Help ensure the future of the Medieval Academy of America!
As we look towards our Centennial in 2025, we must also begin planning for our second century. By contributing to this Matching Challenge in 2024, you can double the impact of your donation, helping to ensure that the MAA can continue its important support of scholars, scholarship, and expanded programming to fulfill our vision of a stronger, more inclusive Medieval Studies. A major anonymous donation will serve as the source of the Challenge matches, helping to solidify the future of the MAA as it approaches its centennial year. This pool of funds will match every dollar donated to the priority purposes identified below up to a total of $150,000.
Medieval Studies, along with higher education in general, faces grave challenges now and in the foreseeable future. As the foremost organization in the world promoting scholarship and knowledge of the Middle Ages, the Medieval Academy of America is determined to address challenges that border on becoming existential threats with new programs, a broader, more inclusive membership base, and educational outreach that will complement and strengthen its ongoing mission. As it approaches the celebration of its Centennial in 2025, the MAA seeks to secure gifts and grants that will help underwrite its renewed agenda. As a part of this action and thanks to an anonymous major gift, it is launching a Matching Challenge fund-raising drive. Donors to this effort will have the satisfaction of knowing that their gifts to specific priority programs will have twice the impact. Even as we continue to publish the highest-quality scholarship in the pages of Speculum and support research and teaching throughout the field, we are looking to expand programming and support in 2024 and beyond. Your generous contribution will help support ongoing and innovative priorities:
Centennial Fund : Donations to the Centennial Fund will support grants to individuals and institutions nationwide that promote and publicize medieval art, music, and theater during our Centennial year.
Mentoring Fund : In 2022, the Mentoring Program brought more than a dozen scholars from underserved demographics together for remote and in-person mentoring focusing on grant-writing, dissertation abstracts, and conference proposals. In 2023, the program was entirely remote, but with additional funding we hope to conduct a fully in-person summer mentoring program in 2024 and beyond.
MedievALLists Fund : Donations to this Fund will help to make the MAA more inclusive and to strengthen the field by supporting medievalists working beyond the tenure track. Here, too, the need is increasing as more scholars are obliged to work on short-term contracts with no benefits. Expanding support for scholars working beyond the tenure track is a critical priority.
Endowment : Donations to our Endowment support many of our other grants, fellowships, and programs and are crucial for the long-term fiscal stability of the Medieval Academy of America.
We have already secured commitments of more than $36,000 (that’s $72,000 after the match) from members of the Council, several former Presidents, and generous supporters. But we need your contribution in order to meet our goal. With your help, we can continue and expand our work: supporting medievalists and Medieval Studies in North America and beyond.
Visit the Matching Challenge website to donate securely by credit card to the Matching Fund(s) of your choice. If you prefer to donate by check, you may do so using the form and return envelope you will receive by US Mail in the coming weeks. Please note that only donations to these particular funds are eligible for the Match.
Thank you!
Robin Fleming, President of the Medieval Academy of America
p.s. donate by Dec. 31 to double your impact!
