News Release

December 10, 1998

Getty Gift to Save America’s Treasures: Million Dollar
Grant Program to Spur Preservation Efforts Nationwide in 1999

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — In 1999 one million dollars in grants will be distributed nationwide to help communities Save America’s Treasures. The grant program, which will focus on the planning phase of preserving historic buildings and districts, is being made possible by a gift from the J. Paul Getty Trust to Save America’s Treasures, a public-private partnership led by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. The grant program will be administered by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the private-sector partner with the White House Millennium Council on the Save America’s Treasures program.

The new grant program, sponsored by the Getty and to be called the Save America’s Treasures Preservation Planning Fund, was announced at the historic Breed Street Shul, a Boyle Heights neighborhood landmark that could benefit from the grant program and one of several historic sites visited by the First Lady during her stay in Los Angeles.

"I am thrilled to visit places like the Breed Street Shul and see a community come together to save an important landmark and keep it in active use so that generations to come can know their past as they greet the future," said Mrs. Clinton. "Through the Save America’s Treasures program we hope to inspire all Americans to seize this opportunity to seek out the historic places in their own communities and to work together to ensure their survival for the next generation."

"The J. Paul Getty Trust is pleased to partner with the First Lady and the National Trust to make possible funds to help local communities preserve their most historic buildings," said Robert F. Erburu, chairman of the Getty’s Board of Trustees. "These grants will focus on the crucial assessment and planning stages frequently overlooked in conservation projects, and hopefully inspire other funders to get involved with preserving the landmarks that define who we are as Americans."

"Over the past 50 years we have seen the marvelous results generated by early planning money to preservation projects," said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust. "We salute the First Lady for her leadership in the Save America’s Treasures initiative and thank the Getty Trust for responding to the call to preserve the best of our past as a gift to the future."

Applications for Save America’s Treasures Preservation Planning Fund will be available in February 1999. Nonprofit and government organizations are eligible to apply for the matching grants, which will range in amounts from $10,000 to $50,000 for planning work and emergency stabilization. Funds cannot be used for bricks and mortar. Projects being funded must also be official Save America’s Treasures projects and must be either designated National Historic Landmarks, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, protected by local government landmark designation, or contributing structures to a historic district. To receive your Save America’s Treasures official project application and grant information, contact: Save America’s Treasures, c/o National Trust for Historic Preservation, 1785 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036, (202) 588-6202.

Save America's Treasures is a program of the White House Millennium Council created in 1997 by the President and First Lady to celebrate the accomplishments of this American century, and to engage every sector of our society in giving "gifts to the future" that convey our rich heritage. Save America's Treasures is a bipartisan partnership between the U.S. Government and private individuals, corporations, foundations and experts in the fields of architecture, art, archives and historic preservation. The National Trust for Historic Preservation serves as the private partner to Save America's Treasures, coordinating the public awareness and education campaigns and working with preservation partners, including Heritage Preservation and the National Park Foundation, and the Millennium Committee to Save America's Treasures to raise funds for the most urgent preservation needs identified at the state and national levels.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, chartered by Congress in 1949, is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the irreplaceable. It fights to save historic buildings and the neighborhoods and landscapes they anchor. Through education and advocacy, the National Trust is revitalizing communities across the country and challenges citizens to create sensible plans for the future. It has six regional offices, 20 historic sites, and works with thousands of local community groups nationwide.

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