With the summer season closing in and July 4th festivities only a month away, Freedom 250 announced that it has “opened its brand to the nation,” making the official organization’s logo available without licensing fees for interested parties. Freedom 250 honors the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.

“The nation’s 250th year is a celebration that belongs to every American,” says Keith Krach, CEO of Freedom 250. “It belongs to the communities, families, service members, teachers, students, businesses and organizations who continue to carry the American spirit forward every day. At its core, this is about celebrating freedom, honoring where we have been, and inspiring the next 250 years of the American story.”

Firms looking to use the Freedom 250 logo for giveaway for branding opportunities can click here to learn more.

A big development in the branding world, there are a few distinctions worth clarifying:

  • The first is that while officially endorsed by President Donald Trump, Freedom 250 is a different organization than America250, the bipartisan organization celebrating the U.S. Semiquincentennial.
  • Additionally, Krach may use the words “businesses and organizations” in his statement, but digging deeper will reveal fine print that includes some noteworthy exclusions to the program.

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America250 Vs. Freedom 250

Whether a firm chooses to use the logo of America250 or Freedom 250, it’s important to note that they are two entirely different entities. In the big picture, they are both celebrating the same thing, but they are essentially competing with each other.

  • America250 is an official nonpartisan commission initially enacted by Congress in 2016 in preparation to honor the anniversary of America’s independence. Former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama and former first ladies Laura Bush and Michelle Obama were selected as honorary national co-chairs.
  • Freedom 250 also claims to be nonpartisan, but it is much more closely associated with Trump than its counterpart, as he created the foundation that became Freedom 250 through an executive order during his second term when he established “Task Force 250.”


Freedom 250 is considered a “public-private partnership,” in which Trump is the chair of the task force and Vice President JD Vance is the vice chair.

America250 charges a licensing fee for the opportunity to use its official logo, but many promo firms have paid the fee in order to offer America250 branded products ahead of July festivities. In order to apply for licensing, interested parties must go to America250.org. Our fact sheet with clarifying instructions can be found here.

Exclusionary Details

Freedom 250’s intended goal is to get its logo “to the people,” which it accomplishes by lifting many licensing restrictions, but further reading also show some caveats to the claim. When looking at a few exclusionary details, there are some expected restrictions such as rules against using the logo for political campaigns, fundraising, firearms, cannabis, alcohol or foreign government involvement.

However, grouped with these restrictions is a section titled “Merchandise.” That section includes the following:

“Standard participation approval does not include permission to use Freedom 250 logos, badges or related brand assets on merchandise or items for sale. Any merchandise, commercial product or item marketed commercially requires separate written authorization through a Freedom 250 licensing agreement.“

“Standard participation approval does not include permission to use Freedom 250 logos, badges or related brand assets on merchandise or items for sale. “

Freedom 250 Website

  • A deeper dive into the Frequently Asked Questions section includes the question, “What counts as merchandise use?” to which the provided answer is:

“Merchandise use includes products, apparel, promotional items, commercial materials or other items bearing Freedom 250 brand assets that are sold, marketed commercially or treated as licensed products. Examples may include shirts, hats, mugs, posters for sale, collectible items or other products offered to consumers.“

It goes without saying that this makes up a significant portion of the branded merchandise market and therefore makes the announcement mostly a moot point to many firms. The organization has not made a blanket policy on whether products that will be used in giveaways must apply for the free licensing program, claiming that they will require “specific approval in writing by Freedom 250.”