Civics PlaybookNational Civics Bee®
- Mission: Increase civics knowledge, skills and disposition among young Americans, their families and communities through an annual nonpartisan civics competition, hosted in partnership with chambers of commerce in every state.
- Geographic Focus: National
- Audience: Students in grades 6-8, parents, K-12 teachers and business leaders
- Budget: $4.2 million
- Focus Areas and Core Competencies:
- Civics education
- Local, state and national civics bees
- K-12 teacher civics education
Civics Competitions Unite Communities and Help Civic Engagement Thrive
Impact: The National Civics Bee®
The National Civics Bee® expanded from five communities in 2022 to more than 100 communities across 28 states in 2024, reaching more than 8,000 middle school students.
A Conversation with Hilary Crow, Vice President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and Leader of the National Civics Bee®
Q: What is the mission of the National Civics Bee®? What problem(s) in civics education is your nonprofit working to solve?
The mission of the National Civics Bee® is to increase civic literacy and build enthusiasm for America. Our vision is for every American to have the civics knowledge, skills and disposition to exercise their rights and fulfill their responsibilities in our democracy.
The problem we’re working to solve is that we have a multigenerational civics crisis in America. The Nation’s Report Card from NAEP shows that nearly 80% of eighth graders are below proficient in civics. At the same time, we’ve conducted original surveys that show 70% of adults can’t pass a basic civics quiz. These represent significant challenges to the strength of our democracy and long-term competitiveness of our country.
To address this, we launched the National Civics Bee® – an annual competition for middle school students that also engages their families, educators, community leaders, elected officials and more. We partner with state and local chambers of commerce in states across the country to bring this to their communities. Each local chamber reaches out to education networks – public, charter, private or homeschool – and invites students to submit a short essay on how they could use civics to improve an issue in their community.
Students with the top 20 scoring essays are invited to compete in a local competition including civics quiz questions and live Q&A with judges. The top three finalists of each local competition receive a cash prize and are invited to a state-level competition. This year we’re delighted to host the inaugural National Championship in Washington, D.C., where the 28 state champions will compete for the national title and prizes worth more than $50,000.
Q: How do you describe the big goals the National Civics Bee® is working to achieve? How do you measure impact?
Our big goal is to have all 50 states participating by 2026 and host a nationally televised National Championship in coordination with America’s 250th birthday that year.
To measure our impact, we retained Johns Hopkins University to conduct qualitative and quantitative research and analysis to measure our impact on students’ knowledge, skills, their identity as citizens, their civil tolerance and civic and community engagement. We’ll have our first longitudinal study available in the next two years.
Q: What are some of the biggest challenges the National Civics Bee® has experienced in working to accomplish its mission? How did your organization overcome those challenges?
Our first challenge was internal capacity. We grew from five chambers to more than 100 within 18 months. Achieving 20-times growth in that short time frame with only a few staff was a challenge to quickly build and strengthen our internal and technological infrastructure to meet the growing needs of the project. Our next challenge was figuring out the most effective way to engage thousands of middle schoolers across the country and get them to apply. We are focused on reaching students in rural and urban areas, so we’ve been adjusting our strategy and building partnerships with youth organizations to reach those communities.
Our current challenge is meeting our funding needs to continue to scale this to hundreds of chambers, 50 states and 50,000-plus students in the next two years and beyond.
Q: What is the National Civics Bee®’s biggest need where philanthropists can help your organization achieve its goals?
To scale this program, we must raise $21 million over the next five years. We’re looking for funders who believe in this work, are committed to being completely nonpartisan and want to help build this national movement that will impact students, adults and communities all across America.
Q: Beyond the National Civics Bee®, where should philanthropists who care about advancing civic knowledge invest their charitable dollars?
I encourage philanthropists to consider putting their investments in programs addressing civic knowledge and skills for adults. There’s a really big opportunity there. Another pillar of our work within The Civic Trust is civics at work. We’re rolling out a nonpartisan initiative that gives employers the tools and resources they need to elevate civics knowledge, skills and disposition in the workplace. Business remains a trusted institution and by partnering with employers, there’s an opportunity to reach the more than 168 million people in the American workforce.
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Contact the Roundtable’s Programs team to learn more about this investment opportunity.