President's Note
People, Places, the Future
By Richard Moe | From Preservation | March/April 2008
Richard Moe, second from left, receives the Vincent Scully Prize in December. From left: Richard Schwarz, chair of the Vincent Scully Prize Jury; Moe; Vincent Scully; and Chase Rynd, president of the National Building Museum
Credit: National Building Museum
In 2003, the National Trust completed its first-ever comprehensive fundraising campaign. It was a seminal—and triumphant—event in the history of the organization, placing us on a stronger financial foundation than ever before and smoothing our transition from federal funding to private-sector support.
The campaign aims to raise $175 million over three years. Here's a brief sampling of what that money will allow us to do:
• create the National Trust Preservation Fund as the biggest, most flexible source of financial assistance for local projects
• develop PreservationNation, an on-line "town square" where people can make connections, share ideas and techniques, and inspire one another
• support the Partners in the Field program to enable local and statewide organizations to hire more professional field staff
• launch and refine initiatives to address critical issues, such as sustainability and the preservation of landmarks of modernism and the recent past.
There's much more, of course—all of it aimed at enabling us to engage, strengthen, and empower the preservation movement more effectively than ever before. I'm especially delighted to report that Trustee Carolyn Brody has agreed to chair the campaign and is already giving the effort great leadership. You'll be hearing more about it in coming months.
I believe that People Saving Places: The Campaign for America's Heritage will significantly transform the way the National Trust communicates and works with our partners, delivers services, and encourages preservation everywhere. I know we can count on our members and friends to provide the generous support that will make it happen.
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