Nonprofits and companies plan community service and patriotic events for U.S. 250th anniversary

Nonprofits and companies are preparing nationwide community-service drives and patriotic brand activations for the United States' 250th anniversary. The official America250 commission, formed by Congress in 2016, launched the America Gives initiative to track volunteer hours through partner nonprofits.

A separate Freedom 250 nonprofit, created by President Donald Trump late last year, is running alternative programming including a Great American State Fair.

Competing programs and public response The two commissions have produced separate logos and events. America250 founding sponsor Walmart is operating a mobile recording studio to collect oral histories for the Library of Congress. Coca-Cola is running a public-art project called Paint the Nation and issuing commemorative mini-cans for all 50 states plus Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. A recent AP-NORC survey found fewer Americans view the country as exceptional compared with 10 years ago.

Views of the American flag are divided by politics, age, and race.

Volunteer tracking and participation challenges The America Gives tracker recorded just over 38 million volunteer hours entering the holiday weekend. An AmeriCorps analysis of Census Bureau data showed Americans recorded 4.99 billion service hours in the 2022-2023 period.

Salvation Army USA National Commander Merle Heatwole said some potential participants have avoided the program over uncertainty about political connections. America250 Chair Rosie Rios said many partners record hours at the end of the year. Marketing consultant Allen Adamson said two competing logos create confusion for brands.