AMERICAN EXPRESS PARTNERS IN PRESERVATION
Historic preservation has long been the hallmark of American Express' involvement in the community, reflecting its recognition of the contribution of 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. In June 2006, the company announced the American Express Partners in Preservation initiative with the World Monuments Fund and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Partners in Preservation aims 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.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation
American Express' partnership with the
National Trust
seeks to increase public awareness of the importance of historic and
environmental conservation in the United States, preserve American
historic and cultural landmarks and strengthen local communities through
preservation efforts. The National Trust is a nonprofit organization
dedicated to protecting and restoring America's historic landmarks and
communities. The partnership with the National Trust was born out of a desire to
commit funds to help preserve historic sites in concentrated regions in
the United States, and we have committed $5.5 million over 5 years to this
effort. In 2006, we donated $1 million toward preserving 13 historic sites in
the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2007, we expanded this community-focused
initiative to the Chicago metropolitan area, donating $1 million toward
preserving 15 historic sites. This year we have committed to work with the National Trust in
bringing significant resources to the challenge of saving New Orleans'
unique historic and cultural assets.
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. During the first ten years of the Watch
program, American Express contributed more than $10 million to help
preserve 126 historic sites in 62 countries from the World Monuments
Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites. To explore these sites
visit:
http://wmf.org/partners/americanexpress.
In 2007, American Express and the World Monuments Fund announced a
new initiative that rewards and encourages the responsible stewardship
of historic sites by supporting projects that address the issue of
sustainable tourism. As part of the initiative, $4 million will be
granted over four years to support a variety of projects that integrate
historic preservation, sustainable tourism management and visitor
education. The initial four projects to receive funding are: St Paul's
Cathedral, London, England; Mexico City's Historic Center, Mexico; Delhi
Heritage City, India; and Route 66, the historic corridor that runs
between Chicago and Los Angeles in the United States. For more
information about this program
http://wmf.org/sustainabletourism.html.
