ASOR exceeded a goal of gaining the support of 175 donors before December 31, andqualified for $20,000 to support two new e-Newsletters. Not only did we meet our target, we greatly exceeded the goal with 206 total donors! The ASOR staff is excited for this opportunity to reach out to our members in a new way.
As you will remember, there was a second challenge gift: the Kershaw Family Trust will make a legacy gift that will match one-for-one (up to $50,000) new and increased gifts for Fiscal Year 2013. Even though we had until June 30, 2013 to meet that goal, we are pleased to announce that we surpassed that mark during the second week in January 2013.
We have a lot planned for 2013, and we value your participation! We are raising funds to expand our program for field scholarships from 42 to 75 annual travel grants. Our flagship academic journal (the Bulletin of ASOR) will expand in length by 25% and will be produced in color throughout. Near Eastern Archaeology will continue to reach out to a broad audience and cover the entire Near East. The Annual Meeting had 925 registrants in 2012, and we expect the program and attendance in November 2013 in Baltimore to be even bigger and better. We now have more than 70 affiliated excavation projects (publication and field), and we will to encourage scholarships throughout the Eastern Mediterranean in 2013 and beyond.
We also plan exciting outreach initiatives for the New Year. In addition to our seminar and travel programs, our presence on Facebook and the ASOR Blog will continue to grow. Last, but certainly not least, the $20,000 in challenge gifts noted above will support the launch of two e-Newsletters. Starting in mid January, News@ASOR will be sent to all ASOR members. In February ASOR friends will begin receiving a popular e-Newsletter called “The Ancient Near East Today– the Friends of ASOR e-Newsletter.”