Civics Education Grants

During the 2011 Legislative session, the Minnesota State Legislature asked the Minnesota Humanities Center to award grants to entities that conduct civics education programs for the civic and cultural development of Minnesota youth. Legacy funds are appropriated to the Humanities Center (Special Session 1: Senate File Chapter 6, Article 4, Section 2, Subdivision 8) to support such work.

An independent review panel reviewed and the Humanities Center’s board of directors approved grants awarded in December 2011 for three Cultural Heritage Projects and Programs. These programs will help expand civic education opportunities for students, build state-wide capacities and support for civic education, and expand and enrich teacher capacity to engage students in civic education.

Grant Recipients:
  • Kids Voting ($84,000)
    2401 Chilcombe Ave, St. Paul, MN 55108
    Kids Voting St. Paul will introduce youth-friendly technologies to enhance civic learning, expand its veterans civic education initiative, increase the number of students participating in Kids Voting elections, pilot a state-wide KidVention, expand and leverage partnerships, and convene a civic education provider summit.
  • Learning Law and Democracy Foundation ($90,300)
    987 East Ivy Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55106
    Learning Law and Democracy Foundation will strengthen learning about the Minnesota constitution and government, create a civic self-assessment instrument for Minnesota schools, convene a civic education provider summit, enhance the teachingcivics.org website, expand professional development opportunities, and develop new lessons on Minnesota state and local government.
  • YMCA Youth in Government ($35,700)
    1801 University Avenue SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414
    YMCA Youth in Government will convene and expand a YMCA Youth Conference on state issues and convene a civic education provider summit.
Panel members included:
  • Harry Boyte, Minneapolis
  • Sara Evans, Minneapolis
  • Tim Hoogland, Saint Paul
  • Jennifer Godinez, Saint Paul
The independent review panel assessed each proposal against the eligibility requirements, stated criteria, intent of the funding, and proposed measureable outcomes.

For more information, contact Elizabeth de Soto, Assistant Program Director, elizabeth@mnhum.org, 651-772-4263, or toll free 866-268-7293, ext. 263.