Built by the People, For the People

There's something different about a monument raised brick by brick from the pockets of everyday people. It doesn't come from a budget line in some distant office. It comes from kitchen tables, church potlucks, and veterans who still remember what that flag cost. That's the kind of monument Old Glory Rising is meant to be.

Two Ways to Build Something Big

Most massive monuments in America's history were built one of two ways: funded by government appropriations, or funded by citizens who simply decided something mattered enough to pay for it themselves. Both have their place. But they carry very different meanings.

A government-funded monument belongs, in a sense, to the system that built it. A community-funded monument belongs to the people who gave their own hard-earned dollars to see it rise. There is no substitute for that kind of ownership.

Why We Chose the Harder Path

Building a 700-foot American flag monument — the tallest in the world — along with a community center and gathering grounds here in the Ozarks of Southwest Missouri, was never going to be easy. The full project is expected to cost around $51 million. It would be simpler, in some ways, to chase government grants and call it done.

But we believe this monument means more if it's raised by the people it's meant to honor. When neighbors fund something together, it becomes theirs in a way no government check could ever make it. That's not a slower path by accident — it's a stronger one by design.

A flag raised by the people stands differently than one raised by a budget office. It carries the fingerprints of everyone who helped lift it.

What Community Funding Actually Looks Like

This isn't an abstract idea. It's real people making real choices to be part of something lasting. Right now, that looks like:

• Commemorative bricks available for $250 each, each one a permanent piece of the gathering grounds
• A Phase 1 goal of $2 million to get the ground moving and the vision underway
• Everyday families, veterans, and small businesses across Southwest Missouri choosing to pitch in what they can
• Pledges of support from folks who simply believe this monument belongs in the Ozarks

No single gift builds a 700-foot monument. But thousands of gifts, given freely and proudly, absolutely can.

Honest About Where We Are

We want to be straightforward with you, because that's what neighbors do for each other. Our nonprofit status is still being finalized, so right now, pledges are best understood as expressions of support rather than final tax-deductible donations. Once that nonprofit status is officially in place, tax-deductibility will apply going forward.

We'd rather tell you the plain truth of where things stand than promise something before it's real. That's part of what community-built means, too — honesty with the people who are trusting you with their support.

A Monument That Belongs to All of Us

When this flag rises over the Ozarks, it won't be because a government office decided it should. It will be because thousands of everyday Americans — the kind who work hard, love their country, and show up for their neighbors — decided it mattered enough to build with their own hands and hearts.

That's the whole point of Old Glory Rising. It's not a monument handed down to the people. It's a monument raised up by them.

If that kind of project speaks to you, there's a place for you in it. Become a Supporter and help raise something that will stand for generations, built the way things ought to be built — by the people, for the people.