'A Hidden Gem in London.'
Become a Friend of the Charles Dickens Museum and support our mission to promote Dickensian ideals of education, community and art. The only surviving home of Charles Dickens in London, the Museum reaches a wide range of audiences and offers a unique environment for the appreciation and interpretation of Dickens’s works.
Why become a Friend?
If you want to make a lasting contribution in the wider community, The Charles Dickens Museum is just the place to support. The Museum is the world’s finest collection of artefacts pertaining to one of history’s greatest philanthropists and social writers. We believe that Dickens was a great champion of citizenship, social improvement and moral responsibility, and we are dedicated to promoting his vision. Your involvement will make a real difference in this small institution, so your Friendship will go a long way.
How much does it cost?
Our Annual subscription rates are:
Individual $45
Couple at same address $60
Student $30
Benefactor $500
Corporate Benefactor $2000
How will my contributions be used by the Museum?
The American Friends of the Charles Dickens Museum organization has been set up for two purposes: to help the Museum’s ongoing curatorial and educational programmes and to sponsor specific projects. The American Friends will work jointly with the UK Friends (Est. 2004) in raising funds from annual subscriptions. Over the last three years, the UK Friends have raised over GBP6000. With these funds, they have supported the creation of new displays, the redevelopment of the garden and the educational outreach facilities. Your annual subscriptions will be added to this fund which is crucial in making the Museum a more attractive and successful organization.
Major donations enable us to make major changes: the Museum has a Future Plan in which such changes are listed as part of our Redevelopment Scheme. One of our present projects is the redevelopment of the Museum’s entrance area. Click here for our Development Proposal which has been designed to enhance the experience for visitors of the Museum. Other major development areas include access, education, conservation and interpretation. We would be happy to discuss these projects with you.
I would like to join the Friends and make a major donation. How should I do this?
You can contact the Chairman of Trustees in New York or the Director of the Charles Dickens Museum in London. Here are some guidelines for major donors:
Contributions up to $5000: you will support a purchase fund for the Museum, sponsor special restoration, display and interpretation projects and enable us to develop our educational programme
Contribution from $5000 to $50.0000: you will sponsor access-related developments, crucial environmental control and collection management schemes as well as security showcases. You can also institute a scholarship or a lecture series.
Contributions over $50.000: in addition to the previous, you can become a stakeholder in the Dickens 2012 Bicentenary project, set up an endowment for the Trust, support major building activities and provide funds for hiring specialist staff.
What are the Benefits?
As a Friend, should you visit London, you will be entitled to free admission to the Museum for yourself and two companions, and will also receive a 10% discount in the Museum shop, which will soon be online. You will receive three Newsletters a year in which we will tell you all about the latest developments at the Museum. You will receive a welcome pack when you join and have access to our exclusive Friends’ product range. We also hope to develop our website to offer you great services such as blogs, online talks and livestreams from London.
Depending on the level of your contribution your name will be recorded in the Donors’ Book, as part of displays or on plaques in the Museum.
We are also keen to offer you discounts on Dickensian events in the United States. As we are developing links with US-based institutions, we hope you will meet a Museum representative near you soon.
Are there other benefits?
Yes. The American Friends of the Charles Dickens Museum organisation is now registered as a charity with the IRS under 501(c)(3). We are therefore now able to offer a tax deduction to American citizens who contribute to the American Friends of the Charles Dickens Museum. You can set off your contribution on a 1 to 3 basis. So for every three dollars you give the AFCDM, you can reduce your tax burden with both the Federal and State governments by one dollar. The American Friends of the Charles Dickens Museum operates from an American address for legal purposes. However, if you have any queries which relate specifically to Museum events, we should be happy to deal with them from The Charles Dickens Museum, 48 Doughty Street, London WC1N 2LX.
About the Charles Dickens Museum
The Charles Dickens Museum is a charitable, independent Trust that has been set up in 1923 to create a meaningful memorial to the creator of A Christmas Carol and many other much-loved stories. Then – as today – the most valuable asset in the Museum’s operations and future planning is the support the Museum receives from its loyal visitors and benefactors. Many groups and individuals have given generously over the last 80 years to make the Museum what it is today – a place of inspiration, enjoyment and education.
We have set up the American Friends of the Charles Dickens Museum as a new platform to strengthen our links with Dickens enthusiasts in the United States of America. A great number of our visitors come from the United States, and we have strong links to US-based organizations such as the Dickens Project Santa Cruz, The Dickens Society of America and the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Massachusetts. There are also many US branches of the Dickens Fellowship, which opened the Museum in 1925. Dickens is widely taught in schools and in higher education, and annual performances of Dickens’s works keep the memory of the writer and his novels alive in the general public.
Join the Friends now and support the Charles Dickens Museum and its mission
- for the continued enjoyment and appreciation of Dickens’s works
- for the dissemination of Dickens’s educational and social vision
- for the protection of one of the greatest literary homes in England.
