The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation wants to raise $9.7 million to pay off a loan it took out to buy artifacts related to President Abraham Lincoln.
The foundation says it may need to sell some of the artifacts if it does not raise the money required to pay off the loan, which is due in 20 months.
Many of the artifacts, which include Lincoln’s stovepipe hat, are on display at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in downtown Springfield, Ill.
“If a single Lincoln artifact goes to auction, taken from the public realm, then we, as a nation are collectively diminished and must look ourselves in the mirror and take responsibility,” Carla Knorowski, CEO of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, wrote in an op-ed. “It is not any one individual’s or group’s responsibility to bear, it is all of ours to bear.”
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is not administered by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). To donate, visit gofundme.com/save-lincoln-artifacts-donate-now.