Initiatives

We are the only nationwide, collaborative engine working to connect young adults – the future inheritors of the United States – with a crash course in history from a plurality of credible sources. We’re bringing history to backyards, bar stools and the ballot, unleashing renewed engagement and participation in civic life.

If you’re an organization looking to transform the way you serve Gen Z, we provide consultations, trainings, materials and frequent opportunities for connection and collaboration with brands, media and other orgs. Get in touch or log into the Resource Hub.

Want to support our work? Here’s how.

Podcast: Democracy Vibe Check

Created with WABE, Atlanta’s home for NPR and PBS, DEMOCRACY VIBE CHECK: THE CIVIC SEASON PODCAST explores ways Gen Z and Millennials across America are engaging in a new tradition, Civic Season, asking who we are as a nation, how we got here—and where we go next. Tune in.

Discover Your Story this Civic Season

Applications are now open for our 2024 Civic Season Design Fellows! Apply by November 1!

 

Held between Juneteenth and July 4th, Civic Season unites our oldest federal holiday with our newest, in an annual celebration of who we are as a nation, how we got here and where we want to go next. Does your organization want to be part of Civic Season 2024? Register your organization today to receive updates starting this fall. If you would like to learn more, reach out to Nia Mosby, Program Manager, at nia@historymadebyus.org

 

Discover Your Civic Superpower

There are many ways to pitch in when it comes to shaping the future of our nation — from demonstrating to investigating. Take the Civic Superpower Quiz, get inspired by figures in the past and learn how you can take action today. 

 

Share What You Stand For

Our story is retro(spective) and so are our posters! Check out the I Stand For fill-in-the-blank poster generator and share the unique way you rock your civic superpowers. Post to social and tag us at @historymadebyus.

Turbocharge Your Vote

We partnered with ActiVote to develop a custom portal to check your voter registration status, see the items on your ballot, AND get a quick lesson on the history of voting rights. Explore, and sign up for ActiVote to get year-round ballot support.

As the creators of Civic Season, we take part in other Civic Holidays like National Voter Registration Day, Vote Early Day and Voter Education Week. In 2020 we helped launch the first Election Hero Day with the National Conference on Citizenship.

With When We All Vote, we find ways to encourage and celebrate the act of voting, like Summer of Action during Civic Season. And we’ve brought voter registration to dozens of museums and historic sites!

Want more? Discover 15 Ways Museums and Historic Sites Can Support Voters.

60-Second History

What is your wish for America’s future?

By dreaming up the kind of nation we want to live in, we can inspire action.

So we started with listening.

Launched in 2020, My Wish For U.S. invited anyone and everyone to voice their vision for the future of the United States as we approach the nation’s 250th anniversary. It was the very first program officially recognized by America250, the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission. Thousands of people shared their hopes and dreams, creating a mini-dataset that guided our subsequent programming, including:

  • Giving 60,000 books to teachers in need, based on their classroom’s wish – with FirstBook and AMERICAN HERITAGE® Chocolate
  • Coaching young leaders on methods and tactics to make their wish a reality – with Vote By Design and Curious Catalyst Inc.
  • Holding dialogues with people from Raleigh and Pittsburgh to discuss tech-boom cities – with Better Arguments Project

Time Travel with Airbnb x Made By Us

To guide travelers in planning their visits to cities across the country, Airbnb and Made By Us  partnered to curate wishlists of new Airbnb Experiences created by museums, historic sites, archives and more nationwide.

Go behind the scenes of history while supporting the keepers of the past as they recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Capturing the History of Now

“How will we remember what it was like?”

As we live through the history-making COVID-19 crisis, museums and cultural institutions stepped into action to document and preserve daily life and loss. We launched a crowdsourced map featuring over 500 initiatives nationwide.

The #TrashOrTreasureChallenge invited people to share what they would save to remember this time. Check out coverage on CBS This Morning.

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