Historic Preservation Initiatives
Historic Preservation has long been the hallmark of American Express's involvement in the community, reflecting its recognition of the contribution of historic 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. Since that time, American Express has been committed to supporting two major initiatives in partnership with the World Monuments Fund and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. These initiatives aim to increase public awareness of the importance of historic and environmental conservation, preserve global historic and cultural landmarks, educate visitors on sustainable tourism and strengthen local communities through preservation efforts.
Partners in Preservation, The National Trust for Historic Preservation
The National Trust is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and restoring America's historic landmarks and communities. In 2006 Partners in Preservation was created in partnership with the National Trust out of a desire to commit funds to help preserve historic sites in concentrated regions in the United States.
Since 2006 we've committed $15 million dollars to the effort, supporting close to 200 historic sites in San Francisco, Chicago, New Orleans, Boston, Seattle, the Twin Cities and New York and has engaged more than a million people. Our 2013 location will be announced in April.
Please visit our Facebook page at
facebook.com/PartnersinPreservation for more details.
The Watch List, The World Monuments Fund
As founding sponsor of the World Monuments Watch program in 1995, American Express has been an unwavering supporter of the World Monuments Fund and its mission to safeguard the most treasured landmarks around the globe. Over the last 15 years, American Express has helped preserve 146 sites in 63 countries, including sites from the World Monuments Fund Watch List, as well as sites who received sustainable tourism grants. These sites integrate historic preservation, sustainable tourism management and visitor education. Projects that have received funds include: St Paul's Cathedral, London, England; The Ruta de la Amistad, Mexico City; Sawara in the Kanto region of Japan; Route 66 – the historic corridor that runs between Chicago and Los Angeles in the United States – and Easter Island, Chile.
In 2011 American Express renewed its commitment of five million dollars over the next five years in support of the Watch List. Visit http://www.wmf.org/watch/project-map for a list of current sites.
