In 2006, the Society for Classical Studies, then the American Philological Association, received a challenge grant from the NEH that seeded the Gateway Campaign for Classics in the 21st Century. By the end of the campaign in December 2012, the organization had raised funds that not only matched, but also far exceeded, the bar set by the NEH. The Gateway Campaign resulted in the creation of the Research and Teaching Endowment fund with a principal amount of over $3 million.
The goals of the Gateway Campaign were -
- creating sophisticated and accessible research tools for classics teachers and scholars
- developing the next generation of inspired, diverse teachers of classics and classical languages
- supporting wider public understanding of and appreciation for classical civilization
Each year the Society draws funds from the Research and Teaching Endowment to support many awards and fellowships including the Frank M. Snowden Scholarships (formerly the Minority Scholarships), the Pedagogy and Zeph Stewart Awards, the Excellence in Teaching Awards, the Koenen Fellowship in Papyrology, and Contingent Faculty Grants. The Research and Teaching Endowment also supports the American Office of L'Année Philologique, the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae, and resources on the SCS website.
More than a third of the organization's membership, over a thousand members, donated to the Gateway Campaign. In addition to the individual donors who contributed, several private foundations and other non-profit organizations provided grants and / or contributions.The largest of these contributions were designated for an original goal of the Endowment: to create a stable source of funding for the American Office of l'Année philologique. Together, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Classical Association of the UK (through a Classical Association Fund for Bibliography) provided over a third of the funds needed to meet the NEH's challenge and to secure the future of the American Office. The Arete Foundation, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, and the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation also provided major grants in support of the Research and Teaching Endowment.
The Society and its members are grateful to all donors who contributed to this campaign, which was historic in terms of the funds raised, the number of contributing donors, and the lasting impact of the campaign to the Society, its members, and the field as a whole.
You can read more about the campaign in this booklet (downloadable pdf).
