National Trust for Historic Preservation: Return to home page

The National Trust is committed to investing in preservation's future: The business of saving places that matter involves preservation professionals, community leaders, planners, architects, and many more people and fields. Through the National Trust's Preservation Leadership Forum, we’ve documented and developed a variety of tools to support your work protecting places. Learn the different ways you will benefit from this diverse network of preservation leaders.

How to Make the Case for Preservation

The first step to saving a place is to articulate why it matters. Here we share two approaches—one philosophical, one practical—to help you make the case for preserving a place.

Want to dig deeper into the basics of preservation? Check out our suite of Preservation Tips and Tools for quick, digestible lessons on a wide range of strategies and tactics for engaging with preservation.

Go Further: Be a Part of Preservation Leadership Forum

Ready to take the next step? On Preservation Leadership Forum, you’ll find more information on the essential tools for protecting historic places around the country. From using Section 106 to deploying new models at historic sites, Forum brings together resources from the National Trust and the field at large.

Key Topic Areas

Economics of Historic Preservation:From job creation to the value of the historic tax credit, understanding the positive economic impacts of saving places is an essential piece of preservation practice.

Understanding Preservation Law: Familiarity with certain federal, state, and local laws can help advocates to respond effectively to preservation threats as they arise; develop strategies to avoid future threats; and identify the full range of options available to protect historic places.

The Changing Work at Historic Sites: Professionals around the world are are re-evaluating the role of house museums, applying new interpretive frameworks to historic sites, rethinking how best to manage collections, representing a broader range of stories—and developing tools to encompass this evolution.

How You Benefit When You Join Forum

When you join Preservation Leadership Forum, you'll join a community for, and comprised of, preservation thought leaders whose voices are shaping the future of the movement. To be a preservationist means collaborating with others, and often the best information comes from those deeply engaged in the fieldwork.

Here are the ways that Forum membership will help you support this invaluable brain trust:

• Forum Connect: The online networking platform gives professionals like you a space to ask questions, share ideas, and network.
• Stories from the Field: We curate the information so you don’t have to. Access case studies, thought leadership, and up-to-date information to help you in the business of saving places.
• Forum Journal: The premiere scholarly publication for Forum members, Forum Journal addresses critical topics in the field.
• Discounts on conferences and trainings: Members receive discounts on conferences, including the annual PastForward conference and the Preservation Law conference, as well as on trainings throughout the year.
• Preservation Fund Grants: Organizational members are eligible to take part in the National Trust grant program, which awarded $1 million dollars in 2018 to 196 projects.
• Forum Bulletin: This weekly newsletter brings together the latest stories, job listings, and more right to your inbox.