Museums, galleries, and heritage organizations care for tens of millions of objects, photographs, archival records, and irreplaceable cultural items in British Columbia and recent events have shown just how vulnerable these organizations are to disasters like floods, fires, and climate emergencies. A 2021 survey by the BC Museums Association found nearly 60% of museums believe that the risk facing their collections is moderate or higher to severe.  When faced with an emergency, even minutes of response time can make the difference between preservation and total destruction.

The BC Heritage Emergency Response Network (BC HERN) and the BC Museums Association (BCMA) have partnered to create a new contingency fund that will allow skilled heritage emergency responders to mobilize and begin recovery and salvage efforts for museums, galleries, and cultural organizations across BC when emergencies strike.

Each dollar you donate helps museums to prepare for the worst and helps to protect irreplaceable heritage from being lost forever.

Learn how BC HERN helped the Lytton Chinese History Museum and Lytton Museum & Archives salvage their collections after one of the most damaging wildfires in Canadian history here.

Learn more about this initiative on the BCMA website here.