Call for Proposals: Leave a Legacy, Commemorate the 250th Anniversary of American Independence in 2026 – May 2

Posted by PHILADELPHIA250 on February 22, 2022

Share your bold ideas and projects for a stronger and more equitable Philadelphia to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence in 2026.

The “Leave a Legacy” public call has launched and PHILADELPHIA250 wants to hear from as many Philadelphians as possible. The submission process is easy and accessible for all teams, individuals, community groups, for-profit companies, entrepreneurs and nonprofits, with no fee to apply. All project development stages will be considered: conceptual, emerging or early-stage, trial-stage or an existing project.

Specifically, PHILADELPHIA250 is interested in projects that will bring about positive impact in the following ways and exemplify the organization’s four key values:

• Improve the quality of life in neighborhoods (Shared Prosperity)
• Spark civic action to address injustices and inequities (Revolutionary Actions)
• Amplify diverse and inclusive stories of our people (People’s Histories)
• Celebrate our individual or collective passions and pastimes (Pursuit of Happiness)

Key benefits for successful call applicants include: access to a portion of $125,0000 to develop their project idea with a team of advisors; recognition and promotion through the PHILADELPHIA250 network and in 2026 when all eyes are on Philly; and robust networking access.

Learn more about the “Leave a Legacy” public call by visiting philadelphia250.us/leave-a-legacy if you are interested in submitting a project. Additionally, if you know of any other organizations’ projects or ideas that may be a good fit for this, please kindly share the information with them.

Semi-finalists will receive access to a portion of $125,000 in seed capital to develop their project idea with a team of advisors. There is no lengthy proposal process and no application fee.

More than 100 people joined PHILADELPHIA250 in person and online to learn more about the Leave a Legacy public call on February 16. The event kicked off with an in-depth conversation on reimagining anniversary milestones with bright insights from panelists: Cathy Cahill (The Mann), Danielle DiLeo Kim (PHILADELPHIA250), Paul Farber (Monument Lab), Tya Winn (Community Design Collaborative) and moderator, Roxanne Patel Shepelavy (Philadelphia Citizen). Attendees were also able to take part in an interactive information workshop that allowed participants to connect with both the call’s project manager and other submission participants to ideate and learn more about each person’s respective project ideas. To watch Leave a Legacy Kickoff and Panel Event, click here.

Preliminary Review Deadline: May 2, 2022

Submit here.