
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION Library Microgrant Opportunity |
Library Microgrant Application: THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
In partnership with your local PBS station, we invite public, academic and specialty libraries to participate in this special engagement opportunity around THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION — a sweeping six-part, 12-hour documentary series chronicling the birth of the United States from Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt.
This microgrant opportunity offers libraries $750 in funding to support community programming and engagement tied to the themes of the series and is a great opportunity to connect with your community around the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Project activities could include film screenings, history discussions, exhibits, book clubs, speaker events, youth projects, or other innovative ideas that bring local communities into conversation about the American Revolution and its enduring legacy.
For this project, activities should emphasize civic engagement, conversations, and storytelling initiatives that provide a deeper understanding of our shared history. These engagement activities will focus around themes of liberty, freedom, independence, and democracy - ideals embedded in the Revolution and inherent in our Constitution.
About the Series
The American Revolution was at once a war for independence, a war of conquest, a civil war, and a world war, fought by neighbors on American farms and between global powers an ocean or more away. It impacted millions from Vermont’s Green Mountains to the swamps of South Carolina, from Indian Country to the Iberian Peninsula. In defeating the British Empire and giving birth to a new nation, the American Revolution turned the world upside-down. Thirteen colonies on the Atlantic Coast united in rebellion, won their independence, and established a republic that still endures.
The series on America’s founding will present the story of the men and women of the Revolutionary generation, their humanity in victory and defeat, and the crisis that they lived through. By weaving together accounts of American political leaders and their British counterparts with the perspectives of the so-called ordinary people who waged and witnessed war, THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION will be an expansive, evenhanded look at the virtues and the contradictions in the fight for independence and the birth of the United States.
The series on America’s founding will present the story of the men and women of the Revolutionary generation, their humanity in victory and defeat, and the crisis that they lived through. By weaving together accounts of American political leaders and their British counterparts with the perspectives of the so-called ordinary people who waged and witnessed war, THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION will be an expansive, evenhanded look at the virtues and the contradictions in the fight for independence and the birth of the United States.
Participating libraries will receive:
- Grant funding in the amount of $750
- Access to themed screening reels
- A promotional toolkit via a dedicated project Brandfolder
- Discussion guides and event templates
- Connection to your local PBS station
- Online tools & resources
Important Dates:
- Grant Application Window: April 30 - July 7, 2025
- Grant Notification: July 21, 2025
- Planning Window: July 21, 2025 – September 30, 2025
- Premiere Dates: Sunday, November 16 – Friday, November 21, 2025
- Engagement Window: October 1, 2025 – August 15, 2026
Show Page: pbs.org/americanrevolution
Grant application window is open until July 7, 2025. WETA - the producing station of THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION - will announce funded library grantees by July 21, with the anticipation of funding up to 38 libraries. Libraries from the same system may apply separately, but should demonstrate serving different populations/communities. To preview the questions in advance of completing the application, please visit: bit.ly/AmRevLibraryRFP
Don’t miss this opportunity to inspire dialogue, foster learning, and bring history to life in your community.
Don’t miss this opportunity to inspire dialogue, foster learning, and bring history to life in your community.