The Society of American Archivists Foundation has announced the creation of the Archival Workers Emergency Fund (AWEF) to support archival workers experiencing financial hardship during the COVID-19 crisis.

Grants of up to $1,000 will be awarded to financially vulnerable and at-risk workers. All U.S.-based archival workers affected by the COVID-19 crisis are eligible to apply to the fund. Applications will open on April 15 at 3:00 pm CT.

The fund will be administered through the SAA Foundation, which is providing seed money of $15,000. Tax-deductible donations to the AWEF will also be accepted beginning April 15.

As repositories have been forced to temporarily close or institute remote work in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, many archival workers — particularly those in contingent positions — are facing significant financial and employment challenges. The AWEF will help to meet urgent financial needs, providing support to archival workers who have lost income because of a change in their work status or circumstances such as inadequate sick or family leave time.

Due to the unpredictability of the crisis and times of acute need, applications to the fund will be considered on a rolling basis up to December 31, 2020.