More than a half-dozen former top Democratic donors and fundraisers told NBC News they are reluctant to contribute to a presidential library for Joe Biden, presenting an early fundraising challenge for the former president’s effort to preserve his legacy.
Sources who spoke to the network — including longtime Biden supporters — said they either would not give to the library or would limit their contributions. Their reasons included a desire to reserve resources for the Democratic Party’s future, concern about becoming targets of the Trump administration and personal frustrations with Biden’s inner circle during the 2024 campaign.
Donors described residual anger within the party over Biden’s initial decision to seek re-election amid health questions that surfaced publicly last year, and his subsequent withdrawal after a widely scrutinized debate that raised questions about his mental acuity. Those developments contributed to a fraught transition that culminated in Vice President Kamala Harris winning the party’s nomination and then losing to Donald Trump in November.
"I’d like him to have some nice library," one donor told NBC News. "I just don’t see that’s where I’m going to spend my money." Personal injury lawyer John Morgan, who said he raised funds for Biden that ultimately went to Harris, told the outlet he wants an $800,000 refund and added, "I don’t believe a library will ever be built unless it’s a bookmobile from the old days." Susie Buell, identified as a major Democratic donor, said she had not been solicited and that she is "not inclined to give to libraries."
Rufus Gifford, the chairman of the Biden library board and a veteran fundraiser who led Biden’s re-election finance operation and served as a finance director for former President Barack Obama, expressed confidence that supporters will eventually back the project. "Those of us who have been around for a while and love the guy but also understand the full picture want to see what we can do to protect and promote his legacy," Gifford told NBC. "This isn’t about the past. It’s about the future."
People familiar with the plan said the library team is seeking between $200 million and $300 million to build and endow the project. By comparison, the Obama presidential library slated to open in Chicago cost about $850 million. The report also noted that Trump has raised millions for his own future library and that gifts to government property intended for a Trump foundation have drawn scrutiny from Democrats.
Fundraising sources and Democratic operatives cited a strained political environment as another hurdle. Donors who gave during Biden’s presidency told NBC they often had trouble securing access after writing checks and that they endured difficult interactions with members of his inner circle. Democratic National Committee Fundraising Chair Chris Korge told the network that donors are wary of making large gifts while Donald Trump remains a political force and said he had urged Biden and his team to prioritize library fundraising and to abandon plans to seek a second term.
The reluctance among some traditional Democratic contributors does not preclude eventual success, and fundraising leaders close to the project have signaled they will continue outreach. But the early hesitancy underscores broader tensions inside the party about how to allocate donor dollars after a bruising 2024 cycle and highlights the challenge of launching a major philanthropic campaign for a recent and still-active political figure.
The Biden library effort arrives amid competing priorities for Democratic donors, ongoing concerns about the former president’s health and age expressed by some party figures, and a political climate in which major gifts to Democratic causes may attract heightened scrutiny or reprisals. How those dynamics play out will shape whether the project can meet its stated targets and secure a permanent institutional presence to commemorate Biden’s presidency.