June 17, 2020

Dear ASOR Friend:

I usually begin my annual fiscal year-end fundraising missive with a pithy observation about life in the world of ASOR. But not this year. There’s too much uncertainty and unrest.

So, I will gratefully report that even during the COVID-19 pandemic, ASOR has stayed on course and on mission. To our members and donors who have already made gifts this fiscal year, thank you. Your generosity has enabled us to continue to operate at a high level.

For example, we have continued to publish and distribute our journals without interruption. Their quality is at an all-time high—to the point that they are now receiving external rankings and impact factors, a new development in 2020.

We also have continued to preserve and protect cultural heritage as an ideal uniting peoples and promoting diversity—such as digitizing manuscripts of the trans-Saharan trade, assessing Jewish heritage in Iraq and Syria, and conducting cultural heritage education and stewardship programs in Libya.

But we have another financial gap to close. Early in the pandemic, we shifted our focus to you. We zigged when others zagged. We pledged to support our members by dramatically increasing online resources and providing membership scholarships to anyone financially impacted by the coronavirus. While we’ve lived up to our commitment in a big way, there is much work to be done. And we need your help to do it.

Any gift will be gratefully accepted and wonderfully acknowledged—$25, $50, $100, or even $1,000. In fact, the more individual donations we receive, regardless of the amount, the better positioned we will be to attract gifts from donors and foundations. So, please join me in standing in the gap for our members who need ASOR the most during the current prevailing madness.

Best regards,

Richard L. Coffman
Chairman of the Board of Trustees