[2][3][4] The project started with a $700,000 grant from Alfred P. Sloan Foundation[2][5] and aims to "create a permanent record of the events of September 11, 2001".

[7] From 2003 to 2011 the project did not have adequate funding, which led to concerns about lack of sustainability, such as a need to redesign the website and update metadata.

[6] The archive contains documents taken from the New York City Fire Department, National Guard,[6] the Smithsonian Institution, Red Cross and other organizations.

[6] It also contains interviews of people with ancestry from the Middle East who were affected by backlash and harassment following the attacks.

[6] The archive also went through Arabic websites and worked with the Museum of Chinese in America to record and translate interviews of Chinatown residents.