Value and Impact: The New Philanthropy and Funding Archaeology

Summary

In an era of globally declining government funding for culture, including archaeology and heritage, the philanthropic sector will loom increasingly important to funding this discipline. Major philanthropic organizations and individual philanthropists increasingly are seeking to define and measure the impact of the causes they fund. That "impact" may be social, economic, political or cultural, but in all cases the essential element is a set of clearly defined impact metrics. This change in perspective is compelling those seeking funds to define in a measurable and meaningful way the difference that their work makes in the world. Increasingly, causes and projects that have relied on donor enthusiasm or emotional attachment to the activity will encounter resistance from a new generation of mission- and impact-focused donors. This paper will explore this emerging terrain and consider both alternative approaches to evaluating the impact of archaeology and the implications of these trends for those seeking funding for archaeology-related projects. Examples will be drawn from a number of different sectors in order to illuminate both the nature of impact philanthropy and the variety of approaches available to address donors' emerging requirements for impact data.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• The Future of Funding for Archaeology

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14513