. It addresses threats from development, armed conflict, looting, tourism, vandalism, and climate change, with the goal of preventing irreversible damage before archaeological heritage and the histories it embodies are lost.
Potential interventions include placing sandbags at museums or archaeological sites ahead of armed conflict, securing unexpectedly uncovered fragile remains, and restoring remains damaged by development or weather-related disasters. Emergency 3D documentation, rapid deployment of a conservator, and crowdsourced documentation of threatened sites or monuments are also possible activities. The fund honors Nancy Wilkie, a former AIA president and longtime advocate for archaeological heritage protection.
