Regardless of launching his presidential library basis a 12 months in the past, former President Joe Biden has struggled to lift substantial funds for the venture, casting severe doubt on its future as a standalone establishment.
In accordance with a New York Occasions report, public filings and donor interviews reveal that the Joseph R. Biden Jr. Presidential Library Basis expects to lift simply $11.3 million by the tip of 2027—a fraction of what’s usually wanted to assemble a contemporary presidential library. No new donations had been obtained in 2024, and the muse’s seed cash got here from $4 million in leftover funds from Biden’s 2021 inauguration.
As of late 2025, Biden has but to carry any main fundraising occasions for the library, with the primary donor reception scheduled for this coming Monday in Washington DC’s Georgetown neighborhood. The inspiration has not disclosed what it raised in 2025, solely stating that Biden is now starting to fundraise extra actively.
The New York Occasions notes that Biden’s projected whole of $11.3 million lags far behind the efforts of different latest presidents. The Obama Basis, compared, has raised over $1.5 billion for its sprawling Obama Presidential Heart in Chicago. The middle, regardless of price overruns and criticism from Chicago residents, is slated to open in 2026 with greater than $850 million already dedicated to building. Nevertheless, filings and monetary disclosures have prompted issues concerning the basis’s restricted endowment funding and the potential for taxpayer legal responsibility, together with rising working prices.
President Donald Trump, who plans to construct his library in Miami, is aiming to lift practically $1 billion and has already secured land and funding from authorized settlements and personal donations. Trump’s venture was formally accredited in September 2025 by the Florida Cupboard and is being promoted as a significant civic attraction in Miami.
The Biden library basis’s difficulties seem compounded by donor fatigue and intra-party discontent. A number of prime Democrat donors, together with longtime bundler John Morgan, have expressed disinterest or outright refusal to contribute, citing poor therapy by Biden’s employees. “He’ll be fortunate to have a bookmobile,” Morgan instructed the New York Occasions. Some donors have stated they’re extra targeted on defeating Donald Trump or are reluctant to contribute because of frustrations with Biden’s presidency. Individually, Axios revealed that Biden’s resolution to pardon his son Hunter additional alienated some Democrats, with quite a few donors threatening to withhold assist for the library effort.
The Biden library basis is at the moment chaired by Rufus Gifford, a Democrat fundraiser and former U.S. chief of protocol. Its government administrators embody two of Biden’s closest aides, Annie Tomasini and Anthony Bernal. Over the summer time, the group employed a consulting agency, CCS Fundraising, to evaluate monetary prospects. In September, the Bidens despatched letters inviting potential supporters to take part in 45-minute interviews to gauge donation potential.
Given the fundraising shortfall, a few of President Biden’s donors have instructed merging the long run library with present Biden establishments on the College of Delaware. The college has raised not less than $22 million—together with $20 million from the Delaware state authorities—to assemble “Biden Corridor.” Whereas such a merger would possibly enable the library venture to share sources and scale back prices, each the college and the Biden basis declined to touch upon whether or not consolidation is being thought of.
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