Reflecting on 2023 and Looking Forward to 2024

As I start my second year at Classical American Homes Preservation Trust, I am excited to report that the organization is advancing many important initiatives. While we are focusing efforts on drafting our next strategic plan, which will help us further refine our mission and focus our activities, I am proud of the ongoing work that the board and staff is pursuing. In particular, I am writing to provide an up-date on some of the impactful grantmaking and institutional collaborations that the trust initiated over the course of the 2023.

Classical American Homes Preservation Trust has allocated $417,500 in grants and partnership funding in 2023, most of which will fund projects and collaborations throughout the 2024 calendar year. These awards are pivotal to our efforts in educating the public about preserving American architecture, decorative arts, and historic landscapes.

As many of you know, throughout his work as an investor and preservationist Dick Jenrette made it a priority to cultivate, mentor, and support emerging leaders. We honor him by supporting innovative learning and hands-on field experiences that complement classroom study. Our efforts remain focused on supporting programmatic activities that continue to help students and emerging professionals, including hosting site-specific workshops, study-related travel, as well as networking and community events.

To assist with the ongoing preservation projects at our own historic sites, the foundation is prioritizing student hires to work alongside expert professionals in researching, repairing, and restoring the properties; truly transforming these historic homes into teaching laboratories.

Through our grant and partnership programs, over 2024 we aim to increase our capacity, and those of our partners, to provide activities that both educate and inspire students and life-long learners alike. I encourage you to consult our online calendar for upcoming programming such as tours, concerts, lectures, and symposia.

As 2024 promises to be a year to focus our organization towards the future, we remain committed to offering innovative and enriching education programs, starting with our 2023 grants and partnerships recipients, listed below.

Sincerely,

Benjamin Prosky

Classical American Homes Preservation Trust
Grants and Partnership Funding Awarded in 2023

Grants

American College of the Building Arts    $100,000
Support of the Student Externship Program for summer 2024

Clemson Grad. Program in Historic Preservation     $54,000
Support of the 2024 Jenrette Interns and Fellow for 2024

White House Historical Association     $35,000
Support for internship program for White House Curator and senior historian

Association for Preservation Technology     $30,000
Educational partner and support of student participation at the 2024 conference

University of Pennsylvania, Dept. of Historic Preservation      $30,000
Support of Summer 2024 Field Study and Internship Program

Columbia University, Preservation Technology Lab     $30,000
Support of Graduate Research Assistants at the Preservation Technology Lab and a convening to advance the lab’s research

University of SC Library (Digitization Project)     $25,000
Student support for Digitization (Phase 1) of the Manning Papers

Tulane University Dept. of Historic Preservation     $25,000
Support of a new initiative to provide students hands-on experiences with historic crafts

Decorative Arts Trust     $20,000
Support of Emerging Scholars Colloquium

Institute for Classical Art & Architecture     $15,000
Support of 2023 Annual Conference

Partnership Funding

Historic New England     $6,000
Support of annual awards event for 2024

Architects Foundation—Octagon House     $5,000
Support of house museum, Washington, DC

Municipal Arts Society Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal     $5,000
Support of the event

Design Trust for Public Space     $5,000
Support of a high school level summer historic preservation internship program in NYC

Arts Ignite     $5,000
General Operating Support for Arts Education

University of South Carolina History Department      $5,000
Sponsorship of the History of Forestry Conference, which visited Millford

NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project     $5,000
Support of general activities; notation of Baker House in website guide

Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum     $4,000
Annual Meeting of the American Country House Foundation

Prestwould     $2,500
Support of an 18^th Century Virginia House Museum

Preservation North Carolina     $2,500
To the Myrick Howard Internship Endowment

The Cultural Landscape Foundation     $2,500
Support of 2023 tour + Mid-Hudson Valley guide booklet

Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest     $1,000
Sponsorship of a program held in Raleigh, NC

Thomas Day House/Union Tavern Association     $1,000
Support of historic site associated with a free Black craftsman

Thompson Fellowship Partner Funding

In honor of the student, a percentage of the funding goes to each graduate program or institution where the student is matriculated or is employed.

Bard Graduate Center     $1,000 

University of Southern California     $1,000
Department of Art History

Middle Tennessee State University     $1,000
Center for Historic Preservation

Boston University     $1,000
American & New England Studies Program

TOTAL Grants and Partnership Funding Awarded in 2023: $417,500

Currently, CAHPT does not accept unsolicited grant requests.