Dear Friends,

We hate asking for help, but we need it. And we’re hoping that as you make donations this giving season you’ll consider us. We don’t need to tell you that history is important, for so many reasons. But, unfortunately, history isn’t free.

Here at the Gotham Center, we believe strongly in the mission of New York City’s public university (CUNY), our institutional sponsor: to deliver high-quality education to all, not just the few. But that requires support. And in recent years we have lost a great deal of traditional public financing.

For nearly twenty years, our institution has been at the forefront of advancing scholarly and public understanding of New York City’s rich and living past, delivering a wealth of educational programming – over 200 panel discussions, book talks, film premieres, and interviews; workshops for almost 7500 teachers; conferences and seminars; an ever-growing website; research directories; publications; a blog… you name it. All free of charge. And we are currently pursuing funds to underwrite a bevy of new programming that will go even further – much further. But we cannot accomplish these goals without you.

Would you help us meet our January 1st goal of raising $10,000, to keep us going? We know you are probably exhausted with requests to donate at this time of year, but consider this: in a very crowded institutional landscape, there is no other academic institution exclusively devoted to promoting this critical field of study. We are unique. Your support will help us reach ever-larger, new audiences.

Please, if you are not able to give at this time, consider forwarding this request to someone who can. And, as ever, thank you for your support.

Peter-Christian Aigner, Deputy Director
Mike Wallace, Advisory Board Chairman