America250PA’s 2024-25 Semiquincentennial Grants
America250PA, with generous funding support from Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and the Pennsylvania Legislature, is proud to award $1 million in grant funding across two grant periods during our 2024-25 Fiscal Year. The Semiquincentennial Grants are intended to create, uplift, improve, and expand programming, projects, and events from eligible Pennsylvania communities and organizations, which contribute to a full calendar of activities, engaging every single Pennsylvanian, around the 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
America250PA (A250PA) is Pennsylvania’s official Commission charged with planning and coordinating all of the programming, projects and events around the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026. We are currently scheduling and implementing a series of programs and events focused on Educating, Preserving, Innovating, and Celebrating everything that makes Pennsylvania what it is: from our natural and political past and origins; to the people, industry, and organizations that make up our neighbors and communities; to the incredible sights and sounds Pennsylvania provides and Pennsylvanians create; all the way to laying a solid groundwork for our children, for future generations, and for the next 250 years.
Semiquincentennial Grant Periods
Grant Period 1
Application Open: November 1 - December 15, 2024
Awards Announced: January 15, 2025
Grant Period 2
Application Open: April 1 –May 15, 2025
Awards Announced: June 15, 2025
*More details coming soon
Grant Period 1 Awardees
America250PA is proud to award $490,000 in Semiquin Grants to 33 communities and organizations across Pennsylvania!
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Amwell Township - $10,000 Arch Street Meeting House Preservation Trust – $5,000 Art Sphere Inc. – $5,000 ArtPhilly of CultureTrust Greater Philadelphia– $20,000 Bucks County Children’s Museum – $20,000 City of Pittsburgh – $20,000 Durham Historical Society – $5,000 Endless Mountain Music Festival – $20,000 Fort Ligonier Association – $20,000 Franklin County Visitors Bureau Inc. – $20,000 Friends of the Tanner House c/o Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia - $20,000 Friends of Washington Crossing Park - $20,000 Gather Place - $20,000 Jack Miller Center for Teaching America’s Founding Principles And History - $20,000 Lower Paxton Community Foundation - $20,000 Main Line Art Center - $10,000 Mann Center for the Performing Arts - $20,000 |
Mercer County Historical Society and Museum - $5,000 Military Heritage Foundation - $5,000 New Castle Public Library - $5,000 Nicholas Newlin Foundation - $5,000 Old Bedford Village, Inc - $20,000 Pennsylvania Educational Communications System - $20,000 Railroaders Heritage Corporation - $20,000 Rockledge 4th of July Parade Association - $10,000 The Carpenters' Company of the City and County of Philadelphia - $20,000 The Mill at Anselma Preservation and Educational Trust, Inc. - $10,000 Union County Veterans' 4th of July Committee, Inc. - $20,000 Valley Forge Convention and Visitors Bureau, LTD - $5,000 Visit Lebanon Valley - $10,000 Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History - $20,000 Westmoreland County PA - $20,000 Wilma Theater - $20,000 |
With nearly six times the available funding requested, this was an incredibly competitive grant cycle. We sincerely thank everyone who applied and encourage those who did not receive funding to reapply during our Spring Grant period from April 1 – May 15, 2025.
FAQ
Q - Who can apply for a Semiquin Grant?
A - Any Pennsylvania municipal entity, County, or Pennsylvania Registered Nonprofit Organization is eligible to apply for Semiquin Grant funding.
Q - What is the regional breakdown that America250PA uses for the Semiquincentennial Grants?
A - Please see our regional breakdown here.
Q - How much funding can an organization receive?
A - A250PA will be awarding grants in $5,000; $10,000; and $20,000 increments. Organizations are only eligible to receive one Semiquin Grant per Fiscal Year. Organizations that receive a grant must provide one-to-one, private, match funding for their project. This means, A250PA will only fund a maximum of 50% of a project’s budget.
Q - What can Semiquincentennial Grant funds be used for?
A - Semiquin Grants can be put toward expenses for programming, projects or events that connect to America250PA's Themes and Platforms. Grants CAN NOT be used for brick-and-mortar infrastructure expenses. No more than 10% of grant funding can be applied to Staffing/Personnel Funding.
Q - What funding priorities does America250PA have?
A - Pennsylvania is a large state and A250PA is committed to supporting an equally large breadth of organizations and projects. Our four themes are Education; Preservation; Innovation; and Celebration. We are focusing these themes through 12 platforms, which touch on the entire spectrum of life in Pennsylvania. The Semiquin Grant asks applicants to reflect on and explain how their project is connected to one or more of these themes and platforms.
Q - What other focuses will America250PA use to help determine awardees?
A - A250PA is prioritizing programs, projects and/or events that demonstrate meaningful collaboration. This could mean two or more organizations collaborating to make the program, project or event possible, a significant public-private partnership, or in-depth public engagement showcasing community buy-in and input. Additionally, the Selection Committee will give additional weight to applications that provide specific plans for capturing metrics that demonstrate the impact of the project.
Q - What is the Grant Period for awarded grants?
A - All awarded grant funds must be expended by July 31, 2026. A final report will be due on September 30, 2026 or within one month of the completion of your program, project, or event. If your program, project or event will take more than 12 months to complete, America250PA will require a Progress Report to be submitted at the one-year mark.
Contact
If you have more questions or would like to set up a meeting to discuss your program, project or event proposal, please reach out to Christian Cassidy-Amstutz, Strategic Initiatives & Grants Manager at Christian@America250PA.org.
*Note - The America250PA Grant Review Committee will try to distribute grant funds evenly between America250PA’s six regions unless one or more regions has fewer qualifying grant applications compared to other regions.