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About
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Partners in Preservation Program:
Launched in 2006, Partners in Preservation is a program in which American Express, in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, committed $5.5 million over a five-year period toward preserving historic places throughout the United States. Over the past three years, historic places in the San Francisco Bay Area, Chicagoland and New Orleans have received $2.4 million in preservation grants, which has enabled recipients to make significant progress in achieving their preservation goals. American Express has also given $1.1 million to the National Trust for Historic Preservation to support its work helping people save the places that matter to them, all across the country.
In 2009, the program was launched in the Greater Boston area.
About the Greater Boston Initiative:
Greater Boston’s central role in the founding of our nation and the important place it holds in telling our country’s story, made it a perfect place for the Partners in Preservation program. American Express, in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and its Northeast Office in Boston, identified historic places throughout the metro area that were eligible for preservation grants (maximum $100,000) and reflected the region’s rich and diverse cultural heritage. The public voted online from April 14 – May 17 for the places they wanted to see receive preservation funding. The winner of the public vote was the Paragon Carousel. The rest of the winning sites were selected by American Express, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and an Advisory Committee comprised of Greater Boston civic and preservation leaders. The full list of grant recipients was announced on June 16.
Key Dates:
April 14 – Announcement of 25 participating historic places. Voting Began
May 2-3 – Open House Weekend was held
May 17 – Voting ended at midnight
May 18 – Winner of popular vote, Paragon Carousel, was announced
June 16 – All final grant recipients announced
Greater Boston Area Historic Places Participants:
Last year, the stewards responsible for the care of each site completed a grant application for a preservation project. Each of the prospective grantees is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization or a government agency. American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation narrowed down a long list of applicants to the 25 that participated in the 2009 initiative.
Five criteria were used for the participant selection process:
• Historic Significance: The site must be listed in, or eligible for, the National Register of Historic Places and/or a local register of historic places, and must represent compelling stories that reflect the rich diversity and breadth of the American experience.
• Project Plan: The project must be part of a clear plan to save and/or care for the site. The applicant must demonstrate that grant support will play an identifiable role in getting the project started or completed or making an important, visible contribution.
• Community Impact: The project must have demonstrated extensive community support, and should have the potential to contribute to tourism or community development.
• Organizational Excellence: The applicant must demonstrate financial and organizational capacity to successfully complete the project and to adhere to the project time-line. The applicant must be well connected to the community and have community support, have a track record of success with previous efforts or projects, and be able to organize and participate in site-related PR events.
• Completion Date: The preservation project must be completed by December 2010.
Further informationon the partners in American Express Partners in Preservation:
The National Trust for Historic Preservation (www.PreservationNation.org) is a non-profit membership organization bringing people together to protect, enhance and enjoy the places that matter to them. By saving the places where great moments from history – and the important moments of everyday life – took place, the National Trust for Historic Preservation helps revitalize neighborhoods and communities, spark economic development and promote environmental sustainability. With headquarters in Washington, DC, nine regional and field offices—including the Northeast Office in Boston—29 historic sites, and partner organizations in all 50 states, the National Trust for Historic Preservation provides leadership, education, advocacy and resources to a national network of people, organizations and local communities committed to saving places, connecting us to our history and collectively shaping the future of America’s stories.
American Express Company (www.americanexpress.com) is a leading global payments and travel company founded in 1850.
Historic preservation has long been the hallmark of American Express’ involvement in the community, reflecting its recognition of the contribution of sites and monuments to a sense of national and local identity and the role that their preservation can play in attracting visitors and revitalizing neighborhoods. As early as 1983, American Express launched a cause-related marketing effort that raised $1.7 million for the preservation of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. From 1996 to 2005, American Express contributed more than $10 million to help preserve 126 historic sites in 62 countries from the World Monuments Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites. In June 2006, the company announced the American Express Partners in Preservation initiative, with the National Trust for Historic Preservation as its partner in the U.S. and the World Monuments Fund as its partner internationally.
To find out more about American Express Partners in Preservation, please contact us:
Partnership Information:
American Express Philanthropy
Technical Assistance:
E-mail: help@partnersinpreservation.com
Media Requests:
Sheila Green
Director of Public Relations
Conventures, Inc.
One Design Center Place
Boston, MA 02210
Phone: 617.204.4248
E-mail: sgreen@conventures.com
Leslie Berland
Director, Corporate Communications
American Express Company
World Financial Center
200 Vesey St
New York, NY 10285
Phone: 212.640.5142
E-mail: Leslie.A.Berland@aexp.com
Caroline Barker
Communications Coordinator
Communications & Marketing
National Trust for Historic Preservation
1785 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202.588.6125
E-mail: caroline_barker@nthp.org
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