Help Us Finish What We Started — and Double Your Impact

For more than 20 years, this community has worked to ensure that the story of the Japanese Americans of Bainbridge Island is permanently preserved at the place where it began.

Together, we achieved our $4.5 million capital campaign goal. Together, we broke ground on the new Visitor Center. Together, we are building a space that will educate generations about constitutional rights, civic responsibility, and the consequences of fear and prejudice.

Now, we must cross the finish line.

Due to a two-year delay in permitting, required infrastructure upgrades, inflation, and tariffs, the total cost of completing the Visitor Center has increased. We are within reach — but we need additional support to finish construction and open the doors.

Introducing the Legacy Challenge

The Legacy Families — Bainbridge Island survivors of the incarceration and their descendants — have committed a remarkable total of $300,000 to the Visitor Center Capital Campaign effort. With this commitment, they are offering matching funds to inspire others to give through the Legacy Challenge.

These Legacy Families will match all new 2026 donations, matching every new gift dollar-for-dollar — up to $300,000.

That means:

    • Your $100 gift becomes $200

    • Your $1,000 gift becomes $2,000

    • Your $25,000 gift becomes $50,000

    Every contribution is doubled. Every gift moves us closer to opening day.

    Why Now Matters

    The survivors of the 1942 exclusion are in their 80s and 90s. Many have stood at the Point of Departure and shared their stories so that future generations might understand what happened here.

    This Visitor Center is not simply a building.
    It is a promise.

    A promise that we will tell this story truthfully.
    A promise that we will confront injustice.
    A promise that we will educate and convey why it is imperative that we — let it not happen again.

    With your help, we can fulfill that promise while those who lived this history are still here to see it. Now more than ever, it matters.

    Be Part of the Legacy

    Your gift today will:

    • Complete construction of the Visitor Center, amphitheater, and plaza

    • Expand educational programming for students and visitors

    • Provide year-round interpretation at the Memorial

    • Ensure the story of Bainbridge Island’s Japanese American community is preserved for generations

    This is our moment to finish what so many began.

    Make your gift today — and have it doubled through the Legacy Challenge –> bijaema.org/donate