Who We Are

Our national motto, e pluribus unum—out of many, one— is also the ethos of this group. We are history and civics organizations collaborating across the country. Loudly and clearly, we recognize the opportunity presented in this transformative moment for institutions like ours to better serve the public and join the ongoing conversation about the future of our country. We have come together in an unprecedented way, pooling resources and bringing the best we each have to offer, so that we might harness the spirit of collaboration and tap into our varied strengths—across regions, disciplines, and methods. We are modeling a new path forward for the ways in which history serves the people. Now is the time for us all to step up.

Founding Partners

From the start, these history leaders joined forces to envision a bold idea that has now come to life: bringing history to younger generations in innovative and meaningful ways, so they have more fuel to power the future.

Anchor Partners

Our Anchor Partners are history and civics organizations – anchored in historical or civics focus, collections or expertise – across the United States who participate as engaged members of the Made By Us coalition. Anchor Partners support the Made By Us vision, participate as an institution in Made By Us programs, and commit to the Made By Us values including prioritizing evolving audience needs over “the way we’ve always done it;” choosing collaboration and sharing knowledge over competition and institutional primacy; and modeling humility and curiosity to invite participation and new perspectives.

Interested in getting your organization involved? Sign up for a webinar to learn more.

Questions? Contact Caroline Klibanoff at KlibanoffC@si.edu.

This is the old heartening, energizing promise the past makes to us. We, too, even in our flicker of time, can earn a place in the story. How? By creating the future.

Robert Penn Warren

Behind Made By Us is a small but mighty team executing the daily operations and strategic vision.