By David Harmer, National Director of Founding Forward
With Americans becoming increasingly partisan and civic literacy at an all-time low, Founding Forward has stepped into the gap as the leader in civic education. Established on January 1, 2024, Founding Forward is a marvelous paradox: a brand-new organization with a rich 162-year history, a forward-looking enterprise ensuring a future firmly rooted in America’s founding.
Founding Forward merged two great civic education organizations—The Union League Legacy Foundation and Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge—and combined their strengths. With renewed vigor and urgency, Founding Forward is promoting an informed and inclusive patriotism.
We teach American history, warts and all. At the same time, we teach that America was founded on the ideals of unalienable rights, equality before the law, and individual freedom—and that the American experiment is an ongoing journey toward fulfilling those ideals for all.
Additionally, Founding Forward unites the teaching potential of two preeminent sites of the American Revolution: Philadelphia and Valley Forge. Philadelphia, where 56 Founding Fathers put their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor on the line by signing the Declaration of Independence, and where the Constitution that made America a nation was debated and ratified. And Valley Forge, the crucible of the Revolution, where the Continental Army, verging on dissolution, fell heir to its finest example of character and courage in General Washington.
We foster responsible citizenship. Plenty of people demand the rights of citizenship; fewer are willing to shoulder the corresponding responsibilities. Among those responsibilities are civility in public and private discourse, reflecting a respect for the equal rights and dignity of those who may differ politically or otherwise.
We are non-partisan, focusing on what unites rather than what divides us as heirs of the American experiment. We don’t teach program participants not to challenge each other. Rather, we teach them to express themselves from a position of respect for one’s fellow citizens, understanding that the genius of our union is its ability to allow citizens of vastly varying views and values to co-exist peaceably and even cooperatively.
Our Progress
Halfway into our first year of operation, we have made tremendous progress.
The two previous boards were combined to form the Founding Forward Board, the staffs are fully integrated, and just as we envisioned and promised, the combination is accomplishing far more than either predecessor could have on its own.
Already, over a thousand students from across the country have attended improved civic-education programs on our Valley Forge campus. Several of our local volunteer chapters and partner organizations have substantially increased the number of students they recruit and sponsor. We celebrate their success and extend our thanks.
Speaking of the Valley Forge campus, extensive renovations are underway, with new roofs being installed on all three dormitories; ancient single-pane wood-frame windows being replaced; recarpeting, repainting, and refreshing occurring throughout; deferred maintenance being addressed; and landscaping, particularly at the campus entrance, being enhanced.
Meanwhile, in the heart of Philadelphia, the League House hosted 250 high school juniors for our 78th annual Good Citizen Day. Our two scholarship programs awarded $414,000 toward post-secondary education for a remarkable group of noteworthy recipients. Speaker programs, roundtables, and in-person interviews featuring prominent authors, scholars, and policymakers drew record audiences not only to the League House but other facilities, including the magnificent property at Liberty Hill, as well as building a growing online audience.
And speaking of Liberty Hill: to enable renovations of the Valley Forge campus this summer and to accommodate more student programs in future summers, we moved our series of week-long graduate-level professional-development programs for K-12 teachers to Union League Liberty Hill. The 315 teachers who attended our seven programs there not only gave the new accommodations rave reviews, over 90% of them have donated funds to Founding Forward! By the way, if those 315 teachers each reach an average of 100 students a year for 20 years, that’s approximately 630,000 members of the rising generation who will be influenced for good by the transformative experiences their teachers had with us.
Soon Founding Forward will further its integration with a new website, consolidating information on all our programs at all our locations for students, teachers, and adults, with user-friendly registration functionality and far easier access to our growing library of online resources.
Beyond these accomplishments, the two staffs are now truly one team, motivated, enthused, and energized to advance our mission and expand our reach. Our board’s Strategic Planning Committee is finalizing an ambitious but achievable plan to do just that.
The Importance of Your Support
Of course, what makes all this possible is your support. We’re working hard to make your contribution to Founding Forward the best possible investment in America’s future, and that investment is urgently needed.
By supporting Founding Forward with a charitable contribution, you will help to ensure that the rising generation appreciates the freedoms and opportunities that have been bequeathed to them. Every dollar you contribute will make it possible for teachers and students to be not merely informed, but transformed, by their experience at Founding Forward. You will make it possible for teachers to return to their classrooms with renewed enthusiasm for their work and an eagerness to share what they’ve experienced with their students, and for students to develop reverence for the founding ideals, appreciation for the sacrifices made on their behalf, and commitment to shoulder the responsibilities of citizenship.
Thank you for joining us in this important work. It cannot be done without you.