Community Outreach

Madison Civics Club Youth Grants

            Since 1912 the Madison Civics Club has promoted non-partisan education and the discussion of important contemporary issues in its annual lecture series.  In recent years we have expanded our community outreach to student groups and youth groups throughout Dane County.  Youth groups involved in valuable community activities have been given some financial grants as well as being invited to the Saturday luncheon meetings with their instructors to hear national and international speakers in areas of their interest.  Both the students and Civics Club members have benefited from inter-generational discussions around the luncheon tables. Youth groups have also been invited to join in a reception prior to the luncheon, giving them an opportunity to interact with the guest speaker.  Channel3000, Alliant Energy, American Family Insurance, Timpano Group, and the contributing and sustaining members of the Civics Club have generously funded this program.  See This Season's Programs for a list of this year's speakers and their topics.

            If your high school student group or youth group would benefit from this program, please complete the Youth Grant Application Form as soon as possible or no later than 4 weeks prior to the luncheon you wish to attend. You can apply in one of two ways:

            1) Print out the application form and mail it to Margie Zutter, 4106 Cherokee Dr., Madison 53711, or

            2) Send an email to youthgrants@madisoncivicsclub.org, in which you include all the information requested on the application form.

            Call Margie at  233-0856 if you have any questions.

Please note that the Madison Civics Club will pay the cost of lunch for all the students in the organization attending as well as for the chaperones.   We encourage other staff members and parents to join us at the special reduced rate of $15.00/person. You can also apply for an honorarium for the group of up to $300.

[During the 2005-2006 season, the Civics Club recognized the work of Girl Neighborhood Power from the Atwood Community Center, Ecology Clubs from Verona and Middleton High Schools, the “By Youth – For Youth” volunteers for Dane County, Engineers Without Borders from the University of Wisconsin, and Madison East High School’s Students for Freedom and Peace. 

During the 2006-2007 season, we honored four local youth-run newspapers (Waunakee High School's The Purple Sage, Simpson Street Free Press, Stoughton High School's The Norse Star, and Memorial High School's The Sword and Shield), the Monona Grove High School Model U. N., three environmental groups (the LaFollette Recycling Club, Project Green Team at Malcolm Shabazz, and the Sun Prairie Science Club), reporters from the Edgewood College newspaper, and students in a Memorial High School Women's Studies Class.

During the 2007-08 season we honored and invited 65 youth guests to our meetings.   They came from Latinos Unidos (from Memorial High School and Omega School); the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), Top Teens of America; and Sister's Taking Active Roles (STAR) from Edgewood High, and AFL World Flags.  We also hosted 62 University of Wisconsin students from the Middle East program at our November meeting. 

See thank-you note from AISES