The Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life in the Moody College of Communication at The University of Texas at Austin has a long history of creating and offering quality civics education programs that serve Texas students.  These programs prepare generations of Texas kids for a lifetime of civic involvement and participation.  Your support will help secure their continued impact.

K-12 Civic Education

Speak Up! Speak Out!

For years, thousands of students in Texas K-12 schools have benefited from participating in Speak Up! Speak Out! Texas civics education and competition. Speak Up! Speak Out!  is an innovative civic education program for middle and high school students designed to teach young people about their communities and help them discover the many ways they can make a difference.

Speak Up! Speak Out!  participants work together as teams to identify community problems, craft innovative solutions that address them, and compete for the chance to present their findings to community leaders at the State Civics Fair. Winning teams receive funds to use toward the implementation of their solutions. Please consider these Speak Up! Speak Out! giving opportunities:

• $30 General Program Support
• $100 Sponsor lunch for 10 students at the civics fair
• $200 Sponsor a teacher for the Professional Development Workshop
• $500 Sponsor a classroom to participate in the program 

TexElects

During election years, TexElects combines voter education and the arts through lessons that teach Texas high school students about the voting process and invite them to creatively share their knowledge in an arts competition and exhibit. This unique integration of arts and civics engages Texas youth in the electoral process and inspires a commitment to democratic participation. The contest acts as a unique supplement to civics and government instruction in high schools around the state. The arts-integrated curriculum teaches students about the mechanics of participation and asks them to consider why citizens should vote. The students use this knowledge to create a work of art. Please consider these TexElects giving opportunities:

• $30 General Program Support
• $100 Sponsor promotion of student art work to inspire voter turnout in the 2018 midterm elections
• $200 Sponsor a student winner's attendance at the Youth Civic Art Exhibit Opening Ceremony
• $500 Sponsor Youth Civic Art Exhibit at The Contemporary Austin - Jones center

University-Age Civic Education

TX Votes

TX Votes is a nonpartisan student organization that involves college students in registering their peers to vote.  TX Votes is active on the University of Texas at Austin Campus and connects students with other nonpartisan state and national student voter engagement efforts. Additionally, the organization created the UT Civic Engagement Alliance which brings together nonpartisan and partisan organizations across campus to promote civic engagement and voter turnout across campus. The CEA has been the driving catalyst in on-campus voter turnout since its inception in 2015.  TX Votes members and leaders recently received national recognition by the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge for Most Improved Undergraduate Voter Turnout in the country. The organization has also received accolades from NASPA's Voter Friendly Campus Designation, the county, and from the university. They hope to expand their impact beyond just the Forty Acres and to improve voter registration among college students across the state. Please consider these TX Votes giving opportunities:

• $30 Sponsor dues for one TX Vote's member for a year
• $100 Sponsor one TX Votes Meeting
• $500 Sponsor travel for one student to a conference like the Harvard IOP National Campaign Conference
• $1,500 One large student event, like an Election Night Watch Party or a Parade to the Polls

New Politics Forum

Texas College students interested in taking their interest in politics and public service to the next level are encouraged to participate in the New Politics Forum.  The program brings year-round opportunities for nonpartisan and bipartisan workshops and conferences that introduce students to a network of peers around Texas, political professionals and elected leaders while teaching them the skills they need to work on a campaign or for an elected official. Established in 2003 at the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life, the New Politics Forum is the only program of its kind in Texas offering conferences, trainings, and events that are: (1) strictly nonpartisan; (2) primarily youth-focused; and (3) taught by active political professionals. The New Politics Forum offers: hands-on skill development that combines job relevance with cutting-edge academic research; networking and mentorship opportunities for students and alumni; rotating topics appropriate to the political environment and changes in new media; conferences and trainings that incorporate a more critical approach focusing on ethics, political values, and culture; and a stepping stone to careers in politics and life-long, sustained civic engagement. Please consider these New Politics Forum giving opportunities:

$50 Sponsor general costs for one student to attend one-day events like Careers in Politics Seminar

• $150 Sponsor registration for one student to attend three-day events like Campaign Bootcamp
• $500 Sponsor registration, travel and accommodations for one student to attend Campaign Bootcamp
• $1,500 Sponsor one large networking event at events like the Civic Life in the Cyber Age or Civic Power Symposium

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The tabs to the right allow you to support one of these programs.  As the umbrella institution for all of these programs, donations to the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life provide essential support for all of these individual programs, and continue to allow us to expand our important research activity as well. 

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