Company Profile
Foundation for Advancement in Conservation
Company Overview
The Foundation for Advancement in Conservation (FAIC) is a national non-profit based in Washington, DC, that delivers and supports an array of programs and initiatives to protect our shared cultural heritage. Along with our membership organization, the American Institute for Conservation (AIC), we work together with conservators from cultural institutions and in private practice to promote the preservation and protection of cultural heritage.
FAIC and AIC value diversity in the workplace and we welcome and encourage individuals of all backgrounds to apply to our job opportunities. We seek culturally competent co-workers dedicated to advancing the preservation and protection of cultural heritage.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, ACCESSIBILITY
AIC was incorporated in 1972 by a group of white conservation professionals to represent a largely white field. Since then, the demographics of the association and foundation, and particularly leadership, have remained fairly homogeneous, reinforcing the existing power structures in the field of cultural heritage preservation and reflecting the pervasive inequity in the United States. AIC and FAIC’s boards and staff recognize that the homogeneity of organizational leadership has upheld systemic barriers in the organizations' governance and operations.
The boards and staff are committed to dismantling these barriers that prevent AIC and FAIC from being just, inclusive, and welcoming organizations that meet the needs of diverse practitioners. Boards and staff are also committed to expanding the organizations and the profession to include those who have been historically excluded from the field and to supporting the preservation of underserved and historically marginalized communities’ cultural heritage. The resolve to improve diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) relies on direct action by AIC and FAIC's board members, staff, volunteer leaders, and association members.
Board and staff acknowledge that they must:
-implement more equitable governance
-review policies, procedures, guidelines, and charges with a DEIA lens
-support the work of AIC's Equity and Inclusion Committee
-create more grant and scholarship opportunities for underrepresented members
-initiate programs on DEIA topics and encourage programming through a DEIA lens
-provide support for member-led DEIA initiatives
-improve accessibility in AIC and FAIC's programs, communication, and publications
-create guides and tools to promote inclusive in-person and virtual work and meeting spaces
Governance
The AIC and FAIC Boards and staff are committed to improving DEIA within our organizations and the larger cultural heritage field, including at the board level. The AIC Board is creating a board diversity plan to identify action items and prioritize initiatives for more inclusive governance. In recognition that past practices and guidelines do not sufficiently promote equity, the AIC Board has initiated reviews of the Bylaws, the Code of Ethics, and the AIC professional membership eligibility and application process. These reviews focus on how AIC is structured and governed, who is eligible for leadership roles, and how the organization can best serve all members. The AIC Board is actively working on a stakeholder-engaged strategic planning process to guide the organization for the next three years. The AIC Board crafts and solicits position papers and statements expressing organizational stances on DEIA topics, with the assistance of members. These include the revised Position Statement on Contested Commemorative and Confederate Monuments. The FAIC Board is also engaged in supporting FAIC’s core value of equity and inclusion.
Equity and Inclusion Committee
AIC’s Equity and Inclusion Committee (EIC) was created to “formalize our commitment to the issues of equity and inclusion within the organization and the field of conservation at large.” The EIC was formed in 2016 as a recommendation of the Equity and Inclusion Working Group, whose “Recommendations for Advancing Equity and Inclusion in the American Institute for Conservation” provide an essential road map for our future progress. EIC has created valuable programming and projects, often in collaboration with other networks, committees, and members. These include an Accessibility Survey with member Sally G. Kim, Affinity Groups including the Rainbow Caucus and BIPOC Caucus, and resources collected in the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility section of the AIC Wiki.
Funding
FAIC offers several funding opportunities to support professional development and early career professionals, including the Latin American and Caribbean Scholarships (LACS), Take a Chance Grants, Holly Maxson Conservation Grants, and the George Stout Scholarship. Learn about FAIC's funding opportunities, which range from publication grants to outreach and conservation projects, and how FAIC supports the growth of conservation and preservation professionals at all stages of their careers. AIC and FAIC boards recognize the need for additional funding opportunities that target DEIA initiatives and support professionals at all career stages to create and sustain more diverse membership and an inclusive field. This is a priority that both boards will consider in their strategic planning.
Equitable Review Practices
In order to ensure the equity of review processes for funding, publication, and abstract acceptance for conferences, AIC and FAIC staff and member leadership, including the EIC, have revised the criteria for applications and reviews to make these processes more inclusive and equitable. DEIA has been established as a criteria for review in abstract submission, several funding opportunities, and in publications submissions. Anonymized review of scholarships and grants has been introduced where possible to help reduce bias. To promote open access to information, each funding opportunity has specific criteria for review which are available to both applicants and reviewers. The AIC Annual Meeting has centered DEIA initiatives into the abstract review for its general and concurrent general sessions. By clearly outlining expectations, qualifications, and review processes, AIC and FAIC strive to make the process more transparent and encourage diverse applications and authors.
Professional Development
AIC and FAIC staff and volunteers work together to create and support programs that address topics in DEIA and to improve the accessibility of all of our content. This includes removing barriers to participation, such as providing free and low-cost programs, including those provided through Connecting to Collections Care, providing captioning for virtual events, and translating popular resources. The EIC and staff are working to create a hub to capture all of our translated resources to provide easier access to those materials.
AIC and FAIC provide programs that directly support practitioners in their professional development, including mentoring programs, particularly for early career professionals. AIC's programs of note include: the EIC and Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) “Social Justice and Conservation” webinar series and ECPN’s “Making the Ask: Developing Negotiation Tactics in the Field of Conservation,” which discusses salary negotiation. We are particularly grateful to members who initiated and led these important initiatives.
Both organizations partner with allied organizations to reach and support new audiences. This includes activities like conservation-focused workshops at the 2022 Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM) Conferences, and partnering with APOYOnline to administer programs like the Latin American and Caribbean Scholars program. AIC and FAIC are always open to forming new partnerships and building on existing partnerships.
FAIC has a cooperative agreement with the National Endowment for the Humanities for a project titled Held in Trust. The project is examining the state of the conservation field and making recommendations for future directions. DEIA is one of nine key topics through which the field is being examined, and is a lens through which the other sections are formulating their recommendations. The final project report will assess current DEIA efforts and recommend specific short- and long-term initiatives to promote DEIA efforts.
Member Initiatives & Programming
AIC’s Specialty Groups, Networks, and Committees are led by engaged members of the organization who bring their expertise and time to AIC and FAIC. Volunteers in EIC, ECPN, JAIC abstract translators, and others have translated or supported translations of AIC and FAIC resources, including the Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Practice. The Member Engagement Subcommittee is also focused on DEIA, including establishing Guidelines for Conduct and sustaining a diverse membership. The Communications Committee’s Website Subcommittee is developing web accessibility guidelines for AIC groups.
The boards and staff also want to recognize that many AIC members, while not in official leadership positions, engage with DEIA topics through creation of resources, communications, mentorship, and advocacy. AIC and FAIC staff provide support to members who are interested in sharing their expertise and efforts.
Accessibility
AIC and FAIC have made improvements in providing access to programming, such as closed captioning in video events, but acknowledge that there is significant work that must be done. The AIC Annual Meeting presentation guidelines were created to encourage and help presenters create more accessible presentations. Utilizing the Accessibility Survey, AIC and FAIC Boards and staff will continue to address community needs to ensure our programming, website, resources, and publications are accessible. Please review our DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, ACCESSIBILITY page for updates and more information: www.culturalheritage.org/about-us/deia
—Published May 2, 2022
Land Acknowledgement and Actions:
The AIC and FAIC headquarters are in Washington, DC, the ancestral home of the Piscataway Conoy Tribe, Piscataway Indian Nation, the Nacotchtank People, and other Chesapeake Indigenous Tribes. We acknowledge the history of genocide, forced removal, and systemic oppression that impact these communities and have enabled us to occupy offices on their traditional lands. We understand that the livelihood of these communities and people is inseparable from their land, and that they continue to face loss, inequity, and discrimination through continuing colonialism.
Due to the inseparable nature of culture and place, we encourage heritage professionals to educate themselves about the history of the lands upon which they live and work and to respectfully engage with Indigenous communities. Responsible and sustainable preservation decision-making must center Native people, their perspectives, and their knowledge. AIC and FAIC recognize the sovereignty of tribal nations and the importance of Indigenous practitioners of conservation, collections care, and preservation activities. We welcome suggestions for ways we can partner with Indigenous communities, advocate for their efforts, and support their preservation of their cultural heritage.
This land acknowledgement is a growing and evolving statement, developed by AIC and FAIC staff with help from the Equity and Inclusion Committee, and approved by the AIC and FAIC boards.
—Published May 2, 2022
Company History
The Foundation for Advancement in Conservation (FAIC) supports conservation education, research, and outreach activities that increase understanding of our global cultural heritage. Founded in 1973, FAIC is a 501(c)3 corporation whose only member is the American Institute for Conservation (AIC). Our board of directors, comprised of up to 15 members, works in conjunction with the AIC board of directors to develop strategic direction for the organization.
Mission: Our mission is to save cultural heritage for future generations, protecting it from decay and destruction.
We advance research and education, lead treatment and collection care initiatives, and deploy conservation expertise to where it is most urgently needed. Our work empowers conservation professionals, strengthens cultural institutions, and engages stakeholders, including public audiences, as we work together to protect cultural heritage for humanity.
Core Values:
HONORING CULTURAL HERITAGE
FAIC promotes the preservation of cultural heritage as a means toward a deeper understanding of our shared humanity.
EQUITY AND INCLUSION
FAIC seeks, values, and embraces diverse backgrounds, experience, and perspectives.
PARTNERSHIP AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
FAIC creates and sustains private and public partnerships that enrich and advance the preservation of cultural heritage.
BUILDING OPERATIONAL STRENGTH AND SUSTAINABILITY
FAIC embraces sustained, strategic management of our organization, reflecting our responsibilities to conservators, allied professions, partners, the public, and our mission.
ADVANCING THE FIELD
FAIC promotes the advancement of expert knowledge and skills centered on the examination, documentation, analysis, treatment, and preventive care of cultural heritage. We promote understanding its value and context and stress informed and shared decision-making.
FAIC plays a leading role in advancing the conservation profession around the world so that cultural heritage is better protected and appreciated by future generations. By strengthening the work of AIC members, FAIC fosters a shared responsibility to save precious cultural treasures from damage and deterioration.
Notable Products / Brands
www.culturalheritage.org
Notable Accomplishments / Recognition
FAIC plays a leading role in advancing the conservation profession around the world so that cultural heritage is better protected and appreciated by future generations. By strengthening the work of AIC members, FAIC fosters a shared responsibility to save precious cultural treasures from damage and deterioration.
Toward this goal, FAIC supports the following initiatives:
- Held in Trust is a cooperative agreement between the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation (FAIC).The project brings together a broad range of conservation and allied professionals, stakeholders, and communities, engaged in exploring the intersection of cultural heritage preservation with issues of urgent importance in the world today impacting the cultural landscape.
- A robust professional development program that includes intensive courses, workshops at the AIC annual meeting, and self-guided online study opportunities
- Sixteen different grants and scholarships for individuals and organizations that promote professional development, outreach to the public, publications, and conservation projects
- Conservation OnLine (or CoOL), a full text library of conservation information that serves as a growing resource for conservation professionals
- Research initiatives, such as the Life Cycle Assessment project and the Held in Trust examination of the needs and future of conservation and preservation in the U.S.
- An oral history archive to document the history of the field through interviews with conservators, conservation scientists, and related professionals
- The Friends of Conservation program provides an opportunity to learn about different aspect of conservation and support the field.
Preserving Cultural Heritage
FAIC also delivers important programming and tools to allied professionals to aid in their work of protecting irreplaceable evidence of the human story and helping people maintain the longevity and value of their collections. We do this through:
- Collections care programming, such as the Connecting to Collections Care online community, the Collections Assessment for Preservation (CAP) program, and Storage Techniques for Art, Science, and History Collections (STASH).
- Initiatives that support emergency preparedness and response, including National Heritage Responders, Alliance for Response, May Day, Risk Evaluation and Planning Program, and Getting Ready in Indian Country.
Previous initiatives have produced the following additional resources:
- Charting the Digital Landscape of the Conservation Profession Project (2016), a project that investigated the digital landscape of the profession to better understand its breadth and complexity and to identify areas critical to the community both now and into the future
- The Hermitage Photo Conservation Initiative helped establish a department of photograph conservation at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.
- FAIC has archived resource materials from Heritage Preservation's Save Outdoor Sculpture! and Rescue Public Murals programs.
Benefits
Compensation and Benefits for full-time permanent positions in a home/office hybrid work culture include:
* 90% employer premium contributions health benefits— Medical, Dental and Vision; and 100% employer covered life insurance
* 15 annual leave days, plus 13 PTO /sick leave days and 11 company/ federal holidays
* Other paid time off at the discretion of the executive director, (this may include time for self-care)
* 401k retirement plan
* Access to fitness facility
* Professional development stipends when available