Celebrations are taking place across the country leading up to the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, including concerts, fairs and sporting events, with two main groups responsible for the largest festivities.
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One of them, America250, is the nonprofit supporting the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, which was established 10 years ago through an act of Congress and is led by a bipartisan group of lawmakers and private citizens. The other, Freedom 250, was established by the Trump administration as a public-private partnership by which to fund and plan events celebrating this summer’s historic anniversary.
This week, confusion about the difference between the two groups reached a fever pitch after some of the artists who were billed as performing at Freedom 250’s Great American State Fair backed out, saying they were misled about the nature of the event.
“The artists were never told about any political involvement with the event,” rapper Young MC wrote in a social media post on Wednesday. Country singer Martina McBride said she “was assured this was a nonpartisan event that was meant to celebrate ALL 50 states. Yesterday things started changing and what we were told is, in fact, not what is happening.”
Freedom 250, which labels itself as a nonpartisan nonprofit, maintained that its event wasn’t meant to be political. In a statement to NBC News on Friday, Rachel Reisner, a spokesperson for the group, said: “Freedom 250 is a nonpartisan organization singularly focused on celebrating America’s 250th anniversary and bringing Americans together around this historic milestone. From the outset, our work has reflected the unifying spirit of this moment.”
The two groups aren’t connected, but each entity says they share similar goals of putting on nonpartisan events to honor the United States’ history on its milestone birthday.
What is America250?
America250 was the group that was originally supposed to put on all the birthday celebrations.
It’s a nonpartisan, nonprofit group supporting the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, which was established by law in 2016 to “plan and orchestrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.”
The commission is led by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.; Alex Padilla, D-Calif.; and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.; and Reps. Robert Aderholt, R-Ala.; Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla.; Dwight Evans, D-Pa.; and Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J.
America250, the nonprofit arm, is led by a nonpartisan group of private citizens, including the group’s chair, former U.S. Treasurer Rosie Rios, and its executive vice president, Jennifer Condon.
So why was Freedom 250 created?
The foundation for what became Freedom 250 began as an executive order that President Donald Trump signed shortly after his second term began, with the establishment of “Task Force 250.”
In a video message in December, Trump said the “public-private partnership” was meant to fulfill his campaign pledge “to give America the most spectacular birthday party the world has ever seen for America’s 250th anniversary.”
Trump is the chair of the task force, and Vice President JD Vance serves as vice chair.
Because Freedom 250 isn’t subject to congressional oversight, the Trump administration — and aligned outside groups — have more latitude in its plans.
Who is funding these groups?
Freedom 250 and America250 are each 501(c)3 organizations, meaning they’re not required to disclose their donors, but can do so if they choose.
America250 lists its corporate sponsors on the organization’s website. They include major American corporations such as Amazon, Boeing, General Mills, FedEx, Northrop Grumman and Palantir. (Comcast NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News, is also a donor.) Under the 2016 law, the commission that oversees the nonprofit is required to submit an annual report to Congress on its activities, including funding and spending.
Freedom 250 does not list its major donors online, but has identified companies such as John Deere and Northrop Grumman as “strategic partners” to the organization. Though the organization is partnering with departments and agencies across the federal government, Freedom 250 is not subject to any sort of independent oversight.
Last year’s signature Republican legislative package, the so-called big, beautiful bill, also earmarked $150 million for events related to the 250th anniversary. Under that law, the Interior Department is responsible for distributing the funds. The bill does not mention America250 or Freedom 250.
A spokesperson for the Interior Department did not immediately respond to an NBC News request for comment about whether or how much was given to each of the two groups.
Why has Freedom 250 attracted criticism?
The split funding between the two groups has drawn questions and concerns from Democratic senators, led by Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.
In a March letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Schiff and several other Democrats questioned “whether Freedom 250 is commingling federal taxpayer dollars, including from the Department of Interior, with privately raised funds and money potentially raised from foreign sources.”
The senators added that they had serious questions about the Interior Department’s legal authority to allocate the funds.
Ethics groups, like Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, have also raised concerns about Freedom 250’s funding and whether there are conflicts of interest among some of the corporations that have donated to the group and have business before the Trump administration.
Who runs Freedom 250?
While America250 lists its organization’s leaders online, Freedom 250 does not explicitly identify who is managing the group on a day-to-day basis.
Much of the work to put on the group’s events is being done by Event Strategies Inc. and its Managing Partner Justin Caporale. ESI produced the Jan. 6, 2021, rally on the Ellipse that preceded the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Caporale is a longtime Trump ally and worked to put on some of the Trump 2024 campaign’s most memorable public events, including Trump’s visit to McDonald’s and the garbage truck photo op.
What events are backed by Freedom 250?
Freedom 250 is responsible for several major events that are scheduled to take place in Washington this summer, including the Great American State Fair on the National Mall in late June, the Salute to America fireworks celebration on July 4 and the Patriot Games later this fall.
The Patriot Games will be a physical fitness competition featuring male and female high school athletes from every state and territory, and two winners, one male and one female, will split a $250,000 grand prize.
One of Freedom 250’s signature events took place in May and was named “Rededicate 250,” a national prayer celebration that took place on the National Mall.
What events are backed by America250?
On its website, America250 is advertising America’s Block Party, a “shared celebration” across the country on July 3 and 4 that includes large and small gatherings open to the public to celebrate the spirit of the nation’s founding.
The group has also partnered with other organizations over the last year on initiatives like a “USA 250” patch that players wore at the Super Bowl in February and astronauts raising the “America 250” flag on the Artemis II mission that orbited the moon in April.
In a statement, Rios told NBC News that the group also supports local groups and other organizations involved in planning events surrounding the nation’s 250th birthday.
