Build Impact Story: Generation Citizen

Generation Citizen Empowers Students to Close the Civic Engagement Gap

58% of voters between the ages of 18 and 34 — members of Gen Z and younger millennials — aren’t sure if they’ll vote in November, according to an Axios-Generation Lab poll conducted earlier this year. To address this troubling trend of civic disengagement among younger Americans, some schools are turning to external experts to help educate, excite, and empower students through hands-on civic action. Generation Citizen (GC) is a leading national nonpartisan nonprofit organization and current New Profit Build grantee. GC provides school districts and teachers curricula and coaching to do community-based civics with 6th-12th graders. This project-based, student-centered approach to civics education helps students develop civic skills and disposition alongside civic knowledge and make a positive impact on issues that matter to them.

Jerry Acosta, an 11th-grade teacher in Lawrence, Massachusetts, implemented Generation Citizen projects in his classroom this past spring. By the end of their Generation Citizen experience, his students succeeded in having two of their proposals signed into law by the Mayor of Lawrence. Generation Citizen highlights more details from Mr. Acosta, and his students in this case study, which explores “10 reasons why we have to think outside the classroom to provide exceptional civics education for students.”

At Southeast High School in Oklahoma City, a group of students decided to take on an issue affecting their peers in a deeply personal way: underage drinking. It wasn’t just the drinking itself that concerned them, but the adults who were enabling it by providing alcohol to minors.  With the support of Generation Citizen’s community-based civics curriculum, students researched the broader impact of underage drinking and were able to craft a proposal to increase the penalties for adults who provide alcohol to minors. They also prepared presentations, contacted local lawmakers, and began lobbying for their cause. Ultimately, their hard work paid off when Oklahoma legislators took notice of their work, which eventually became the basis for a bill presented in the Oklahoma State Senate. What began as a classroom project turned into a law that will protect future generations of young people from the dangers of underage drinking. For these Southeast High School students, this experience wasn’t just about learning how laws are made — it was about discovering the power they had to make a real difference. 

Stories like that of Mr. Acosta and his students and the students of Southeast High School are inspiring in a landscape where civic knowledge often takes a backseat to other academic subjects. A  2016 study from the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that 1 in 4 Americans were unable to name the three branches of government. Additionally, the 2018 Brown Center Report on American Education examined the status of civic education and found that while reading and math scores have improved in recent years, there has not been a commensurate increase in eighth-grade civics knowledge. High school social studies teachers are among the least supported educators. Generation Citizen is addressing this gap by equipping these teachers with resources through its project-based civic education programs.

Guided by the fundamental belief that the path to a thriving, multiracial democracy starts in the classroom, Generation Citizen is leading the movement to make high-quality, equity-oriented experiential civics education a universal part of our education system. Generation Citizen has a multi-faceted approach to its work. The organization partners with schools and school districts across the country to implement its signature Community Based Civics curriculum in classrooms through teacher training and coaching, prioritizing school communities that have not historically had access to quality civic learning. They aim to advance three areas that field experts agree indicate the likelihood of future civic engagements:  Civic Knowledge, Civic Skills, and Civic Motivation.

Elizabeth “Liz” Clay Roy began her tenure as Chief Executive Officer of Generation Citizen in January 2021, shortly before the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. She has led Generation Citizen with a renewed sense of urgency to strengthen democracy through real-world civics education. Under her leadership, the organization has evolved to meet this critical moment, emphasizing the need for education as a foundation for a thriving, multiracial democracy.

Beyond the curricular aspects of the program, Generation Citizen also aims to counteract the hopelessness many young people experience regarding their ability to influence change. “There’s a breakdown in some of the norms and customs that we have had as a part of the federal government in Washington. Those are very important, and those are a really big deal, but I actually worry even more about what I think is underneath that crisis of democracy, which in my mind is connected to a kind of crisis of hope, a crisis of belonging and a crisis of trust,” said Clay Roy. “That is why our approach to civics education is one that is not only about teaching how government should work at its best but also about helping us foster a sense—and helping young people foster a sense—of hope, a sense of belonging, and connection to their community and creating conditions for them to build trust with each other. Because these are such powerful fractures that can only be repaired, I think, when young people have lived experience. That helps them move in a more positive direction in their role as citizens.”

New Profit’s investment in Generation Citizen in 2023 reflects a shared commitment to elevating youth voices and centering racial equity in both programming and policy efforts. This mission aligns directly with New Profit’s goal of advancing access and opportunity for all. Generation Citizen also has a strong record of impact. Of the students who took a Community-Based Civics class in the 2021-2022 school year, 92% showed confidence in Civic Skills, while 93% were confident in creating a plan to address a problem. Understanding civics paired with the ability to think critically is essential to developing a generation of citizens who can affect real change. 

Empowering young people and emerging leaders is central to New Profit’s method of systems change, The M.I.C™—multiracial, intergenerational, cross-sector coalition-building. “Our core work is focused on helping America move towards being a participatory, inclusive, multi-racial democracy, and we don’t believe that it is possible to get there with the old-fashioned notion of ‘passing the torch,’” said Clay Roy. “We all need to be running the race for justice together, running the race for sustainability together, running the race for equity together. So the way we really try to live the values of the M.I.C.  is by preparing young people in their communities to be civic participants today.” 

Wendy Lee Haines, New Profit Deal Partner, has played a vital role in bridging the relationship between New Profit and Generation Citizen, including serving on the organization’s Board of Directors. “Wendy has been just a model Board member and offers sage wisdom to me and to members of our executive team as we think about our strategic planning process,” notes Clay Roy. “Wendy has been in an active role now in the board strategy committee and is really helping us draw on the wisdom and insights of other New Profit organizations and bring that insight to us as we embark on this next stage in our journey but also doing that in a way that is who we are as an organization and our values.”

Generation Citizen is also a member of the  America Forward Coalition, a network of 100+ social innovation organizations that champion innovative and effective solutions to our country’s most pressing social problems led by New Profit’s nonpartisan policy initiative. Generation Citizen advocates for the equitable adoption and funding of civics education in schools, increased resources for high-quality teacher professional development, and for increased student voice and decision-making in policymaking at the state and federal levels. “We really appreciated the opportunity to talk about how actions that take place in Washington can support our ultimate mission and vision as an organization and give us a chance to collaborate with other organizations in the America Forward Coalition,“ said Clay Roy. 

America Forward and Generation Citizen have co-hosted several initiatives, including a Democracy Roundtable last year and an Instagram Live webinar focusing on the power of youth civic engagement. “They have been instrumental partners in building out our Democracy policy and advocacy work,” said Jessica Crawford, Partner on New Profit’s America Forward team. 

This fall, Generation Citizen launched RISE Vote 2024—a nonpartisan voter activation campaign designed to register, inform, support, and empower young voters. The initiative centers on the voices and lived experiences of young people during the 2024 election and beyond. This civic engagement resource is available to all teachers, even those not directly involved in Generation Citizen’s programs.

Generation Citizen’s future continues to look bright. In 2023, their programs reached over 30,000 students and they are on track to engage more than 40,000 students by the end of the school year. They are also expanding their geographic reach, partnering with schools in North Carolina, Vermont, and Washington for the first time in the 2024-2025 academic year. 

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