The nonprofit founded in 2011 to promote Philadelphia's role in the U.S. Semiquincentennial was USA250.
USA250 was established in Philadelphia to lobby for federal government support of the national 250th-anniversary observance. It also sought to establish Philadelphia as the host city for events surrounding the semiquincentennial. The organization's origin reflects Philadelphia's central place in the history of American independence.
The nonprofit predates the federal United States Semiquincentennial Commission, which Congress established in 2016. That distinction matters because the two names are easy to blend together: USA250 was a private civic organization, while the commission was a congressional, nonpartisan federal body.
Philadelphia's campaign drew on the city's association with the Second Continental Congress and the Declaration of Independence. In 2014, the city council ordered a public hearing to consider the impact and feasibility of hosting anniversary events. USA250 is therefore a specific organizational answer, not a general label for the celebration.