Hagley Museum and Library is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that relies on a variety of funding sources for its varied and unique programming. This support enables Hagley to share its programs and collections with visitors from around the world. All donations are acknowledged in Hagley’s Annual Report. We are pleased to offer multiple ways to support Hagley including:
The Hagley Annual Fund provides much-needed unrestricted operating support for the museum and library and allows us to continue to provide outstanding service to our visitors, researchers, and the community. A gift to the Hagley Annual Fund provides support for the entire 235-acre site and is fully tax-deductible.
Please click here to make a contribution to the Hagley Annual Fund. Donors at the $300 and above level are entitled to membership in Hagley’s giving clubs.
Individuals $1-$299
Listing in Hagley’s Annual Donor Listing in the summer issue of Hagley Magazine
Black Powder Club: $300-$499
Above, plus entry into drawing to win two 2024 Fireworks show tickets
Millrace Club $500-999
Hagley’s Annual Donor Listing PLUS entry into drawing to win three 2024 Fireworks show tickets
Roll Mill Club $1,000-2,499
Hagley’s Annual Donor Listing PLUS entry into drawing to win four 2024 Fireworks show tickets and one VIP parking pass
Presidents Club $2,500-4,999
Hagley’s Annual Donor Listing, Roll Mill Club drawing, PLUS invitation to annual Presidents Club Dinner, generously underwritten by the Nor’Easter Foundation
Birkenhead Club $5,000-9,999
Presidents Club benefits, PLUS private tour for up to six guests of the Hagley Museum and Library collections, by mutual arrangement
Black Powder Club $10,000+
Birkenhead Club benefits, PLUS an exclusive “Hagley Treasures” private viewing of rare collections items for up to ten guests. Can be customized based
on donor’s interests.
For more information on the Hagley Annual Fund, please contact:
Joan Thomas, Development Director, (302) 658-2400 ext. 329.
Hagley actively collects personal and organizational records and materials documenting the history of American business, technology, and industrial design. We also preserve corporate and organizational archives as deposits for companies and member organizations seeking to preserve their histories and make them available for research.
Hagley collects manuscripts, publications, audiovisual, and digital materials for research, as well as artifacts that support interpretation of the site or provide context for the documentary collections.
As an interested party in donations, Hagley is unable to provide an appraisal of a collection's financial value. We are glad to provide information about contacting professionals able to appraise the financial value of prospective donations to Hagley. As a non-profit institution, donors can claim a tax deduction on gifts to its collections. While the donor bears the cost of obtaining an outside appraisal, the cost of the appraisal is also tax-deductible. Hagley recommends that donors check with an attorney or financial advisor about any and all tax implications. For more information on contributions to the collections, please contact Erik Rau, Director of Library Services at (302) 658-2400, ext. 344 or erau@hagley.org.
If you would like to honor a loved one, colleague, or friend, please consider doing so while supporting Hagley’s mission to collect, preserve, and interpret the unfolding history of American enterprise. Your gift will enable us to build upon our world-class library collections as well as conserve these treasures for generations to come.
Donation Levels:
$50 - Reference and general collection acquisitions
$250 – Rare books and printed material acquisitions
$10,000 – Named endowment for continuous acquisition of current and rare books
An attractive bookplate will be placed inside the front cover of each adopted book underwritten by an endowment fund, indicating the donor and the person honored. In addition, the Library will send an acknowledgment letter and a copy of the bookplate to the donor and honoree. For more information on Hagley’s Adopt-a-Book program, please contact Erik Rau, Director of Library Services at (302) 658-2400, ext. 344 or erau@hagley.org.
You can play an important role in helping Hagley preserve our extraordinary collection of American patent models by becoming a “Friend of Innovation.” The depth and breadth of this collection is impressive, drawing from a variety of subject areas and telling multiple stories of American innovation. You can play a crucial role in helping Hagley to share these stories by sponsoring a patent model.
All Friends of Innovation will be able to select a model to sponsor from a provided list and will be honored with unique recognition panels in model exhibition spaces. For more information, please contact the Development Office at (302) 658-2400 ext. 329.
See our current Friends of Innovation and their patent models here.
Partnerships are an appealing way to address business marketing goals and help support the philanthropic objectives of your organization. We are pleased to offer a variety of corporate partnership options to meet your needs. Please click HERE for more information on our current partners. For information on becoming a Corporate Partner, please contact:
Joan Thomas, Development Director, (302) 658-2400 ext. 329.
Unique among American landscapes, Hagley’s Crowninshield Garden has begun an exciting, multi-phase restoration inviting your support as an honored Foundational Donor! Phase 1 is a $4 million project to stabilize the site, repair the most vulnerable key architectural features, and create a limited visitor experience at the upper part of the garden near the pools.
We invite you to learn more and take a tour here or to arrange a private tour by calling the Development Office at (302) 658-2400 x329. Check back on our website in the future for more details about this transformational restoration project.
Click here to support the Crowninshield Garden Restoration.
For donations of securities or to set up a pledge commitment, please see Ways to Give below.
Recent press about the Crowninshield Garden:
Smithsonian Magazine Article (March 2023)
Washington Post article about the Crowninshield Garden (2021-08-18)
Hagley Museum and Library also offers a memorial and commemorative recognition program. Honor a loved one with a bench or tree on our scenic property, or adopt-a-book in support of Hagley’s library collections.
Bench-$1,500 – Your donation provides for a four-foot wooden bench with a naming plaque. We will be pleased to discuss locations of the property where benches might be sited.
Tree-$1,500 – Help add to our historic landscape of ninety-four species and varieties of trees with your memorial or commemorative tree. Once planted, Hagley will install a plaque recognizing your donation. This process may take more than six weeks, depending on weather and time of year.
For more information, please contact the Development Office at (302) 658-2400 ext. 329.
The Crowninshield Society has been established to honor individuals who have made provisions for Hagley Museum and Library through their wills, trusts, IRAs, life insurance policies, and donor advised funds.
The Crowninshield Society commemorates Louise du Pont Crowninshield (1877-1958) and her substantial legacy to Hagley Museum and Library. As a founding member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Trust’s highest annual award is named in her honor. In 1952, Mrs. Crowninshield gave her residence to the Eleutherian Mills-Hagley Foundation (now Hagley Museum and Library), continuing to live there until her death in 1958. For more information on Planned Giving, please contact the Development Office at (302) 658-2400 ext. 329.
Since its inception, Hagley has been a place of innovation and technological advancement. The legacies of the innovators who lived and worked at Hagley inspire the educational programs offered to student from kindergarten through high school.
Hagley offers nine educational programs that address such key themes as simple machines, mechanical engineering, chemistry, physics, immigration, the Industrial Revolution, and nineteenth-century daily life. Our focus on STEM and social studies curriculum standards provide a purposeful, engaging experience for each student who visits. Hagley wants to offer these meaningful experiences to as many students as possible, regardless of their financial abilities. To that end, we annually commit to provide admission assistance to Delaware Valley students who are eligible for free and reduced lunches.
Hagley Museum wants to enable as many students as possible in the Brandywine and Delaware River Valleys to experience our fun, immersive educational programs. To that end, we are pleased to provide financial assistance to offset the costs of school field trips. Scholarships are available on a first-come, first-served basis for all grade levels. All Title I schools are eligible to apply. Each school is limited to receiving up to $1,000 in financial assistance each academic year. For more information, please contact Jeff Durst, Education Program Manager at (302) 658-2400, ext. 285 or jdurst@hagley.org.
Online and Credit Card: Donations may be charged on VISA, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express. Please click HERE to make a donation or call the Development Office at (302) 658-2400 ext. 329. If you are making a gift to the Crowninshield Garden Restoration project, please use the link provided above in the Crowninshield section of this web page.
Check: Please make your check payable to Hagley Museum and Library and mail to the attention of the Development Office, P.O. Box 3630, Wilmington, DE 19807
Donor Advised Funds: Hagley is pleased to accept contributions from your Donor-Advised Fund. Please contact us for more information on this giving opportunity.
Appreciated Securities: To give a gift of stock, please ask your broker to contact the Hagley Finance Office to alert them of the transfer and to receive appropriate account numbers (302) 658-2400, ext. 213.
United Way: In addition to giving your donation directly to Hagley, you may also direct your United Way contributions through a “write in” designation. Hagley’s agency code is 11644.
Matching Gifts: Many corporations will match gifts to nonprofit institutions. Please contact your employer to see if they will match your contribution.
Pledges: Please contact Joan Thomas, Director of Development at (302) 658-2400 ext 329 or jthomas@hagley.org to request a pledge form.
For more information on any of the above ways to give, please contact the Development Office at (302) 658-2400 ext. 329.
The Hagley Audited Financial Statements are available upon request and the institution’s most recent I.R.S. Form 990 can be retrieved from GuideStar at www.guidestar.org. Hagley acknowledges all donations and does not share or sell a member/donor’s personal information with any outside organization, nor does Hagley send donor mailings on behalf of any other organizations.