The Civic Circle, Inc.
All the nation's children should know and embrace their civic rights and responsibilities as Americans.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The Civic Circle’s one-of-a-kind, equity-informed, multicultural civic learning program strengthens democracy from the ground up. It empowers students to counter the escalating mistrust, polarization, gridlock and disinformation that define the nation’s democracy crisis. It helps close an equity gap in civic learning and engagement that has dampened youth voter turnout in Maryland and contributed to inequitable school outcomes in Montgomery County. It responds to county students’ demand for a more culturally diverse curriculum, and lifts up diverse youth voices. And it sets students on a path to higher academic achievement, graduation rates, and job readiness, all of which correlate to civic learning.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Vote for Me!
After-school workshops, educational videos and performances that get kids excited about voting and other democracy values through story and song.
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
Founding Member, Maryland Civic Education Coalition 2020
External reviews

Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of students enrolled in service-learning courses
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Multiracial people, People of African descent, People of Latin American descent, Low-income people, Immigrants
Related Program
Vote for Me!
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The number of students reached after-school workshops that include service-learning activities exceeded 160 students in 2022. With assembly shows, civic events and camps, our total reach was 1,488.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The Civic Circle's arts-based education program aims to increase civic participation and agency among low-income students in diverse Eastern Montgomery County, giving them a grasp of and appreciation for democracy as a system of government, an understanding of their civic power and how to exercise it, and practical lessons in how to vote and why voting matters.
The short-term goal is for students to participate in student government, student newspaper and debate clubs, and volunteer and leadership activities when they reach high school, all of which correlate to enhanced academic performance and graduation rates. The long-term goal is for them to vote when they become eligible, land better jobs, influence public life by communicating with and demanding accountability from elected officials, and contribute to the civic and economic success of their communities. Civic learning correlates to measurable increases in academic achievement, graduation rates, employability, and voter turnout.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The program breaks ground in three areas. First, The Civic Circle introduces civics to students age 8-13, who are often overlooked in Social Studies offerings. Second, the program uses original songs, in styles ranging from hip-hop to Latin American, and songwriting workshops, to bring democracy alive for students of diverse backgrounds and learning styles. Third, the program empowers students with hands-on civic skills like voting and understanding the news, which Maryland teachers have identified as a weak point in Social Studies offerings that have tended to over-emphasize rote memorization of facts and dates.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The Civic Circle is building long-term sustainability by obtaining corporate sponsors, seeking grants, and partnering with a wide range of collaborators, including the civic learning group Liberty’s Promise, The Washington Revels, Carpe Diem Arts, MHP, and Montgomery College. Our model of inviting teen and college-age volunteers in as guest speakers is cementing connections with allies like Blair High School, Montgomery College, and the Conflict Resolution Center of Montgomery County. The Civic Circle belongs to and is helping grow a Maryland Coalition for Civic Education, and is a member of the CivXNow Coalition, which advances civic learning nationwide. Civic Circle Founder and President Eliza Newlin Carney is a fellow with Seattle-based Citizen University, and as such has organized the first of three town-hall style “Civic Saturdays” in Silver Spring, helping broaden community visibility, support, and buy-in.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Our organization has grown quickly since our inception in 2018, having mounted the following programs and reached the following audiences in 2020 alone:
After-School Workshops:
32 Classroom Sessions
93 Students ages 8-11
Educational Videos:
5 Educational Videos on Democracy, Voting, Civic Skills
Online Views: 471
Live-Stream Performances:
5 Virtual Performances with Carpe Diem Arts, The Washington Revels, Montgomery College
Online Views: 4,896
Community Civic Events:
2 Community Civic Events (Women’s Suffrage Commemoration, Black Lives Matter Civic Saturday)
Online Views: 474
Total Virtual and In-Person Reach: 5,934
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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Who are the people you serve with your mission?
We serve primarily low-income students age 8-13 in Eastern Montgomery County. We also serve their families with student performances and democracy concerts, and high school students and adults who participate in our community civic events.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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What significant change resulted from feedback?
We asked students whether they would like to have a mini-residency with a teaching artist that involved songwriting, poetry, storytelling or visual arts. We had planned to do a songwriting workshop, but since 75 percent of students stated a preference for visual arts, we brought in a visual artist who helped the students create civic mini-magazines, known as "Zines."
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
Assessing changes in habits of hearts and mind can be imprecise. It's not just knowledge acquisition
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
The Civic Circle, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 02/14/2023
Ms. Eliza Newlin Carney
The Civic Circle
Term: 2017 - 2027
Ms. Michael Amilcar
Cook Ross, Inc.
Term: 2017 - 2027
Ted Goldstock
Lerch, Early & Brewer
Tami Mark
RTI International
Michael Amilcar Cook Ross, Inc.
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 11/24/2020GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.