Ready, set, grow: our seven-year Strategic Plan
Last month, we celebrated the 216th birthday of Abraham Lincoln and the first year of Founding Forward – and what a year! We accomplished a lot in 2024, but there is more to do. To expand our impact, a promise we made when we merged The Union League Legacy Foundation and Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge to create Founding Forward, we recently unveiled a seven-year strategic plan.
This ambitious roadmap of goals will help Founding Forward create a future where Americans are empowered as engaged citizen leaders to uphold and cherish the founding ideals of self-governance. These goals include:
- Tripling teacher program attendance by 2027, with 20% annual growth through 2031.
- Doubling student program attendance by 2027, with 20% annual growth through 2031.
- Serving as a center of community civic engagement by creating events consistent with our mission.
It is an ambitious and critical plan. And it is a promise to the future. While it outlines the goals for the next seven years, our commitment is to generational transformation beyond our time. To view the full plan, click here.
With your support of this vitally important work, these goals are attainable goals. Explore the plan, attend our programs, share about our work, and make a gift; we appreciate your support. To read the full strategic plan, please click here.
Sign up for our Spirit of America Youth Leadership program!
High school students who participate in our Spirit of America Youth Leadership program will spend four days at our 75-acre Valley Forge campus immersed in history. Through thought-provoking experiences and activities, students gain a deeper understanding of their rights and responsibilities as citizens while strengthening critical thinking and leadership skills. By joining other students from across the country, they’ll come back with lessons and friendships to last a lifetime.
Spirit of America seasons are running now and continue through July. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, most students accepted into the program attend at no cost.
Teachers: Apply now for our inspiring professional development programs. Limited spots remain!
At Founding Forward, we appreciate how hard teachers work and recognize the exponential impact they can have on the future. Our accredited and critically acclaimed professional development programs create an environment where teachers are made to feel celebrated while strengthening their knowledge.
Our weekend summits and week-long seminars are hosted at the beautiful Union League Liberty Hill conference center just outside of Philadelphia, while our traveling workshops take teachers on the road to various historic sites and locations. Topics include First Amendment freedoms, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, immigration, the Revolution, the War on Terror, and more.
Thanks to our generous donors and sponsors, educators can attend at no cost, but space is limited. Explore our 2025 summer professional development opportunities and apply today.
Expand your perspectives with our speaker programs
To provide education to adults who are not teachers, Founding Forward hosts a line-up of speaker programs. These programs are short, content-packed, informational sessions on topics of liberty, public policy, Civil War, arts, and humanities – all topics that we believe will help make citizens more informed, inspired individuals.
Most programs are hosted at locations of the Union League, but we are excited to host our very first speaker program on the Valley Forge campus. Make plans now to attend on our Valley Forge campus on Tuesday, May 6 for a Library Hour program on The Legacy of JFK with author and historian Stephen Knott.
Click here to view the rest of our exciting spring 2025 line-up. All of these start with a reception at 6:00pm, followed by the program at 6:30pm. Registration is required. If you cannot be there in person, you can still watch virtually on our YouTube channel starting at 6:30pm on the day of the event.
Help Founding Forward instill confidence in America’s future
Many recent surveys show that the decline in civic education and lack of understanding of our country’s founding principles is hindering faith in America’s future. Founding Forward’s transformational and immersive civic education programs for teachers, students, and the community can bring back that confidence – but we need your help. Our future success depends upon individuals who share President Lincoln’s belief that America is “the last, best hope on Earth” and who recognize that this will be achieved through revitalized civic education.
Donate to Founding Forward today and ensure a future rooted in liberty tomorrow!