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iCivics

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Grants

2016 (1 year)
$200,000

iCivics is a nonprofit organization dedicated to reinvigorating civics learning through interactive and engaging online games. Founded by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, iCivics teaches students how government works by having them experience it directly. Through its interactive games, the player steps into any role – a judge, a member of Congress, a community activist fighting for local change – and does that job. Integrated with lesson plans and teacher support materials, the games are designed for classroom use, but can be played anywhere a student has web access. Since launching in 2010, iCivics has grown ten-fold to become the most widely adopted civics curriculum in the country. It now serves more than 110,000 teachers and four million youth in all 50 states, and independent research has validated iCivics as an effective tool for producing gains in civic knowledge. Grant funds support general operations of iCivics, enabling the organization to extend its curriculum for high-school use, address the needs of English Language Learners, and diversify its revenue streams to ensure long-term sustainability.

2014 (4 years)
$750,000

iCivics is a non-profit organization dedicated to reinvigorating civics learning through interactive and engaging online games. Founded by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, iCivics is one of the most widely adopted civics curriculum in the country, serving more than 52,000 teachers and six million youth. Grant funds will be used to establish a revolving venture fund that will create capacity within the organization for ongoing innovation and financial sustainability, to strengthen fundraising capacity, and to equip a new Boston office.

2012 (1 year)
$250,000

iCivics is a non-profit organization dedicated to preparing young Americans to become knowledgeable, engaged 21st century citizens. Founded by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, iCivics makes civic education relevant to a new generation of young people through video games and other classroom materials that encourage innovative teaching. iCivics will this grant to redesign its website and game platform, www.icivics.org, with the aim of reaching significantly more learners with high-quality civics education by better engaging the educators who facilitate their learning.

2010 (1 year)
$280,000

To design and develop the Our Courts project, an innovative learning environment to teach social studies, civic engagement, and 21st century skills.