Preservica Starter Plus Grant Program winners announced!

It is my distinct honor to announce the winners of the inaugural Starter Plus Grant Program. Huge congratulations to Archives of the Big Bend, Southern Bible Institute & College and Worldwide Indigenous Science Network!

The Preservica grant program provides an opportunity for underfunded archives across all sectors to get their Digital Preservation projects off the ground, benefiting from industry leading technology that mitigates the risk of long-term data loss by ensuring high-value content can always be read and trusted over decades regardless of the file format it was created in. Annually, four institutions will receive a fully funded Starter Plus (250GB) account for two years to help kickstart their Digital Preservation journey.

This years winners were chosen because of their exceptional applications that detailed important projects with a clear vision for the future of digital preservation at their organizations. Here's what our winners had to say:

"As a winner of the inaugural Starter Plus Grant Program, we now have the unprecedented opportunity to digitally preserve and provide access to centuries of West Texas and borderland history, culture, and research. We are thrilled to be a part of this program and to be able to promote and protect our rich and diverse collections through Preservica!" Victoria Contreras, Head of Archives - Archives of the Big Bend

"Southern Bible Institute & College is honored to be a recipient of the inaugural Starter Plus Grant from Preservica. As we carry out our mission and embark upon our centennial anniversary and beyond, it is imperative that we preserve our rich and unique history. The Preservica digital preservation system will play a vital role for our digital records management and will be an invaluable tool for our College and a timeless benefit to all of our stakeholders." Dr. Terrance A. Ford, SBIC President - Southern Bible Institute & College

“Spiritual people bring energy to the Earth so it can go on. Because of what western science is doing, there is only time to deliver the (indigenous) knowledge; we must get it to someplace where people can keep it. We must write what we are finding. There’s nothing to keep now and to hide because it may die with us.” The words of Xilonem Garcia, Aztec Cultural Practitioner, 1989 shared by Dr. Apela Colorado, Founder and President of the Worldwide Indigenous Science Network (WISN).

This was an extremely competitive applicant pool, with many high quality and worthy applications, a huge thanks to the other committee members, who took time and care to select the winners this year:

• Lori Ashley, Principal, Tournesol Consulting, LLC
• Halley Grogan, Digital Archiving Success Manager, Preservica
• Melissa Prunty Kemp, M.A., M.F.A., Archivist and CEO, KPW-AMC, Inc.

Stay tuned for the 2024 Grant Program announcement, you never know - it could be you next year :)

And...don't forget you can get your digital preservation journey started for FREE with Preservica Starter. Sign up here.

Aubrey Shanahan - Onboarding Specialist