That’s a remarkable increase for the 26-year-old company, which until the recent windfall had received about $50,000 in government contracts over the past decade. It also appears that Event Strategies won these new contracts with very little competition. According to HireGov, a tool used by contractors to track federal and state contracts, Event Strategies was the only company to bid on eight of the 11 contracts tracked by the site.
Many of the recent contracts are related to America 250, an 18-month-long commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Beginning in 2025, the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, a bipartisan group established in 2016 to coordinate the festivities, broke with Precision Strategies, an event planning group founded by Obama-era staffers. Shortly thereafter, the commission hired Event Strategies to replace them.
Contracts reviewed by WIRED in the System for Award Management database show that by September 2025, the company had signed its first contract related to celebrations: a $5 million contract for work related to Titans of the Sea, an event designed to celebrate the Navy’s 250th anniversary. A few weeks later, the company signed another contract worth $2.1 million for “America 250 – Events”.
Most recently, Event Strategies signed a contract with the General Services Administration in early February worth $333,084 for “Freedom 250 design and content support services.” According to the White House, Freedom 250 is a “public-private partnership” related to America 250.
The format of the America 250 celebrations has already proven controversial. Over the past few months, large banners associated with the project were seen hanging on federal buildings throughout Washington, DC. One banner, which was hung outside the Justice Department, featured a giant image of Trump’s face along with the tagline: “Make America Safe Again.” The DOJ said the banner was hung to “celebrate 250 years of our great country.” To many, the tagline was a sign that the Justice Department has failed to maintain its independence during Trump’s second term. California Governor Gavin Newsom said the banner was “beyond parody”, writing on Facebook: “How many dictatorship-style monuments, building name changes and fake awards do Americans have to endure?”
In early March, banners of Charlie Kirk, Booker T. Washington, and Catherine Beecher were hung along with two larger banners bearing the America 250 logo outside the Department of Education near Capitol Hill. Critics were alarmed to see Kirk’s likeness on the banner, as the late Turning Point USA co-founder and conservative commentator had previously called for “abolishing” the Department of Education and was known for numerous racist and homophobic comments.
WIRED could not confirm whether these specific banners, or the banners hanging at the DOJ, were designed and implemented by Event Strategies. The DOJ and the Education Department did not respond to requests for comment about the company responsible for the banners.
“There is a proper federal competitive bidding process, and the White House expects all agencies to comply with it,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told WIRED. Asked for further comment about event strategies, Ingle referred WIRED to the General Services Administration. GSA did not respond to a request for comment.
Contract
When Trump lost the 2020 election, Event Strategies was in hand: According to paperwork submitted to secure a permit, cofounder Tim Younes was listed as a stage manager for a January 6 rally at the Ellipse in 2021. Megan Powers Small, now chief of staff at Event Strategies, was tagged in the rally permit paperwork as the event’s “operations manager for scheduling and guidance.” Justin Caporale was listed as the project manager for the event. Although Caporale was later described as Event Strategies CEO and managing partner of the company, he previously worked as operations director for Melania Trump in 2018 and on the Trump campaign in 2020.
While out of office, Trump continued to work with event strategies. The company produced several of Trump’s campaign rallies during the 2024 presidential campaign; Filings from that year show that Event Strategies received $31 million from the Trump 47 Committee PAC over a seven-month period. Caporale’s Instagram account also shows him connecting with Trump and administration officials, including at some of the same rallies.
<a href