Carnegie Libraries 250: Celebrating Libraries and Community

In celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, the Andrew Carnegie Foundation has awarded $25 million in grants to support public libraries, civic participation, constructive dialogue, and arts and cultural programming.

Anchoring the 250th anniversary grants is Carnegie Libraries 250, an initiative that provided $10,000 unrestricted gifts to each of the 1,353 Carnegie Libraries still operating in the United States — a $13,530,000 investment for them to use however they wish to celebrate America’s 250th. For example, a library in Vermillion, South Dakota, is restoring the windows of its historic building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Another in Ticonderoga, New York, is creating a new children’s space and a dedicated room for its Adirondack and local history collections. In Long Branch, New Jersey, a library is using its gift to fund a full year of community programming to celebrate the anniversary.

Investing in American Civic Life

In addition to Carnegie Libraries, the 250th grants support organizations that foster civic participation and bring people together. This includes exchange programs between people in urban and rural areas, cultural events that reach new audiences, and civic education initiatives that engage the next generation of Americans.

• Carnegie Hall: Through “United in Sound: America at 250,” producing concerts across New York City celebrating the full range of American musical traditions — from jazz and hip-hop to classical and Broadway — and commissioning more than 20 new works premiering as part of the festival ($1,000,000)
• Faith and Politics Institute: Convening bipartisan members of Congress for a civil rights tour commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and investing in opportunities for cross-partisan dialogue and relationship-building among elected leaders ($100,000)
• Jack Miller Center: Through the Teaching America250 Awards, recognizing one outstanding civics educator in each state with a $5,000 award to develop projects — field trips, assemblies, community art, and more — that bring America’s founding principles to life in their classrooms ($450,000)
• Museum of the City of New York: Supporting education programs tied to “The Occupied City: New York and the American Revolution,” an exhibition challenging the notion that New York played a minor role in the Revolution and spotlighting the diverse individuals who shaped the city and the nation ($300,000)
• New York Historical: Expanding civic and history education programs for students and teachers, and launching “On Our 250th,” a digital project inviting Americans to share their hopes for American democracy in commemoration of the nation’s 250th anniversary ($400,000)
• New York Public Library: For “Declaring America: 1776 and Beyond,” a four-gallery exhibition at the Schwarzman Building featuring highlights from NYPL’s world-class collections — including Thomas Jefferson’s handwritten copy of the Declaration of Independence — commemorating the nation’s 250th anniversary ($500,000)
• New York Public Library: Through “Teen Voices: America’s 250th,” inviting young people ages 13–18 across 89 branch libraries to submit stories, essays, poems, and art reflecting on what America means to them, published in print and digital formats ($200,000)
• Perelman Performing Arts Center: Supporting the Democracy Cycle Festival at the World Trade Center site, using the arts to promote dialogue, pluralism, and democratic participation in commemoration of both the nation’s 250th anniversary and the 25th anniversary of September 11 ($250,000)
• The Silk Road Project: Through the “American Railroad Project,” commissioning new music and touring programs that illuminate the impact of the transcontinental railroad on the communities it displaced and those who built it, culminating in a free concert on the National Mall on Juneteenth 2026 ($500,000)
• Villa Albertine: As part of its America’s 250th anniversary programming, launching the Lafayette Fellowships to send an annual cohort of up to 30 U.S. scholars to pursue a year of study in France ($500,000)