The Civic Education Grant provides financial support to educators and students participating in high-quality civic education programs at the national, state, tribal and/or local government level. This includes how the governments were formed, how they make decisions, what effects they have on citizens, and how citizens can participate with decision makers. Grants will generally be awarded between the range of $250.00 to $1000.00. Grants will be considered in excess of $1000.00 contingent on availability of funds and strength of application.
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Purchase of civic resources for classroom use or projects
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Field trips
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Guest Speakers
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Sponsorship of student participation in civic travel, organizations, and/or contests
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Teacher professional development and/or travel to civic events
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Outreach for participation in civic activities within the community and beyond
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Nonprofit civic organization events
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Grants have been awarded for a variety of civic projects, such as:
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Teacher assistance for programs such as the Summer Teacher Institute at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia and the Sphere Summit: The Foundations Civics Culture through the Cato Institute in WA DC
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Travel expenses for multiple high school classes to attend mock trial competition at both local and state-wide competition, and class attendance at the Winter Congress and Junior State of America
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Student attendance at the YMCA Youth and Government Conference on National Affairs in North Carolina.
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Eligibility is for residents of Washington state in a wide array of personnel involved in education, including educators, leaders of after-school programs, parent-teacher associations, home school organizations, individual students, nonprofit organizations and community organizations.
The Civic Learning Council (CLC) understands the time pressures facing educators and students, so the application is designed to be brief and straight forward. Applications will be available beginning March 17, 2022, and close when all funds have been depleted.
Applications will be reviewed quarterly to ensure a distribution of funds across the school and/or program year.
If you have questions contact Karen Verrill at civiclearningcouncil@gmail.com.
A clear description how the funds will be used to foster active civic learning that addresses at least one of the CLC priorities as listed on the grant application. Include in the description the following information (500-word limit):
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A brief description of where the will grant be used (In school classrooms, home school programs, after school programs, community colleges)
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A list of expected costs for the project
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If you expect to receive additional funds from another source, provide information about who, how much, and how those funds will be used.
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A brief description of how this program/experience will be beneficial
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Educator: What learning outcomes do you expect to achieve?
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Student: What benefits do you hope to achieve because of this experience?
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By accepting the scholarship, the recipient agrees to provide a brief follow-up report concerning the event or project described in the
application. The reporting requirements include a brief description of outcomes, achievements and/or highlights of your experience, and any plans for related future activities (500 word limit). Complete a following up survey immediately following the activity and one year later to assess grant impact.In addition, to promote the grant, we would like permission for the Civic Learning Council to share the success of the activity, including quotes and/or photos (so please take some photos if permitted by your school or organization).
Funding for Civic Education Grants is provided by the American Board of Trial Advocates, a national association of experienced trial lawyers and judges, and its Washington State Chapter. ABOTA is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the civil jury trial right provided by the Seventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and is engaged in a variety of programs aimed at furthering civics education throughout the states.
About the CLC-ABOTA Civic Education Grant
Select Past Recipients
Thanks to our generous donors, we have been able to provide funding for students and educators to participate in civic education programs such as the grant recipients below.
"29 delegates were able to take part in this year's annual model legislature at the state capitol... Throughout the 4-day event our youth presented their bills in committee and debated theirs and others on the floors of the House and Senate. Our delegates held three of the 10 major offices this year (Speaker of the House, Secretary of State and Postmaster General) and all other delegates served as members of the House and Senate, lobbyists, press corps and pages."
Walla Walla Youth and Government Delegation
A Washington student participated in the Conference on National Affairs in Charlotte, North Carolina. “… delegates from all states can gather to debate their proposals. This is different than the program that runs here locally, because here we debate state issues, while at CONA we debate national issues ... I came home ready to really dive into local politics, and since then I've been elected to the local democratic legislative committee…”
Student Grant Recipient
The State We're In: Washington textbooks purchased for 4th and 5th grade students. "Students were also able to make a connection to place and see themselves in Washington’s history and present... This text provided us a balanced story of Washington history and civic engagement through the lens of the many people who made it happen...
Because of the quality of this resource and engagement of supporting activities, we will continue to use this textbook for the foreseeable future. We are thankful that we were able to get the support to purchase and better meet the needs of our students.”
Crescent School District
"Thank you for the grant funds that were awarded to our JSA group for their trip toWashington DC. The students had a great trip and were able to compete with their peers from all over the country. The conference itself was 3 days long, and the students spent full days hearing and arguing for platforms that were submitted from chapters from across the country. We also were able to have a few extra days to do some sightseeing, and they were able to see the Nation Archives, Zoo, Washington Monument, US Capitol, Holocaust Museum, and other sights along the way. For most of them it was their first time to DC."
Liberty High School
"Ridgeline High School used the grant from your organization to attend the Junior State of America “Fall State” event in Tacoma, WA on November 18. Students participated in general assembly, caucus, and four different debate styles including “gavel” and “history on trial”. Our students learned a lot and gathered many ideas from other PNW high schools of how to expand our civics impact here at Ridgeline."
Ridgeline High School
"This was a 3-day, overnight trip to Olympia where the students got to be legislators, press, lobbyists, and pages. The students crafted a bill, presented it to a committee, debated with other 8th grade “legislators”, and watched as their bill either moved out of committee to the House or didn’t. This short description doesn’t do the experience justice. The students got to engage with other 8th graders from all over Pierce County and high schoolers from all over the state in a formal and focused environment."
Lochburn Middle School
“The Morton High School Mock Trial team used the Civic Learning Council grant to pay for our trip to Vancouver to compete in the Clark County district tournament … competing six times against five different teams over two days…”
Morton High School
I recently returned from the National Constitution Center's Constitutional Conversations and Civil Dialogue Teacher Institute in Philadelphia... the opportunity to connect and share ideas with skilled educators from around the country was incredibly valuable... I left with many strategies and resources I plan to... implement in many of my classes...
Educator Grant Recipient