Conservation Center's Top 10 Endangered Artifacts Project in the Philadelphia Inquirer

The Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts (CCAHA) recently launched the fundraising campaign for its Pennsylvania's Top 10 Endangered Artifacts project, funded by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. The crowd-sourced funding project, which launched after a voting process last spring to determine the top 10 artifacts, was featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Visitors to the project site can choose to support artifacts ranging from the wig of Pennsylvania Congressman Thaddeus Stevens to the oldest butterfly specimens in the Americas. While other states have launched similar programs to identify artifacts in dire need of conservation, this project is the first in the nation to raise preservation funds through crowd-sourcing techniques. Ingrid Bogel, executive director of CCAHA, envisions this project as one that could serve as a national model for other conservation organizations, and as a way to educate and involve the public in the mission of the organization.

The fundraising initiative was launched last Thursday by Pennsylvania first lady Susan Corbett, who stated that the chosen artifacts "tell us who we are and where we came from." Amy Worden of the Inquirer praised the project for seeking to preserve artifacts that are "not just any old dust-collecting bric-a-brac. (They) are priceless artifacts—tangible pieces of Pennsylvania history." Read more >

Visit CCAHA's website to support and vote for the artifacts of your choice through November 1, 2013.