Colonial Williamsburg launches $600M campaign
Funds will support projects leading to nation’s 250th birthday
WILLIAMSBURG — The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation launched a fundraising campaign ahead of the nation’s 250th birthday celebrations.
Last weekend, the organization initiated its $600 million Power of Place campaign, which “is designed to support several projects that inform and inspire people across the country and around the globe in the lead-up to 2026.”
The foundation’s 100th anniversary also will be celebrated in 2026, inspiring the full title of the campaign: The Power of Place — The Centennial Campaign for Colonial Williamsburg.
The campaign will support The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s preservation, education and civic engagement work, the release said.
According to the foundation, the $600 million goal was broken down into how much would go toward different branches of Colonial Williamsburg’s work. About $150 million will be invested in preservation work, $250 million will go toward education projects, $80 million toward civic engagement and $120 million toward the Colonial Williamsburg Fund.
Some of the projects include the preservation of places such as the Capitol, Governor’s Palace and Raleigh Tavern as well as restoration and reconstruction of sites such as the Williamsburg Bray School, Historic First Baptist Church and the new archaeology center. The organization also plans to digitize its collection and become the largest digital U.S. history museum.
Colonial Williamsburg’s 301-acre Historic Area is home to 89 original buildings, 225 period rooms and over 600 buildings restored or reconstructed based on archaeological, architectural and documentary research.
In January 2020, the leadership phase of the campaign began, and the organization has already raised more than $325 million toward the overall $600 million goal, the release said. The campaign is projected to conclude in 2027.
“The early success of this campaign proves that there is an appetite for history told completely and truthfully, and no organization is better positioned to provide that than Colonial Williamsburg,” Carly Fiorina, board chair of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, said in the release.