How much money does it take to run a historic site like Historic Richmond Town? The answer is almost $2 million a year. Where in the world does it come from? Well, the City of New York gives us a lot (49% to be exact) and we have to make or raise the rest. Some of it comes from people renting space. Some of it comes from regular and special event admission fees paid. Some it comes from sales on merchandise and profit from food and drinks sold at events. The rest of it (about $400,000) is “raised” by the development department. Raising money means asking people to buy memberships, sponsor an exhibition or an event, leave us a donation in their will, come to our events and spend money, or simply contribute to the cause.

How do you raise $400,000 in this economy? Well, it’s hard. The most important thing to do is ASK. We ask people every day to give to Historic Richmond Town in some way.

Historic Richmond Town is truly an incredible place. Not only do we have the only complete living history village in New York City, but we have a vast collection of over 60,000 artifacts and offer family programs, free days, school tours, and fun special events. It takes a lot of money to deliver these services to the Staten Island community. So the next time you enjoy something at Historic Richmond Town, we ask that you consider donating to keep this place running!

Help us preserve staten island’s history!

We have established a legacy program to recognize community members who have documented an intended bequest or other planned gifts with an estimated value of $100,000 or more. These planned gifts could be through a will or a trust; IRA or donor advised fund account beneficiary designation; life insurance policy beneficiary designation; or a payable on death account at a bank or brokerage firm.