Our Crowdfunding Groups
Thank you for your interest in the Kessler in 4k Momentum crowdfunding project. This campaign has ended, but you can still support the Richard C. Kessler Reformation Collection Fund by making a gift here today!
And please see the update video below!
Join us in celebrating the Kessler Collection and all the learning it fosters by helping us purchase a piece of history. Your support will allow us to purchase our 4,000th item, a major, milestone acquisition for our collection. Plus every $1,000 raised will unlock a $2,000 bonus, creating a lot of momentum as we strive toward our original $25,000 goal.
The Richard C. Kessler Reformation Collection is North America’s largest repository of rare and valuable documents produced in connection with the Protestant Reformation. The collection now contains almost 4,000 pieces written by Martin Luther, his colleagues, and his opponents, all printed during their lifetimes. Supported by the vision and resources of Lutheran laypeople Richard and Martha Kessler and partners throughout the Southeastern United States, the collection is housed in Pitts Theology Library at Candler School of Theology. It provides a rich resource for scholars of the Reformation and for clergy and laity who seek to understand the history of the Christian faith through exhibitions, public programming, digitization, and research projects.
In its first 34 years, the Richard C. Kessler Reformation Collection has become one of the most significant collections of Protestant Reformation materials in the world! And we are close to reaching our 4,000th item—a number no US library comes close to.
To mark the acquisition of our 4,000th item, you can help us do something big! Your support will allow us to purchase a major, milestone acquisition for our collection. Your gift will be combined with other gifts to purchase this 4,000th item in the collection. The more we raise, the more significant an item we can acquire, and the bigger impact we can make.
Thanks to generous support from Richard C. Kessler, Pat and Doris Graham, Roy and June Wise, Dean Jan Love, and an anonymous donor, we are excited to announce our Kessler in 4K Unlock Challenge. Every $1,000 raised will unlock an additional $2,000 (up to $15,000) to help reach our original goal amount of $25,000. Please encourage others to join you in making their gift to the Kessler in 4K: Purchase a Piece of History campaign so our collective contributions will have an even greater impact towards the acquisition of our 4,000 item.
68 donors have given at least $1,500 to the Collection in its first 34 years.
There are 2,583 items in the Kessler Collection printed during Martin Luther’s lifetime (1483-1546).
You are helping us acquire the 4,000th item in the Richard C. Kessler Reformation Collection.