“There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt

It’s been a year of profound change and challenge for all of us. Throughout American history, there have been many challenges but through it all, there is one constant: we are stronger when we are united behind a common cause.

A year ago, when we were unsure what the future held for us as an organization, you made it abundantly clear: you were united with us to ensure the future of preserving the past. You contributed, you visited, you became members, and you took part in our experiences.

You stepped up in so many ways to keep our mission alive and thereby ensured we would continue to go forward.

You showed your commitment, and for that we thank you.

But as shown within the exhibits here at the American Heritage Museum, the future is not preserved through a single victory or a single deed. It takes an ongoing effort from many people to keep America strong, and it takes the same efforts from many to keep our mission of preserving history alive.

That is why we ask for your help this year – we ask you to make the American Heritage Museum and the Collings Foundation a part of your year-end giving in any way you can.

Your support has helped us adapt to changes and move forward. Your dedication to the Collings Foundation has supported the continuing restoration of the B-17 Flying Fortress s/n 44-83785 and accomplish the necessary work to resume the Wings of Freedom Tour in the future. Through your generous support of the American Heritage Museum, we added new special living history weekends through the summer, developed new tank and armor experiences, designed new educational outreach programs for schools, and have started to plan for future expansions and growth in the coming years that will ensure new generations of Americans embrace our shared heritage.

Through all the challenges and changes, you have kept us moving forward. Will you help us maintain this positive direction over the coming year? We invite you to consider becoming an even more important part of our mission now, as a contributor to our annual fund.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE

YOUR SUPPORT GOES FARTHER
Your financial support to the Collings Foundation and the American Heritage Museum goes directly to the living history programs and efforts that make a difference. Through the efforts of a small staff, a large team of dedicated volunteers, and little overhead, you can be sure that every penny is put to work and your dollar makes more of a difference! As we are not associated with any branch of service or government organization, it is your support alone that will support projects including:

• Final construction of the hauntingly important POW / MIA Exhibit within the Vietnam War Gallery of the American Heritage Museum including original cells of the “Hanoi Hilton” (Hỏa Lò Prison) where many of our prisoners of war suffered for years in isolation.
• Restorations of new historic aircraft and vehicles donated in the past year including: deHavilland Mosquito, Heinkel HE-111, M36 Jackson tank destroyer, and preservation of materials including the Parks Collection of World War One Aviation artifacts and uniforms of famous WWI aviators including the Lafayette Escadrille donated this past year.
• Expansion of our educational programs for schools like the Travelling WWI Model-T Ambulance Exhibit, our American Heritage Museum Field Trip Support Fund, and our Educational Endowment to fund outreach and resources for schools and students, supporting education in Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM), and history.

Over the past 40+ years, our programs have allowed history to come alive for millions around the United States, including yourself. You can help us do the same for millions more that will touch future generations of Americans.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE

YOUR SUPPORT MEANS MORE THAN EVER
We appreciate that many of our supporters like you have gone through significant challenges over the past year, but we sincerely hope you will consider the Collings Foundation and the American Heritage Museum in your year-end giving plans. Your financial support means more than ever as we continue to move forward and grow… keeping our mission alive. See the information at the bottom of this email for donation options. Thank you again for being a friend and loyal supporter of our shared mission.

Best regards,
Rob Collings

Your generous support in 2021 kept the Collings Foundation and the American Heritage Museum moving forward in many ways. We accomplished an enormous amount even with the challenges we still experience as a nation. Imagine what we can do in 2022!

RESTORATION & EXHIBIT COMPLETIONS
We have completed a number of restorations and exhibits to enhance the American Heritage Museum for our visitors. Here are some of the large artifact additions.

• Completion of the German Panzer I Tank and Placement in the War Clouds Gallery.
• Placement of the F6F Hellcat and P-40B Tomahawk in the American Heritage Museum Pacific War Gallery.
• Completion of the Original WWI Nieuport 28 Fighter with Return to Flight in 2022.
• Completion of the German WWI Minenwerfer Trench Mortar.
• Click here to help us complete more projects in 2022!

ONGOING RESTORATIONS & PROJECTS
We continue to work closer to completion on many of our aircraft restoration projects for inclusion in the American Heritage Museum as well as our Collings Foundation national outreach programs.

• New Nose Turret and Blister Turrets on WWII PBY-5A Catalina Project to Return to Flight.
• Final Assembly and Painting of Focke Wulf FW-190 “White 1” German WWII Fighter.
• Continuing Wing Spar Work on B-17 Flying Fortress Project Toward Flying Status.
• Repair and Repaint of Grumman Goose to WWII Coast Guard Markings.
• Working to Complete Restoration on Dual-Control P-51C Mustang “Stars Look Down”.
• Click here to help us finish these restorations and add more to the queue. 

LIVING HISTORY EVENTS
As our visitor numbers return to more normal levels, many of our living history events returned to the American Heritage Museum this year and we also added a number of new events to keep history alive for our visitors! We look forward to having many more in our 2022 season at the American Heritage Museum!

• Battle for the Airfield WWII Re-Enactment Weekend with Record Attendance.
• Military History Through the Ages Weekend Featuring Re-Enactors from Wars of All Eras.
• New Tank Demo Weekends with Operating Tanks Driving on the Field.
• Return of the Race of the Century and Father’s Day Weekend Event Featuring Our Auto Collection & More!
• Click here to support our 2022 events and help us add even more!

EDUCATION & VETERAN OUTREACH
These are both core focuses to our mission and though the effects of the pandemic were still felt in these areas, we moved forward educate our youth and honor our veterans.

• Donation of WWI Ford Model T Ambulance for On-Campus School Outreach Programs.
• Growth of School Field Trip Fund to Support School Trips to the American Heritage Museum.
• Development of the POW/MIA Exhibit with Interviews of Vietnam POWs of the ‘Hanoi Hilton’.
• Numerous Programs Featuring WWII Veterans including 1000 visitors honoring 57 vets at “The Rifle” book signing event at the AHM.
• Click here to make a donation to help support more of these outreach programs. 

NEW ARTIFACTS & PROJECTS
Because the work of preserving our past is never finished, we have added new artifacts and projects to greatly enhance our exhibits with historic, original aircraft, vehicles, and collections to help us tell the story of our shared American heritage.

• WWII M36 Jackson Tank Destroyer Being Restored at the AHM for Tank Experiences.
• New German He-111 WWII Bomber Restoration Project Starting in 2022.
• SBD Dauntless Going on Display in January.
• Donation of the Parks Collection of Rare Artifacts from Famous WWI Aviators.
• New deHavilland Mosquito Restoration Project Begins in 2022.
• Click here to help us get these projects started this year!

PLEASE MAKE YOUR YEAR-END GIFT TODAY
Your support keeps our mission alive, this year and many years into the future! We encourage you to make your year-end contribution to help propel us into 2022. You may make it in multiple ways:

1. Online – Click this link to make a contribution with your credit card through our safe portal powered by Blackbaud.
2. By Mail – Click on this link to print and fill out our donation form to send in a check or money order donation toward our Annual Fund.
3. By Phone – Call us at 978-562-9182 from Monday through Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm Eastern Time to make a credit card donation by phone.
4. Stock / Securities – If you are interested in making an appreciated stock or securities donation, please email Ryan Keough, Director of Development for transfer details at rkeough@collingsfoundation.org.

Remember that the CARES Act and Consolidated Appropriations Act in 2021 have provided enhancements to charitable contributions in 2020 and 2021. For non-itemizers who take the standard deduction, these acts provide a deduction for cash donations of up to $300 ($600 for joint returns for 2021). They also eliminated the limit on cash gifts of individuals to public charities such as the American Heritage Museum. This means that your gift not only supports our mission, but may also help your personal tax filing this year.

Your donation is tax-deductible as provided by law. The American Heritage Museum (EIN: 47-1954671) and the Collings Foundation (EIN: 04-2658294) are both 501(c) qualified charitable organizations.