Supporting Heritage at Risk: A Manual and Workshop Script for Heritage Proposal Writing

What is it?

This manual is a practical guide and workshop toolkit designed to help heritage professionals strengthen their proposal writing and fundraising skills. Developed by Cultural Emergency Response (CER) and the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute–Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative (MCI-SCRI), it offers step-by-step guidance, exercises, worksheets, and training materials for both individual learning and group workshops. The manual draws on insights and experiences from the Leadership Course for Cultural Heritage Stewards in Challenging Circumstances, organised by CER and MCI-SCRI since 2017. Created with and for the Leadership Network, it was shaped through peer exchange, co-developed with alumni, and refined through a train-the-trainer approach.

Who's it for?

This manual is designed for heritage professionals, cultural practitioners, and organisations working to protect heritage in challenging circumstances. It is particularly relevant for those seeking to strengthen their fundraising and proposal writing skills, whether for emergency response, long-term preservation, or community-based heritage initiatives.

The manual can be used by individual practitioners as a practical reference tool, but is especially intended to support collective learning and collaboration. Structured as a workshop script with accompanying exercises and worksheets, it can be used by trainers and facilitators leading fundraising workshops within their own communities and networks. The resource is also accompanied by a set of presentation slides that practitioners can use to deliver their own proposal-writing workshops.

It is also designed for teams and organisations looking to strengthen internal fundraising processes by bringing together the knowledge and expertise of different staff members into cohesive project concepts and proposals.