diff --git a/src/components/framework/footer.js b/src/components/framework/footer.js
index 59d07601f..163c27aa3 100644
--- a/src/components/framework/footer.js
+++ b/src/components/framework/footer.js
@@ -162,8 +162,18 @@ export const getAcknowledgments = (metadata, dispatch) => {
       KEEP_CONTENT: false,
       ALLOW_DATA_ATTR: false
     };
-    const rawDescription = marked(metadata.description);
-    const cleanDescription = sanitizer(rawDescription, sanitizerConfig);
+    
+    
+    let cleanDescription;
+    try 
+    {
+      const rawDescription = marked(metadata.description);
+      cleanDescription = sanitizer(rawDescription, sanitizerConfig);
+    } catch (error) {
+      console.error(`Error parsing footer description: ${error}`);
+      cleanDescription = (<h1>There was an error parsing the footer description.</h1>);
+    }
+
     return (
       <div
         className='acknowledgments'