Abstract

In contrast to European corporate foundations, U.S. corporate foundations have traditionally financed few projects involving historic preservation, restoration and rehabilitation. These projects were instead managed and financed by the government. Recently, in order to encourage corporate involvement in cultural heritage protection, the U.S. federal government and numerous state governments have created tax incentives for groups investing in historic preservation and rehabilitation. Motivated in part by these new incentives, U.S. corporate foundations have begun making investments in cultural heritage including creative re-uses of historic buildings to meet contemporary demands for affordable housing and local economic development. This paper provides a series of case studies describing U.S. corporate foundation sponsorship for preservation and rehabilitation projects, partnerships with existing non-profit historic preservation groups to preserve cultural sites and properties needing historic rehabilitation.