Since 2007, ASOR has awarded over 830 fellowships, grants, dig scholarships, and travel awards totaling more than $900,000. In 2021, ASOR plans to award at least 25 summer stipends, six to eight excavation project grants, two Mesopotamian Fellowships, and more than a dozen Annual Meeting Travel Scholarships.

Every year in March, we launch a targeted campaign called March Fellowship Madness to support scholarships. This March we are focusing our efforts on raising $20,000 for BIPOC scholarships. We have received $9,095 through March 17, so we need $10,905 more to reach our goal.

Our $20,000 March goal is part of a larger campaign to support broader ASOR diversity initiatives.  Thanks to a generous 2-for-1 challenge gift by ASOR Trustee Carolyn Midkiff Strange, every dollar contributed will be matched with two dollars. A contribution of $25 will be matched with $50; a gift of $100 will be matched with $200; a gift of $1,000 will be matched with $2,000; and so forth.

In addition to supporting BIPOC stipends and scholarships in 2021, ASOR will use these gifts to endow research scholarships, internships, and travel fellowships dedicated to BIPOC students and early career scholars. These fellowships and grants will be a foundation for future efforts, and will serve as a tangible sign of ASOR’s commitment to long-term change.

The $20,000 March Fellowship Madness goal will move ASOR much closer towards raising the $75,000 that is needed to fully “earn” this transformative $150,000 challenge gift. Extending social equity and equal opportunity throughout all sectors of our world is one of the foremost challenges facing us today. You can join ASOR in making this change happen. Consider a gift of any amount to help us earn this extraordinary challenge gift.