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Artifcts Wins Grant for Brain Health Research

June 28, 2023

Today the founders of Artifcts appeared at MIT University's The Engine with eight other finalists to pitch their proposal for brain health research in partnership with UMass Chan Medical School. It's our great honor to announce that MeHI awarded Artifcts a $50,000 grant to complete its pilot research proposal. Read the official MeHI press release here. The research subject: Brain Health. And our aim: To confirm the feasibility of using Artifcts as an early screening tool for mild cognitive impairment and dementia. 

"People do not want to talk about brain health. It's terrifying to imagine life without healthy cognitive function. So you can understand why so many avoid even getting tested. And this testing is not yet a standard preventive health care practice." said Artifcts Co-founder and CEO Heather Nickerson.

Heather Nickerson, cofounder and CEO of Artifcts, presenting on stage at MeHI Healthy Aging sandbox pitch competition MIT The Engine

 
 
Heather Nickerson, Co-founder and CEO, on stage at MIT's The Engine for Artifcts' 2-minute final pitch to the judges.

The Artifcts team views this research as an important "and" for Artifcts, not a pivot. Co-founder and CSO Ellen Goodwin emphasized, "We've built Artifcts as a way of life, enjoyed by people 16 to 97 who create and share Artifcts every day. Now we'll investigate if we can play a role in dementia, a collection of diseases that affects more than 50 million people worldwide."

Artifcts, along with two others awardees, is a member of the AgeTech Collaborative from AARP. Read more from AARP on the MeHI Healthy Aging Sandbox Challenge.

From here, Artifcts will work with UMass Medical on a several-month process that will include study design and application to the Institutional Review Board (IRB), responsible for protecting the welfare, rights, and privacy of human subjects, for approval to proceed. With IRB approval, Artifcts will then recruit study participants. Interested in participating or know someone who may be? Follow Artifcts on social media and subscribe to the newsletter so you stay apprised of developments!

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© 2023 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Artifcts Continues to Shine in Genealogy Technology Space

Artifcts' continues to win the hearts and key strokes of those with a passion for family lore, history, and genealogy, earning recognition for a third consecutive years in Family Tree Magazine's 101 Best Genealogy Websites of 2025.

Family Tree Magazine's 101 Best Genealogy Websites are organized into roughly a dozen categories, including Best "Big" Genealogy Websites, Best Family Tree & Sharing Websites, and Best Genealogy Tech Tools (including Artifcts!). And this year 14 sites newly made the list. The team at Artifcts extends a warm congratulations to all awardees!

Why does Artifcts, with no family history research database or family tree builder, support family history discovery and preservation aims? It's by design, and with tremendous feedback from genealogists, too.

Artifcts offers the ease of social media, but with privacy and control over your data at its foundation. It also prides itself on avoiding the creation of a story burden. The mere fact that someone chooses to Artifct a particular item speaks volumes. And through Artifcts, you will transform objects into memories, relieving loved ones of the guilt and burden that would otherwise come someday when they inherit it all and must decide what to do with it next. 

During a recent series of focus groups facilitated by the AgeTech Collaborative from AARP, and led by the founders of Artifcts, the "no story burden" approach was validated yet again. Participants lamented being given books to fill in the blanks, a new project they didn't ask for. They also expressed frustration with automated questions. They want to handle their stories, their way, in their own time.

"Artifcts is unlocking the secret sauce to capturing stories and memories. We don't ask for the story first. We simply ask, 'What is this? What does it matter to you? And what do you want to do with it next?' and the stories unlock themselves, one after another," shared Artifcts Co-founder Ellen Goodwin.

"Exactly!" said Artifcts Co-founder Heather Nickerson. "We have to help people with all - that - stuff and also meet them where they're at. If you only have time for a bite-sized story, great, you can do that. And even better? With our ever-shrinking attention spans, your odds that friends and family will read or listen to that Artifcted story are vastly improved."

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Artifcts is a patented and award-winning web- and mobile-based platform. From saving memories as you declutter to preserving the value of your things, Artifcts offers people of all ages and walks of life a digital way to organize & capture the meaning behind the objects of their lives. What will you Artifct first? Start free --> 

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© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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NAPO-WDC Names Artifcts as 2025 Business Partner of the Year

Artifcts® is proud to announce that its co-founder Heather Nickerson has been named 2025 NAPO Washington DC Metro Chapter (NAPO-WDC) Business Partner of the Year for the second consecutive year. The nominating committee noted, "Heather successfully corrals our many BPs into a very high functioning, cohesive group that benefits our chapter. Her calm demeanor, intelligence, and focus on helping others really stands out." The committee also noted that, "Artifcts provides articles and free programming that add value to our chapter."

“I am humbled and excited that our local NAPO chapter recognizes the value we bring to the organizing industry,” Heather stated. “We know Artifcts and organizing go hand in hand, and we love working with our NAPO-WDC professional members to help them grow and scale their businesses. We've seen first hand how Artifcts can help clients stay organized, and part with the 'tough stuff' that may be taking up their much-needed space.”

From decluttering to organizing to making sense of life’s ‘stuff,’ Artifcts is designed to pair beautifully with the organizing industry, from solopreneurs to nationwide franchises. Artifcts Advisory Board Member and founder of Clutter Cleaner Matt Paxton added in response to the news, “I tell clients all the time that Artifcts is THE perfect tool to help them keep the memories and let go of the ‘stuff.’”

Start Artifcting today. Create your free membership here ->

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© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Lem Lloyd Joins Artifcts as Advisor for Growth & Partnerships

As Washington D.C. headquartered Artifcts continues to grow and scale, it proudly welcomes Lem Lloyd as an Advisor for Growth & Partnerships. Lem brings 30 years experience in building Internet businesses and running sales teams at both public companies and new start-ups.

At Yahoo, Lem served as VP/GM of Yahoo's Small Business, as well as VP of Corporate Partnerships, where he managed more than $300M in reseller and channel partnerships. At Knight Ridder, Lem was involved in creating the early marketplace businesses including, Cars.com, Apartments.com, and Careerbuilder. He also ran the acquisition channel at the home services marketplace company, Angie's List, where he managed more than 300 sales and operations staff. Today, Lem is the CEO of LongevityWorkers, a new jobs / hiring marketplace committed to helping older workers re-enter the labor force.  

"Lem's experience and expertise in growing and scaling numerous tech companies and negotiating complex partnership deals will be a game changer for us as we continue to grow and scale Artifcts," said Heather Nickerson, Artifcts co-founder."

"I'm so excited and honored to be working with the team at Artifcts," said Lem Lloyd. "Artifcts has succeeded in doing a rare thing - creating an elegant service that allows multiple generations to come together and celebrate the people and the things that helped shape and define their family traditions."
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© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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