The World Monuments Fund has raised $62 million for its endowment, beating its fundraising target a full 18 months ahead of schedule and tripling the preservation organisation's endowment assets. The campaign, announced on Wednesday, was launched publicly less than a year ago as part of the New York-based nonprofit's 60th anniversary celebrations, and its endowment is now expected to pass $100 million by 2028.

The drive was anchored by a $20 million matching challenge from the Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust, which pledged 50 cents for every dollar raised, up to $40 million in donations. Philanthropist Suzanne Deal Booth gave $10 million toward a new institute for heritage preservation that carries her name, and Virginia James contributed between $5 million and $10 million. The Booth Institute alone has secured $21 million in endowed funds, while a further $2 million endowment will support the World Monuments Watch, the organisation's biennial list of sites at risk.

Founded in 1965, the fund has worked to preserve more than 700 sites across 114 countries, from historic buildings and archaeological sites to training programmes for local craftspeople. The new money will support conservation training, research and emergency responses for heritage threatened by armed conflict, climate change and natural disasters. Its president and chief executive, Bénédicte de Montlaur, said cultural heritage is being lost faster than the world can respond, and that the campaign gives the fund the long-term resources to act with greater urgency and ambition.

The fundraising success coincides with the launch of a new five-year strategic plan aimed at widening the organisation's international reach. It also follows a difficult year in which the organisation lost a substantial share of its US federal funding. An endowment, unlike annual grants, gives the fund income it can plan around for decades — the timescale on which stone, timber and plaster actually age.