Biden legacy imperiled as presidential library project reportedly plagued by anemic fundraising

Efforts to enshrine former President Joe Biden’s time in office with a presidential library have been imperiled by lackluster fundraising, according to The New York Times.

Biden’s library foundation told the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) it anticipates raking in only $11.3 million by the end of 2027, which is not nearly enough money to build the traditional legacy and records management project for each of the nation’s chief executives, The New York Times reported. The IRS filings also reportedly show the organization failed to garner any new donations in 2024, the final year of Biden’s sole term in office. Instead, it was seeded solely with $4 million remaining from his inauguration in 2021, according to the outlet.

A spokesperson for the Biden presidential library foundation did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

The library foundation declined to say the amount of money it raised in 2025, but claimed Biden was just now starting to actively fundraise for the project, The New York Times reported. Moreover, Biden’s aides said they have a goal of eventually raising $200 million for the project, according to the outlet.

In part due to the lackluster fundraising, talks have recently been taking place about merging a potential Biden presidential library with pre-existing Biden-affilated institutions located at the University of Delaware, the outlet reported, citing four anonymous sources familiar with the matter.

Additionally, some Democratic donors have admitted they would be skeptical about the prospect of donating money for Biden’s presidential library — even if Biden asked them directly — because they are either instead prioritizing combating President Donald Trump’s agenda or still have issues with Biden’s sole term as president.

John Morgan, a longtime Democratic donor, told The New York Times he would not shell out even “a penny” for Biden’s presidential library, citing being treated poorly by some members of the former president’s staff.

“The Biden staff, they ruined any type of good library for him,” Morgan told the outlet. “He’ll be lucky to have a bookmobile.”

Kelly Scully, a spokeswoman for Biden, told the outlet “we continue to be in an exploratory and planning phase.” Biden is set to attend the first fundraiser event related to his presidential library project Monday, the outlet reported Dec. 4.

Former President Barack Obama announced in a recent social media post that his Chicago presidential center is set to open June 2026. Trump told reporters in October he thought Obama’s stalled presidential library project was “not too pretty.”

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