Each year, the Foundation reviews and evaluates new project and programmatic fundraising priorities, as well as reviewing its long-term priorities. Examples of the latter include:

TAPER COLLECTION OF LINCOLNIANA

In 2007, after five years of encouragement by respected Lincoln and state historians and professionals, the Foundation acted on the unique opportunity to acquire more than 1,500 items from renowned collector Louise Taper. At that time, the Taper Collection was widely considered the largest and most diverse collection of Lincolniana still in private hands. The Foundation then placed the Taper Collection on loan for public display at the presidential library and museum in Springfield.

Fundraising for the collection remains an area of great need. The Foundation has raised more than $24 million toward principal, interest, and insurance. Still, in excess of $8 million in principal remains.

A collection of this magnitude is extremely rare…I know I speak for many scholars who would agree that this is a national treasure that cannot be lost.

Doris Kearns Goodwin, Ph.D., Pulitzer Prize-winning author

National Park Service-Lincoln Home National Historic Site

As part of its mission, the Foundation raises support on behalf of partner entities. The Foundation is pleased to announce that as of March 2022, the first of its new partnerships is with the National Park Service (NPS). The NPS administers dozens of sites across the country connected to President Lincoln and his legacy. The Foundation’s pilot agreement with NPS is philanthropic support of the Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, IL. “We welcome the new partnership with the Lincoln Presidential Foundation and their interest in supporting the protection of culturally significant sites connected to Abraham Lincoln’s legacy," said Lincoln Home National Historic Site superintendent Tim Good. “Lincoln Home National Historic Site recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. As I look to the future, I am thrilled by the opportunity to work with our friends at the Lincoln Presidential Foundation to accomplish more on behalf of the public.”

There are a variety of education programs, preservation, landscape, and conservation projects, and more that need your support. Recent examples of funded projects include developing an all-new, youth-centered exhibit in the historic Corneau House, educational history exhibits at the National Boys & Girls Clubs Conference, and safety and beautification improvements to the landscape.

Contact us for more information on specific projects and programs.

Increasing Access to Historical Evidence

A cornerstone of the Foundation’s work from the beginning has been to improve and enhance access to evidence of the past, including through field trips, lesson plans, digital programming, and other educational and scholarly initiatives.

A recent example, made possible with a generous support form Iron Mountain, is the Foundation’s new “Warning Signs” project. The project highlights Abraham Lincoln’s response to challenges faced by the republic in the 1850s, including extreme polarization and political violence stemming from opposition on matters of freedom, justice, and democracy. The course includes links to primary sources, original short films featuring experts, and teacher-developed lesson plans. Topics covered include the Compromise of 1850, the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision, The Kansas-Nebraska Act, and Lincoln’s speeches and debates.

Past examples include raising more than $600,000 in support of the Papers of Abraham Lincoln project, an ambitious effort to identify, digitize, transcribe, annotate, and publish online all documents by and to Abraham Lincoln in order to make them accessible to anyone online. That effort historically involved numerous entities, including the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, the Abraham Lincoln Association, the University of Illinois Springfield, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. The Foundation stepped in to provide grant management and raise matching funds at a critical moment. Human and technological resources for this project were made possible by our generous supporters, including the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, as well as several generous contributors to the Foundation.

For more information on supporting priorities, contact Angela Staron at astaron@lincolnpresidential.org or (224) 383-8541.

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