Heritage Preservation

Heritage Preservation is an American non-profit organization founded in 1973. Its mission is to preserve the nation’s heritage for future generations through innovative leadership, education, and programs.

In 1973, the National Conservation Advisory Council was organized in November, funded by the National Museum Act of the Smithsonian Institution. The NCAC surveyed national needs and became the National Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Property in 1982, and changed its name again to Heritage Preservation in 1997.

One of its first major projects was called Save Outdoor Sculpture! (SOS!). Initiated in 1989, the project is a community-based effort to identify, document, and conserve outdoor sculpture in the United States. By fostering awareness and appreciation, SOS! aims to advocate proper care of a nationwide public resource. The Smithsonian Museum of American Art has become an active partner in the SOS! Project. The project may be viewed as a precursor of community-generated or “crowd-sourced” social media-driven initiatives.

A second major project was a report produced in 2005 called the Heritage Health Index, which included data from more than 3,000 institutions, among them museums, historical societies, government archives, libraries, scientific organizations and universities. This report was funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The survey found that some 612 million artifacts - from photographs and paintings to nature specimens and pottery - are at risk of deterioration because they are not cared for properly.

...
Wikipedia