Annual Development Fund Appeal Letter
Dear Fellow ASOR Member,
We write with positive news, an update, and a request to continue supporting ASOR.
First, the positive news. As ASOR moves towards 2023, we see membership levels at a near all-time high (about 2,200), we continue to disseminate research through our journals, books, and Annual Meeting, and we will award a record number of scholarships and grants in 2022. We surpassed our goal of awarding $222,000 to celebrate ASOR’s 122 years, and now we are on pace to award $250,000.
Second, an update on valuable new and continuing member benefits:
- Online resources: We have created online manuals and videos for site mapping and photographic documentation available in English, French, and Arabic for use outside of North America.
- Photos and map collections: We added ca. 750 images of sites and artifacts and ca. 50 maps from the MENA regions so that members can use them for teaching and research
- A new journal: Beginning in 2023, ASOR will provide free online access to the highly respected journal of Northwest Semitic studies, Maarav, for all student and regular ASOR members.
- Annual Meeting: Hosting both virtual (October) and in-person meetings (November in Boston).
- Scholarships: Over the past two years, we provided more than $55,000 for 309 membership and 386 meeting scholarships (full and partial).
- Friends of ASOR Webinars: To date we have held 37 FOA webinars—all supporting scholarships.
- Staff: We increased our staffing during the pandemic rather than cutting back or furloughing.
- Cultural Heritage: We increased our support for protecting heritage in the Middle East and North Africa. We will implement more than $1,000,000 of federal programming in 2022–23.
- Diversity: Added ~50 members from North Africa, awarded 6 BIPOC fieldwork scholarships, and produced three videos (with Archaeology in the Community) featuring BIPOC scholars.
Finally, two requests…
- If a financial gap makes it challenging for you to continue your ASOR membership, please let us know (confidentially) that a membership scholarship could help (e-mail membership@asor.org).
- If you can make a gift, please act now. We can only continue the long list of accomplishments above with your participation. You may , or you print the donation form at the bottom of this letter and mail it back to 209 Commerce Street, Alexandria, VA 22314.
Warm regards,
Andrew G. Vaughn, Executive Director       Lynn Swartz Dodd, Chair, ASOR Development