Support the Filson
The Filson is privately supported. Federal grants come and go (we lost a Museums for America grant in April 2025). Members and donors are the floor everything else stands on. Six ways to give, ranging from $30 to a planned legacy gift.
What your gift makes possible
142
years of continuous collecting
Since May 15, 1884.
70+
educational programs annually
Lectures, dialogues, school visits, the Filson Institute.
18,000+
visitors and researchers a year
In the reading room, in the galleries, on tour, in classrooms.
Source: The Filson Historical Society
Give now
Annual Fund gifts go where the Society needs them most. One-time or recurring (become a History Sustainer with a monthly gift). Every gift is tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law — the Filson is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Six paths
Different gifts answer different questions: What does the Society need this year? Which collection do I want to underwrite? What do I want my legacy to look like? Each of the six paths below is real, named, and active.
Unrestricted
Every-dollar support for the work that shows up in the reading room, in the galleries, in the lecture hall, and in K–12 classrooms across Kentucky. Annual Fund gifts are the most flexible — they fund whatever the Society needs most that year.
Give to the Annual Fund$30 – $500
Six tiers from Educator ($30) through Sustainer ($500). Members get free reading-room access, the quarterly Filson newsmagazine, the peer-reviewed Ohio Valley History journal, and (Family and above) NARM reciprocal admission to 1,200+ museums.
Become a member$1,000+
The Filson’s annual leadership-giving society. Four named tiers (Shelby, Clark, Filson, York) from $1,000 to $10,000+. Includes invitations to private collection viewings and (at York) an annual dinner with the President and CEO.
Explore the 1884 SocietyObject-level conservation
Underwrite the conservation of a specific item from the collection — a Civil War uniform, a 19th-century photograph, an architectural drawing. Your gift covers cleaning, stabilization, archival housing, and the staff time to make the object research-ready.
See the artifactsPlanned giving
Gifts of estate, IRA distribution, life insurance, and charitable trusts — the gifts that have kept the Filson open for 142 years. Members of the Thruston Legacy Circle are recognized in the Society’s permanent rolls.
Learn about legacy givingBusinesses
Sponsorships, in-kind partnerships, and named program underwriting. Corporate partners are recognized at Filson events and in the quarterly newsmagazine. We’ll work with your team on the right level and the right program fit.
Email Brenna CundiffSignature events
Each fall, the Filson’s House Tour and Sporting Clay Classic bring members and supporters together — and underwrite the year’s programs.
32nd annual · Sept 27, 2026
Presented by Baird. Members tour four to six private historic homes in greater Louisville — one afternoon, one ticket, properties never otherwise open to the public.
Learn more →
Oct 30, 2026 · Ashbourne Farms
An intimate, exclusive event for Filson business supporters and community partners — presented by Tyler S. Thompson. Lunch features a Mel Hankla presentation on the Kentucky long rifle.
Learn more →
From the Development team
Major and planned gifts deserve a conversation, not a checkout flow. Brenna Cundiff, the Filson’s Director of Development, walks every donor through their options — restricted vs. unrestricted, immediate vs. legacy, named vs. anonymous — before any paperwork moves.
Other ways to give
The Filson Historical Society Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, tax-exempt since March 1942 — EIN 61-0444690. All gifts are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.