We’re not only preserving history at Finlandia Foundation National. We’re making it! And you can help.

An anonymous donor who’s passionate about Finnish-American history and genealogy has pledged to match all donations to the Finnish American Heritage Center through the end of 2025 up to $100,000.

All funds contributed through this effort – which has earned the name “Making History Challenge” – will support the Heritage Center and its ongoing mission to not only preserve the countless archival pieces that help us tell the Finnish immigrants’ story, but also our plans of eventual expansion, digitization and further strengthening our support of Finns and their legacies across the United States.

Time is of the essence. The folks who’ve heard the immigrant stories – and those who lived them – won’t be around forever, but the impact they’ve made here can be if it’s preserved in our archive and displayed in our exhibit spaces. We’ve been preserving and promoting Finnish-American history since the 1930s, and we’re not going to stop now.

The Finnish American Heritage Center is here to stay, and we’re ready for the next steps. Walk alongside us, to the extent you’re able, as we face this challenge of growth and expansion with the same sisu our immigrant forefathers used as they began a new life for themselves and their descendants in this country.

Thank you for helping us make history!

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

In March 2023, the Finnish-American community faced a turning point. When Finlandia University announced its closure, Finlandia Foundation National (FFN) convened an emergency meeting and made a bold commitment: to preserve the heart and heritage of Finnish America.

Through the Saving Finland in America (SFIA) initiative, launched that same year, FFN set out to safeguard the cornerstone institutions once owned and operated by Finlandia University and housed at the Finnish American Heritage Center: the Historical Archives, the Finnish American Folk School, Finlandia Art Gallery, The Finnish American Reporter, and North Wind Books.

The campaign’s goals were ambitious:

• Purchase the Finnish American Heritage Center and North Wind Books
• Establish a $1 million endowment to secure their future
• Preserve and expand access to the Finnish American Historical Archive

We were able to achieve the first two goals. The buildings have been purchased, and the endowment is established — ensuring that our beloved heritage will be preserved and enjoyed for generations to come. Over the course of the SFIA campaign, more than 900 supporters stepped forward in an extraordinary show of generosity, raising more than $5 million to protect and sustain these cherished institutions.

We’re working to find the best path forward for digitization of the archive collections; this will be a multi-layered process, but we must do it right rather than do it quickly. Digitizing a collection that was built nearly 100 years ago will take far longer than 100 weeks, or even 100 months. But we will fulfill our promise to Finnish America; we will achieve that goal. And we’ll keep you updated along the way.

The challenge is clear: Double the impact. Preserve the past. Build the future.

Join us in the Making History Challenge today.

To learn more, email office@finlandiafoundation.org or call 626-795-2081.
To make your contribution now, use the form below.

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