A Legacy Preserved: Inside the Ambitious New Era of the World Monuments Fund

The World Monuments Fund has marked its sixtieth anniversary with a bold vision for the future of cultural heritage. This week, the organisation announced a sixty million dollar endowment campaign to secure the long-term preservation of some of the world’s most treasured sites. Anchored by a twenty million dollar matching challenge from the Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust, the initiative represents both a celebration of WMF’s past and a decisive step toward its next era.

Central to this new chapter is the creation of the Suzanne Deal Booth Institute for Heritage Preservation, a pioneering platform designed to unite training, research, and innovation under one global umbrella. The Institute was established through a ten million dollar endowment gift from Suzanne Deal Booth, a philanthropist, collector, and advocate whose lifelong commitment to safeguarding cultural heritage has left an international mark. With additional gifts from the Gerard B. Lambert Foundation, Denise Littlefield Sobel, and Virginia James, total funding for the Institute has reached nineteen million dollars – setting a powerful foundation for the future.

“As we celebrate sixty years of impact, World Monuments Fund is not only reflecting on its history but building its future,” said Bénédicte de Montlaur, President and CEO of WMF. “Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, this endowment campaign has already made possible transformative initiatives that strengthen conservation training, advance innovation, and safeguard the stories that define our shared heritage.”

The Suzanne Deal Booth Institute builds on decades of WMF expertise, connecting global specialists, students, and craftspeople to share skills and expand opportunities in preservation. Drawing from existing programmes in the United States, Japan, and Cambodia, the Institute will launch field schools, develop training hubs, and establish new partnerships with leading universities and heritage institutions. It aims to cultivate a new generation of professionals ready to protect the world’s cultural legacy with both traditional knowledge and modern innovation.

Dr Jonathan S. Bell, WMF’s Senior Vice President of Global Preservation Strategy and Founding Director of the Institute, described the project as “a new chapter in the sixty-year history of the Fund.” He added, “By bringing together strategic partnerships, targeted training, and professional exchange, we will build global capacity that expands and strengthens the heritage field.”

The endowment’s impact extends far beyond the Institute’s founding. The Gerard B. Lambert Foundation’s contribution, made in honour of horticulturist and philanthropist Rachel Lambert “Bunny” Mellon, will support the Greenspace Heritage Training initiative, empowering communities to preserve historic gardens and landscapes threatened by climate change. Denise Littlefield Sobel’s gift will create the WMF Archival Initiative, ensuring six decades of conservation records are digitised and accessible to future generations. Meanwhile, Virginia James’ support will enhance WMF’s Bridge to Crafts Careers programme, offering young artisans practical training and sustainable career opportunities.

With seventy-five per cent of its endowment goal already achieved, the World Monuments Fund enters its next era with purpose and momentum. The campaign’s remaining quarter will ensure the organisation continues to meet global challenges with the same creativity, resilience, and commitment that have defined its first sixty years.

The launch of the Suzanne Deal Booth Institute stands as a statement of intent – that preservation is not just about looking back, but about investing in the future. Through innovation, education, and collaboration, the World Monuments Fund is ensuring that history’s most extraordinary places remain part of the world’s living story.