The Union League Legacy Foundation

The Union League Legacy Foundation

The Legacy Foundation inspires and educates League members, students, and the greater community to be engaged and responsible citizens, guided by the United States Constitution and the history and values of the Union League.

What We Do

The Union League Legacy Foundation is dedicated to the same tenets of freedom and free enterprise upon which the Union League was founded. Through historic preservation, education, and scholarship, the Legacy Foundation promotes these values and ideals, inspiring more educated, engaged, and responsible citizens.

The Union League Legacy Foundation:

  • cares for the historic collections;
  • preserves the Union League House;
  • provides civics education programs for high school students;
  • curates interpretive and informative exhibits;
  • grants scholarships for post-secondary education;
  • presents the Good Citizenship Award;
  • hosts multiple historical, cultural, and public policy lecture series;
  • and much more.

The Legacy Foundation uses the United States Constitution and the history and values of the Union League to create the leaders of the future.

How We Do It & How You Can Help

The Legacy Foundation is not supported by Union League member dues, but through charitable contributions for Union League members and others who provide the resources to carry out our mission.

Give Today.

Support the mission of the Legacy Foundation through a tax-deductible donation.

The Impact We Make

The Union League of Philadelphia was founded with a civic mission – to support President Abraham Lincoln and save the Union. This work is now carried out through The Union League Legacy Foundation, which has made a remarkable impact over the many decades:

  • The Union League Legacy Foundation has hosted Good Citizen Day, an all-day civics education program for several hundred high school students annually since 1947. Nearly 19,000 students have participated in this impactful program and received the Good Citizenship Award.
  • Since 1955, the Legacy Foundation has awarded more than $5 million in scholarships to over 1,000 students to fund post-secondary education. These students pursue a wide range of fields from trades to more traditional academic subjects at institutions across the country.
  • Nearly 5,000 individuals attend the Legacy Foundation’s educational programs in person or online each year. Topics include current affairs, Civil War history, constitutional issues, the League’s history and more.
  • The Legacy Foundation has hosted over 100,000 individuals to the Heritage Center for educational interpretational history-based exhibits since 2011. These exhibits cover a wide range of subjects, from Civil War history to monuments to voting rights.
  • In 2015, the Legacy Foundation developed a new student program, Liberty Weekend, which has hosted over 100 students for a weekend of seminars, discussions and activities based on the founding principles of the United States, and the topics of liberty, freedom and free enterprise.
  • The Legacy Foundation cares for nearly 400 pieces of artwork which are on display throughout the Union League’s companion amenities, and nearly 2,000 linear feet of archival records, which serve to educate and inspire students, researchers and others about the history and related stories of the League. In the last 10 years, the Legacy Foundation has commissioned several new pieces of art to tell its history and related histories more fully. These commissions include portraits of Frederick Douglass and Lucretia Mott, each allies of the Union League in their time and Three Medals of Honor which depicts The Battle of New Market Heights, arguably one of the most important battles in African American military history.
  • Each year, thousands attend tours hosted by the Legacy Foundations staff and volunteer docents to learn and understand the history, principles and values of the Union League.

Click below to watch a video about the Legacy Foundation to learn more about its mission to educate and inspire more engaged and responsible citizens.

Learn More & Connect

There are a few ways to learn more and connect with the Legacy Foundation.

  • Most programs of the Legacy Foundation are streamed live and available afterwards. They can be viewed on The Union League Legacy Foundation's YouTube Channel
  • Visit the Heritage Center to view the latest exhibit. Currently on display: A City Divided: The Civil War, Philadelphia & The Union League, telling the untold stories of Philadelphia’s role in the Civil War and the significant impact that the Union League had in shaping the Union victory.
    • Public Hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 3:00 to 6:00pm; Second Saturday of every month, 1:00 to 4:00pm
    • Member Hours: Monday through Friday, 9:00am to 6:00pm; Second Saturday of every month, 1:00 to 4:00pm

Contact

The Union League Legacy Foundation
The Heritage Center
140 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
215-587-5596
LegacyFoundation@unionleague.org

More info