Annual Report FY2018

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Scaling a National Movement

CIVIC

EDUCATION

Dear Friends of iCivics, In October, regrettably, Justice O’Connor let us know that she is taking her leave from public life.

Take but a moment to reflect on a singular question:

As she wrote in her touching letter to the nation: “ It is time for new leaders to make civic learning and engagement a reality for all. It is my great hope that our nation will commit to educating our youth about civics, and to helping young people understand their crucial role as informed, active citizens in our nation. To achieve this, I hope that private citizens, counties, states, and the federal government will work together to create and fund a nationwide civic education initiative. Many wonderful people already are working towards this goal, but they need real help and public commitment.”

What is the promise of great civic education for all?

At iCivics, we ponder this question every day. To do so is, in fact, integral to the work we do and the innovative way in which we carry it out. More notably, it was this fundamental question that led to iCivics’ creation.

iCivics is at a crossroads. This year alone, we benefitted 80,000 teachers and 5 million students nationwide – halfway to our goal. But we must reach every student in our republic. Many states still do not require enough civics learning in school; and rarely is this subject made a condition for graduation. For long-lasting change to occur, civic education must

When Justice Sandra Day O’Connor retired from the Supreme Court in

be expanded and prioritized in schools. In fact, it must be thoroughly

2006, she understood something was very wrong. Many Americans lacked

demanded by the public.

knowledge, interest, and the will to participate in our unique experiment in self-governance. As someone who had devoted her life to public service – in all three branches of government, no less – this fact troubled her deeply.

So she did what all citizens should do: she chose to do something about it. She founded iCivics. She deems iCivics to be her most important work and legacy.

This year, iCivics created the CivXNow! Coalition: a fast-growing movement of powerful leveraged networks dedicated to expanding civic education in our nation. Our effort is to change the systems that will make high-quality civic education a centerpiece of modern education.

I urge you to join our movement. Together, we can make good on Justice O’Connor’s tireless promise to our youth, and to our democracy.

Warmly,

Louise Dubé Executive Director

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iCIVICS AT A GLANCE:

Play

Games transform the experience of civic learning. They turn this complex subject into something digestible. For instance, our game Win the White House can:

Teach core civic knowledge from a systems perspective.

u How does the electoral college work for a presidential election?

Put students in the decision-maker’s shoes.

u Become the candidate, fundraise for your campaign, and promote your agenda for an electoral win!

Capture young people’s curiosity as they dive deeper into the topic.

u How are purple states important? What is the value of polling?

Can a Democrat support a campaign issue from the Republican party, and vice-versa?

Learn

Our games introduce a key civic concept, but our curriculum explores it in depth. Teachers build on the gaming experience through lesson plans, digital learning tools, and case studies. The curriculum:

u Covers a full school year, from the Constitution to News Media Literacy and Immigration & Citizenship.

u Is easy to use for teachers and non-partisan. They can discuss polemic topics in a safe way with their students.

u Aligns to state and Common Core standards.

Engage

A 21st century civic education should be transformative. Our approach rests on a key fact: young people learn best by doing it themselves.

u Students are encouraged to gain knowledge on civic challenges, build the skill-set to address them, then

HERE’S WHAT I KNOW: CIVIC EDUCATION WORKS.

Students who receive highquality civic education are more likely to vote and engage in political life, work on community issues, be socially responsible, and complete college and develop employable skills.

So what does a high-quality civic education look like? While it can take many forms, iCivics promotes simulations of democratic processes––and that’s fine by us.

Our online games allow students to assume many civic and political roles they would not otherwise experience, at least not at this juncture in their lives. From running for the White House to passing bills in Congress, and from managing a county government to deciding Constitutional questions on the Supreme Court—iCivics games immerse students in many of our government’s most important institutions, processes, and foundational content ... and they do so in a fun away.

Emma Humphries, Ph.D. Chief Education Officer, iCivics

find and carry out solutions.

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SCALING A NATIONAL MOVEMENT OUR VISION is a healthy democracy … starting with young people. But for them to achieve their ambitions, adults need to take civics seriously, and fast. We must therefore impact the conditions in schools in order to both expand and deepen civic education. We must build demand by scaling a national movement.

A National Summit: Democracy at a Crossroads In September 2017, iCivics convened a national Summit to

members of academia, political leaders and policy-makers,

raise visibility for civic education. The impetus: the anemic

funders, and national media.

state of engagement in our democracy. We believe that

Here, we were able to: share success stories of state-level

high-quality civic education – one that fuses student-voice and equity – is part of the solution.

civic education renewal; showcase innovation and energy in the field; and open up new paths for support. These efforts

Fortunately, iCivics is not alone to think this. We successfully

yielded immediate results. Nearly 9 in 10 attendees found

gathered 180 attendees, reflecting a rich diversity of

the speakers inspiring, and wanted to find ways to increase

opinion and thought leadership: teachers and students,

their involvement in civic engagement.

State Policy Changes

Our guiding vision is to raise an entire generation of informed

Many of the decisions surrounding education remain local.

and active students. But these efforts are undercut if they

States can often dictate the rigor and quality in civic education

are not supported by stricter state mandates, like those in

that students will get – or not. In America today, only a

Florida and Illinois.

handful of states have taken proactive measures to demand that high-quality civic education be on the same playing field as other tested subjects, like STEM or ELA.

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In these states are some of the nation’s most ambitious efforts to increase civic education in public school. Evidence suggests a positive impact, across an array of factors.

iCivics is paying attention – and taking note.

Here in Massachusetts, iCivics helped co-found the MA Civic Learning Coalition: a roundtable of twenty civics education nonprofits, school districts, research institutions, and stakeholders. The group was deeply invested in improving the quality of K-12 civic education across the state. This year, it was successful in pushing a new comprehensive civics education bill for Massachusetts.

This bill is a substantial achievement – and in iCivics’ very own backyard.

Schools in K-12 will implement new civics standards, and public high school students will need to take up at least one student-led, non-partisan civics project. Furthermore, the bill creates a Civics Project Trust Fund, which will help Massachusetts communities implement history and civics education requirements, particularly in underserved communities.

We are at the forefront of change in civic education.

Our goal is to spur this movement forward

Movement-Building: The “CivXNow!” Coalition As an established leader in the field, iCivics is now heading a national, non-partisan coalition: CivXNow! This coalition exists to improve the status of civic education – and expand it to new areas.

This movement has taken hold fast. Already, over 50 partnerorganizations have joined the call. They are academics, civics providers, presidential library foundations, advocacy and policy organizations, and more.

The CivXNow! Coalition will focus on four key initiatives: • Build an infrastructure for systems-change; • Roll out a national public awareness campaign; • Support new requirements for civics; • Determine better impact measures.

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iCIVICS INNOVATES A Data Snapshot of FY2018 HIGH MOMENTUM:

New teachers registered in 2018:

4O,OOO

iCivics reaches

78% of all

A PUSH FOR EQUITY:

U.S.“Civic Deserts” – those areas, often rural, with few opportunities for civic learning and engagement, and a lack of youth programming.

RECORD TRACTION:

PDF downloads:

Gameplays:

1,625,OOO

19,OOO,OOO

DBQuest upgrade: iCivics revealed the new DBQuest: a unique digital learning tool that guides students through evidence-based learning with primary sources. The long-awaited upgrade to DBQuest – which had been in prototype mode for some time – engages young people to learn, write, and reflect on our nation’s historical documents.

In addition to a full modernization of its technology platform, we created new content modules to better cover the history curriculum. Three new content modules were created, covering America’s Founding Preambles, the Constitution’s Cover Letter, and the Louisiana Purchase.

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¿Tengo Algún Derecho?

Among our most long-term and consequential projects is iCivics’ focus on English language learners (or ELLs). They are 4.8 million in K-12 – and growing. Most troublingly, ELLs are historically excluded from high-quality civics learning. This is simply unacceptable. They need adapted resources for their unique academic and linguistic abilities.

“

I loved the improvements!

I spent less time modeling and explaining the game than I did before. The illustrations are far superior, the content is clearer [...] and the ability to click on words for definition greatly decreased the time I spent as a “walking dictionary.”

This game allows for a much shorter learning

109,000 ELL-gameplays in just 6 months!

curve and greater student independence.

The kids were completely engaged for all 55 minutes and I literally had to eject

one of iCivics’ most cherished games: ¿Tengo Algún Derecho? (“Do I Have A Right?”)

The new game features a full translation into Spanish and an array of built-in assists to keep the game educational, challenging, and fun. These include: a technical glossary; English voice-overs; visual representations; and a strategic Case Analyzer for tricky amendments.

High School Curriculum Expansion:

one students because he was going to miss his next class.

“

We are proud to announce an important benchmark: our very first ELL adaptation of

iCivics continues to make inroads in its multi-year high school library expansions.

We have surpassed our halfway point, having developed over 38 lesson plans so far. The work accomplished spans the Foundations of Government, State and Local Governments, and News Media Literacy units.

Ada Bélanger ESOL & Social Studies teacher Bedford, NY

We are currently working on integrating the skills for media literacy into all of our materials that cover modern civics; we will soon be developing new the “Road to the Constitution” and the Three Branches of Government units.

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CLASSROOM IMPACT… AND BEYOND Good citizenship boils down to far more than just civic knowledge. It is the skill-set that makes you ask questions or discuss an interesting point of view; it is the behaviors that guide you to the voting booth; it is the awareness that you live in a community, a state, and a nation of laws. iCivics exists to make these concepts relevant to all young

I love getting to play iCivics. It was amazing how much your view changed when you were the one to have to take care of other people; not the other way around. It opened up my mind about how much work it is to keep everyone happy. It made me appreciate my government so much more.

Kylie Ray, aged 12

people. If the

Because of iCivics, I know how our government functions. I am able to go home and discuss politics with my parents and the problems we face every day. I believe civics can teach us young adults to expand our view and knowledge of our country.

process begins

Iridian, aged 17

in the classroom, it certainly must

Bronx Latin School | New York, NY

not end there ...

These [iCivics] games help us become better at making a positive change in our community and [making] it a better place to live. What we have learned has had a big impact on us because we are now holding a “gooddrive” to give to our local food banks in Waco.

Brookelyn Merenda, aged 11 Waco, TX

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Honors and Recognition

DONOR P ROFILE

This year, iCivics continued to innovate – and was rewarded for it. iCivics took home the Gold Award from the Reimagine

This year, iCivics benefited from

Education Competition; and NBC

an unprecedented investment:

Universal Foundation chose iCivics as this year’s Project Innovation Winner.

a $1 million

The result: a unique partnership with

matching gift

Boston Public Schools to bring action-based

opportunity.

civics learning to local students. iCivics also presented at SXSWedu on the Games and Learning panel, and was recognized in hundreds of publications – including the Associated Press, Washington Post, and Education Week.

At the direction of Leonard and Judy Lauder, this opportunity became an incentive to raise a maximum of $2 million in one year – double the support for double

iCivics Board of Directors HONORABLE SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR Chairwoman Emeritus Associate Justice (ret.)

Supreme Court of the United States WENDY D. MAY Chairwoman Of Counsel Hartline Dacus Barger Dreyer LLP BRENDAN CULLEN Managing Director Co-Impact LAIRD MALAMED Director & General Manager of Operations Facebook ARNOLD B. PEINADO, III Senior Partner (ret.)

Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LINDSAY REIMERS Founding Partner SVP Denver

THOMAS LUE General Counsel DeepMind

the impact.

JAY O’CONNOR Advisory Partner Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital ANN M. RAVEL Fellow New America CA

On behalf of the iCivics board

KATHLEEN SMALLEY Of Counsel Locke Lord LLP

Lauder for their extraordinary

ABIGAIL B. TAYLOR Assistant Attorney General Director of Child and Youth Protection Unit; Office of the Massachusetts AttorneyGeneral

to realize my mother’s vision to

and the O’Connor family, I want to thank Leonard and Judy generosity. This will make a significant impact on our efforts provide quality and engaging civic education to every student in America.”

Jay O’Connor

HONORABLE SONIA SOTOMAYOR Associate Justice Supreme Court of the United States

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THOSE WHO MAKE iCIVICS POSSIBLE We are tremendously grateful to our donors.

Their vital support keeps iCivics free.

LEADER (+ $100,000)

PARTNER ($25,000-$99,999)

Honorable James Hormel

Adrienne Arsht

Barbara B. Allbritton

Amazon Web Services

Bernstein Family Foundation

Jeannette Vargas and Shiv Chatterjee

Annenberg Public Policy Center

Braitmayer Family Foundation

Arthur Rock and Toni Rembe Rock

Catherine Hilliard

Carnegie Corporation of New York

Charles Evans Hughes Memorial Foundation

Council on Public Legal Education of lawforwa.org

Entertainment Software Association Foundation

Day O’Connor Family

Foundation of the International Association of Defense Counsel

Google Ads John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

Gloria HIcks

Kenan Charitable Trust

Hartline Dacus Barger Dreyer, LLP

Leonard and Judy Lauder

John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Library of Congress

Lindmor Fund

National Endowment for the Humanities

Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation

Robert R. McCormick Foundation

Norman Raab Foundation

NBCUniversal Foundation Park Foundation

William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Kathleen Smalley Kit Pannill Laird Malamed Lee and Juliet Folger Fund Lincoln and Therese Filene Foundation Louis Dejoy and Aldona Z. Woz Family Foundation Mark Perry Martha Minow Martin Rodgers Melissa Elstein and Eric Katzmann National Association of Counties National Conference on Citizenship Oren Root Patrick and Pam Goodenough Ralph Iannelli

SUSTAINER ($1,000 -$24,999)

Richard Fishman

American Association of University Women

Robert Ettl

Anne Irwin Arnold B. Peinado, III Bay and Paul Foundations Betsy Bliss CBS Corporation Christine Begley Cranaleith Foundation Diane Cooley DVF Studio, LLC Gloria Weesner Google, Inc. Harry Reasoner

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iCivics Annual Re p or t 20 1 8

Robert H. Smith Family Foundation Robert Long, Jr. Sarah and Ted Normand Scott Barshay Shepard Broad Foundation Silvija Strikis Susser Family Foundation Thomas Wilner Tom Lue Victoria Radd Rollins Warner Marshall Wendy May William B. Wiener, Jr. Foundation

FY2018 FINANCIAL REPORT Maintaining growth after a national election year

Students Reached vs. Expenses* For every $.60 invested, a student learns with iCivics.

6M

5M

Students reached 4M

Expenses (in $) FY16 FY16

FY17 FY17

FY18 FY18

3M

2M

1M FY15

Support and Revenue

FY16

June 30, 2018

FY17

FY18

June 30, 2017

Contributions In-Kind Royalties & Contract Income Interest Income & Other Revenue Total Support

3,161,054 660,297 48,925 49,323 3,919,599

2,611,331 740,450 633,100 90,472 4,075,353

Program Expenses Management & General Fundraising Total Expenses

2,924,539 (80%) 285,384 (8%) 430,182 (12%) 3,640,105

2,746,511 (78%) 298,285 (9%) 471,153 (13%) 3,515,949

Net assets, Beginning of Year Net Assets, End of Year Change in Net Assets

2,887,874 3,167,368 279,494

2,328,470 2,887,874 559,404

*Excludes in-kind donations i C i v i cs A nnua l Re p o r t 2018

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My son, who is a senior in high school told me that he learned more about the American government in one class period with iCivics than he has in his 7 years of classes.

– Teacher from Montana

CIVIC

EDUCATION

info@icivics.org | 1035 Cambridge Street, Suite 21B | Cambridge, MA 02141 (617) 356-8311 | www.icivics.org |

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