Capital deployed where heritage is made — and where it is endangered.
The Foundation's endowment funds three permanent programs designed to outlast any individual donor, grant cycle, or political moment.
Meridian Open Heritage Platform
A permanently maintained, open-access version of the STRATA database — freely accessible to researchers, educators, and antiquities authorities in all nations, with particular emphasis on developing-nation access.
Modeled on the Arches Project's open-source commitment, but with active maintenance funding from the endowment rather than dependence on grants.
Data sovereignty provisions are written into the platform's governance charter: each nation's heritage data is owned by that nation, with the Foundation holding only a non-exclusive license for aggregated analysis.
- Open-access, permanently maintained
- Arabic-language interface from year one
- National data sovereignty by charter
Meridian Fellowship in Heritage Informatics
Annual fellowships of $35,000–$50,000 for doctoral students from Mediterranean and MENA nations — Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Iraq — to study heritage informatics, spatial AI, and digital preservation methods at U.S. or European research universities.
Recipients commit to return and contribute to their nation's antiquities authority or university system. The fellowship prioritizes candidates who cannot access these programs through conventional funding.
Endowment target: $5 million, generating 4–6 fellowships annually at a ~4% drawdown.
- $35K–$50K annual award
- Required return commitment
- MENA-prioritized admissions
Endangered Sites Emergency Response
Rapid-response grants of $10,000–$50,000 for heritage documentation at sites facing imminent threat — conflict exposure, natural disaster, or development encroachment.
Grants are disbursed within 30 days of application approval, specifically designed for the pace of crisis rather than the pace of traditional grant cycles.
ASOR's Cultural Heritage Initiatives model is the precedent; Meridian provides technology-specific support — satellite data subscriptions, drone deployment, 3D scanning equipment — rather than only personnel funding.
- 30-day disbursement
- Technology-first support
- Conflict, disaster, encroachment