Granting An Early Gift

A special holiday gift came early — and in the nick of time — to the Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI).

On Oct. 29, the Eugene nonprofit ALI received a grant of $24,630 from Lane Arts Council, funds that are part of the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) and allocated to states by the federal government under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.ALI, like other cultural and arts nonprofits, has faced serious financial challenges in 2020 as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new funding will allow ALI to launch in January a new subscription video-on-demand service, a Netflix-like platform called Heritage Broadcasting Service, which will be available online as well as via Roku. Through this online service, ALI will make accessible to the public a vast array of video programming on cultural heritage topics of all descriptions, including archaeology, ancient cultures and sites, history, indigenous peoples, cultural traditions, the search for origins, human evolution, explorations of ancient mysteries and much, according to Rick Pettigrew, ALI’s executive director.

“We feel very lucky, as a small nonprofit during a time of worldwide crisis, to have this chance to launch a video subscription streaming service that both fulfills our nonprofit mission and presents the prospect of an unlimited funding source for future development and public service,” Pettigrew says. “Although this has been a challenging year for us financially, we are uniquely positioned to move forward aggressively in the video streaming space, as we have more than 20 years of video streaming experience and a huge international network of producers eager to find new ways to support their film and video projects.”

Archaeological Legacy Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Eugene and organized to share the human cultural heritage widely through the use of cutting-edge technology. ALI’s principal project is The Archaeology Channel, a streaming-media website featuring video and audio programs on archaeology, indigenous peoples and cultural heritage and reaching an audience of 250,000 visitors monthly.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!