Thank you for your interest in supporting AAI’s work, including open access data publishing in Open Context. Donations are 100% tax-deductible.
Your Contribution to Archaeology
Your support of our programs will enable current and future generations to explore and better understand the past while making science and scholarship more inclusive and accessible. Through cutting edge technologies like Open Context, we open new windows for understanding and safe-guarding the legacy of ancient peoples worldwide.
Your donation can help break down access barriers to global heritage and give future generations an enriching and meaningful past.
Help us open the past to new discoveries! Donate Today.
Ways to Donate
AAI and Open Context are supported by contributions from individuals and public funds. Our Federal Tax Identification Number / EIN is: 91-2146202. All donations are 100% tax deductible.
Donate by Credit Card:
You may donate by credit card by clicking the button above (no PayPal account required). Or you may download a pledge form to send us your credit card information by mail.
Donate by Check:
Contributions by check should be made out to “The Alexandria Archive Institute” and mailed to us at the address below (you may also download a pledge form to include with your check).
125 El Verano Way
San Francisco, CA 94127
Support Us When You Shop:
If you shop with Amazon, select us as your charity on AmazonSmile. Amazon will donate a portion of your purchases to the AAI.
The Alexandria Archive Institute: Our Role in Open Archaeology
- We preserve and share archaeological and related data on the Web, free of charge through technology programs like Open Context.
- Through advocacy, industry collaboration and research, we pioneer ways to make heritage information open to everyone.
- We educate and help cultivate internet literacy that our society so desperately needs.
Archaeology Matters to Us All
Understanding and appreciating archaeology, world history and cultural heritage enriches our lives by challenging our assumptions. It sparks curiosity, creates a love for learning and informs in ways that lead to social progress.
When most people think of archaeology, they imagine the study of uncovered artifacts. This field of science has grown more sophisticated over the last few decades. Archaeologists study patterns in how artifacts, architecture, and other remains relate in space and time to learn about how societies formed and survived, and interacted with other groups and their natural environment. The hope is that these revelations provide even more insights from our ancestors and help shape our future.
Data Sharing Fuels Discovery
Archaeologists, in general, attempt to uncover information that advances, confirms, alters, or refutes important observations or hypothesis. The recording and sharing of data is crucial in this effort because conclusive findings are rarely determined from one site, or one exploration effort.
Instead, just a minor part of the full archaeological record is typically present in any one site. Archaeologists are looking for patterns in their research to complete a much larger puzzle—built from synthesizing evidence from many studies across the landscape.
Another challenge is that excavation is destructive—archaeologists destroy sites when they dig them. So, we have a tremendous responsibility to fully record, preserve, and share our findings. In this way, accurately recording and preserving data, and making it accessible for future research, enables the puzzle to finally come together as new discovery.
Publish your Data
Check out Open Context’s estimation form to get an idea of the cost of publishing and archiving your project data. Please feel free to contact us to discuss your project.
In order to be considered for publication in Open Context, digital archaeological datasets must meet the following criteria:
- The data sets must come from legally-permitted research or heritage management projects. We expect data contributors to follow accepted professional standards in research practice. The AAI reserves editorial rights to review and determine if submitted content is appropriate for posting on Open Context.
- We take copyright law seriously and will not disseminate copyright materials without clear written permissions. Potential contributors must have dissemination rights of the intellectual property contained in any data set submitted to the AAI. Contributors must follow best ethical practice in consulting with heritage stakeholders before submitting to the AAI. Find out more about publishing with Open Context.
- In keeping with its mission to build open resources, the AAI requires that contributors agree to the open terms expressed in Creative Commons licenses.
Contribute your Expertise
We have several areas of need where you or your organization can make a difference and help ensure a past for the future!
- We always welcome new ideas and help to further develop our financial sustainability strategy. If you have financial, business, or digital library expertise, please contact us (contact@alexandriaarchive.org).
- We seek to enhance the technology and creative application of data collections. We are looking for IT experts, especially web programming and database experts (PHP, Javascript, Python, MySQL) and GIS developers to help us build new ways of exploring the past.
- There are many other ways to help, ranging from web-development to database hosting services, accounting, financial development, fundraising, and beyond. If you want to offer the services of yourself or your organization please contact us (contact@alexandriaarchive.org).
Donor Bill of Rights
The AAI is committed to the highest standards of fundraising and donor stewardship and complies with the Donor Bill of Rights. The Donor Bill of Rights was created by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), and the Giving Institute: Leading Consultants to Non-Profits. It has been endorsed by numerous organizations. The AAI’s Board of Directors has approved and accepted this Donor Bill of Rights as principles of the development efforts on behalf of the AAI.
Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To ensure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the nonprofit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:
- To be informed of the organization’s mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.
- To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization’s governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.
- To have access to the organization’s most recent financial statements.
- To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.
- To receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition.
- To be assured that information about their donation is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.
- To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.
- To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.
- To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.
- To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.
Copyright 2016, Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), all rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from the Association of Fundraising Professionals.