The Trustees Emeritus Award for Historic Site Stewardship recognizes success and innovation in historic preservation, management, programming and interpretation at historic sites.

Key Dates for 2024

• November 8, 2023: Nominations open.
• January 12, 2024: Nomination deadline. Nomination deadline extended to January 26, 2024.
• June 2024: Nominators and award recipients notified. The nominator will be notified for those not selected.
• October 28-30, 2024: The award ceremony is currently scheduled to take place at PastForward 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Eligibility

• Nominated projects/programs must have been completed within three years of the submission deadline.
• Nominations submitted in previous years that were not selected to receive an award may be updated and resubmitted.
• Nominations may be made without the knowledge of the nominee.
• Self-nominations will be accepted.
• Nominated projects can be submitted on behalf of nonprofit or for-profit organizations.
• Properties owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, to include contract-affiliate Historic Sites, will not be considered, nor will individuals or groups of individuals for their work relative to National Trust Historic Sites.

Award Criteria

The general evaluation criteria for nominations include the following:

• National impact and/or significance of nominee’s project or effort.
• Quality and degree of difficulty and/or scale of the nominee’s project or effort.
• Degree to which the nominee’s project is innovative or original, or serves as an example that inspires others or can be more broadly replicated.
• Special consideration will be given to projects/organizations that promote engagement with diverse stories, audiences, partnerships, or similar.
• Special consideration will also be given to projects/organizations that use creative or innovative techniques or models to support long-term historic site sustainability.

Award Benefits

The Trustees Emeritus Award for Historic Site Stewardship recipients will receive a physical award.

Expectations

• At least one representative of the recipient organization must appear at the awards ceremony during the PastForward conference, as determined by the National Trust.
• Recipients are responsible for their own travel, lodging, and registration fees to PastForward.
• Recipients will be available to provide quotes and background information for press releases and other media surrounding the award and the award presentation.
• Recipients may be asked to give brief remarks during the awards ceremony.
• Recipients may be asked to write a story for the National Trust website and/or contribute to a National Trust publication.
• Recipients may be asked to serve as panel members for educational sessions at PastForward.
• Recipients will be asked to publicize their award through their social media channels, if applicable

Nomination Process and Procedures

Nominators must complete one nomination form (requirements listed below) and submit it by the deadline in order for the nominee to be considered for the Trustees Emeritus Award for Historic Site Stewardship. All nominations must be submitted using our online form in Submittable. Paper or email submissions will not be accepted.

Nominations must conform to the procedures outlined on this page to be considered for an award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. A link to the nomination form can be found at the bottom of this page. Please be sure to read all guidelines and eligibility information before starting your nomination.

Nomination Requirements

Please include in your nomination form:

• A concise narrative (7,500 characters or less including spaces) that describes the preservation achievements and addresses the award’s specific criteria (listed above)
• Up to 5 brochures or news clippings
• Up to 3 letters of recommendation
• Up to 10 photos. We strongly recommend including photos demonstrating community engagement, innovation, management, and programming at the site.
• Up to 2 video files related to the nominee's work. Examples: footage of preservation projects, community testimonials, news cuts, etc.

Nomination Form

Click here to access the National Preservation Awards submission form. To begin your nomination, you will need to sign up for a Submittable account or sign in to an existing Submittable account if applicable. Once you have signed into Submittable, the submission form will become available. Answer the first question according to which award category you are submitting a nomination for. If you wish to be considered for multiple categories, you will need to submit multiple nominations. Once you begin your nomination, you will be able to save your progress and return to the site to continue working on the form by clicking "Save Draft" at the bottom of the page.

If you have any questions, please contact us at awards@savingplaces.org.