FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – August 5, 2025
Media Contact: J.A. Lyon, Director of Marketing & Communications, jlyon@monticello.org
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the private, nonprofit organization that owns and operates Monticello, has received a lead $1 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York to strengthen civic learning and engagement through museums, historic sites, and cultural institutions across the United States.
The two-year grant places Monticello at the heart of the Educating for American Democracy (EAD) Community Learning Partners network—a coalition of more than 200 museums, historic sites, libraries, and public institutions in 47 states and territories working to embed civic purpose in their programs. Together, these organizations reach millions of Americans each year and share a common goal: to inspire deeper understanding of our nation’s ideals and to encourage civic engagement in everyday life.
As the country prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026, this work comes at a vital moment. Across the nation, communities are asking big questions about democracy, trust, and informed participation. This grant empowers Monticello and its partners to respond with resources, training, and public programs designed to connect people to the history and promise of American democracy.
“Monticello has long been a place where people come to wrestle with the meanings and possibilities of our constitutional democracy,” said Dr. Jane Kamensky, president of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. “This transformational grant allows us to share skills and strategies with other museums and cultural institutions pursuing the same goals. At a time when civic understanding feels especially urgent, we’re proud to help lead this important work.”
Through this effort, Monticello will serve as a national hub, coordinating a community of practice that helps museums and other learning spaces use the EAD Roadmap, a framework for civic and historical learning developed by educators, historians, and public leaders. From large institutions like the Smithsonian to local museums, libraries, and historical societies, the network will work together to bring history alive and show how civic knowledge can strengthen our shared future.
The initiative draws on Monticello’s experience as a historic site committed to rigorous public history and honest, inspiring storytelling. Monticello’s leadership within the national EAD movement positions it to support both large and small institutions as they create spaces for intergenerational learning, reflection, and civic trust.
About The Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello
The Thomas Jefferson Foundation was incorporated in 1923 to preserve Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Today, the foundation seeks to bring history forward into national and global dialogues by engaging audiences with Jefferson’s world and ideas and inviting them to experience the power of place at Monticello and on its website. Monticello is recognized as a National Historic Landmark, a United Nations World Heritage Site and a Site of Conscience. As a private, nonprofit organization, the foundation’s regular operating budget does not receive ongoing government support to fund its twofold mission of preservation and education. For information, visit monticello.org.