SAA Foundation Awards More Disaster Recovery Grants to Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands

The Society of American Archivists Foundation has recently awarded two more disaster recovery grants to institutions recovering from Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

The Government of the United States Virgin Islands (GVI) Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums (DLAM) was awarded $5,000 to aid their preservation and restoration efforts, as 80% of their collections were significantly damaged during Hurricanes Irma and Maria. 

The Library Foundation Rafael Hernández Colón (Puerto Rico) has been awarded $5,000 to hire two archivists to assist with the second phase of their recovery plan to restore and preserve materials in their collection that were damaged during Hurricane Maria. 

The National Disaster Recovery Fund for Archives was established by SAA and the Society of Southwest Archivists in 2005 to assist repositories affected by Hurricane Katrina. The scope of the Fund was later expanded to provide grants to repositories throughout the U.S., regardless of region or repository type. In November 2017, the Foundation Board further expanded the Fund by increasing the maximum grant amount to $5,000 and noting that, “Although the NDRFA is pointed toward the states, District of Columbia, and territories of the United States, under exceptional circumstances we will consider awarding grants to non-U.S. entities.”

The NDRFA Grant Review Committee continues to receive and review applications, primarily from those affected by Hurricane Maria. Many thanks  to the current committe members, who have swiftly and diligent reviewed every application: Miriam Meislik (Chair, University of Pittsburgh), Richard Cameron (retired), Rebecca Elder (Rebecca Elder Cultural Heritage Preservation), Daniel McCormack (Town of Burlington), Eve Neiger (Yale University), Melissa Torres (Archivium Consulting LLC), and Julie Yamashita (Archives Consultant).

If you would like to help support institutions through their disaster recovery efforts, consider donating to the NDRFA Fund. 

Learn more about the National Disaster Recovery Fund for Archives and, if your institution has recently suffered damage from a natural disaster, consider applying for a grant.

The SAA Foundation is the nation’s leading source of nonprofit funding dedicated to the interests of archives and archivists. Donations to the SAA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, are tax deductible.