Exploring the American Story Starts Here
The Briscoe Center for American History is an organized research unit of The University of Texas at Austin. As one of the leading historical research centers in the United States, the Briscoe Center’s essential purpose is to collect and preserve primary source material documenting American history for use in teaching and research.
Studying original material in the archives provides a valuable learning experience like few others. Students, scholars, and visitors can examine primary sources to form questions, seek evidence, and deepen their understanding. Trained to glean facts from historical documents and photographs, historians in particular rely on the center’s collections to write objective narratives, ensuring the discussions concerning American ideas, identities, origins, and values remain rooted in evidence. The Briscoe Center’s expert staff assists our guests in their exploration of the American story.
The Briscoe Center receives 35% of its annual operating support from the university. 60% of the center’s operating funds comes from our incredible community of donors in the form of endowment earnings and both unrestricted and restricted gifts and grants. The remaining 5% of the budget is earned from fees for services. The generosity of alumni and friends ensures the Briscoe Center can advance its leadership in collection development, teaching, research, and projects.
Your gift, whether for immediate or future use, provides vital resources to benefit tens of thousands of students, faculty, independent scholars, writers, filmmakers, genealogists, and history enthusiasts who depend on the Briscoe Center to learn about the past so they can understand the present and prepare for the future.
The Briscoe Center does great work. With your help, more can be done.
History Now Fund
Your gift, in any amount, to the center’s History Now Fund has the ability to make a big difference. Combined with other gifts, you provide vital resources that ensure the Briscoe Center can address mission-critical needs, create bold, new opportunities, and sustain core programming. Your gift to the History Now Fund will be used immediately to help students, scholars, researchers, and visitors access the center’s vast archives in person and online.
It starts with you. Give now.
Director’s Circle
Director’s Circle members are the cornerstone of the Briscoe Center’s History Now Fund. Members make leadership gifts of $1,000 or more each year to provide important resources for the Briscoe Center and give Dr. Don Carleton, Executive Director and J. R. Parten Chair in the Archives of American History, the flexible funds necessary to advance the center’s strategic priorities.
The Director’s Circle has five leadership giving levels. We invite you to join this distinguished group of supporters as a new Director’s Circle member or by renewing your commitment this year.
Learn more about how you can join the Director’s Circle and help support the Briscoe Center’s mission.
Giving opportunities
You can direct your philanthropic gifts to benefit a particular collection, project, or museum at the center that holds special meaning for you or your family. Perhaps, you want to “pay it forward” by investing in the next generation with a gift supporting a student internship or research fellowship at the center. Or, you may prefer to help build the foundation for the center’s future success by supporting a professional staff position or evolving technology at the center.
Your philanthropic support of priority projects and initiatives in one or more of the center’s five pillars of collection development, teaching, research, projects, and historic sites serves as the cornerstone of the center’s success.
Learn more about giving to priority projects at the Briscoe Center.
Many ways to give
You can make a gift for immediate use to help support the Briscoe Center’s mission or to benefit the center in perpetuity. You can fund your gift to the Briscoe Center now, with a pledge, or defer payment until later through your estate using a variety of funding strategies that benefit the center, address your personal financial needs and help you achieve your philanthropic goals.
Learn more about the many ways to give to the Briscoe Center.