Client Spotlight: The Civics Center
As usual, the Sustainable Digital team spent a fair share of the summer travelling: Luis and I swapped the Andalusian heat for pleasant temperatures in The Netherlands; Sharon hiked through the Balkans; Disha went on a road trip to Udaipur, and Bob led his Fever Tour groups all around Europe and beyond.
As we shared our holiday stories, we realized how often we’d found ourselves talking about the work we do, the amazing organizations we get to work with, and how proud we feel to form a small part of driving their causes forward. This made us realize that we want to take this pride to the next level by spotlighting a different client every month.
First up: The Civics Center, with whom we have worked for three years now. We are great fans of this team of dedicated people, the resources they offer and their website aesthetic and, as is true for so many of the projects we get to work on, we get to learn from them in the process.
We reached out to Senior Communications & Strategy Advisor, Lisa Cohen, to learn more about their current campaign and recent achievements ahead of the midterm elections.
Could you tell us a little about The Civics Center’s mission?
The Civics Center is on a mission to make voter registration part of every high school in America.
Why is reaching young people before they turn 18 so important to your work?
Once young people graduate high school, they become much harder to reach and engage with democracy. In every state, young people can pre-register before turning 18, in some places as early as 15 or 16. We help students and teachers run non-partisan drives in their schools, where they learn alongside trusted friends and adults. In this way we can reach virtually everyone, especially those that don’t go to college or have a driver’s license.
What resources can students and educators find on your website to help with registration and preregistration?
For students we have free workshops and materials to run their non-partisan drives; for teachers who want to support them, we have free lesson plans and toolkits. And for all concerned citizens, we have county-level data on the rates of registration among 18-year-olds in 39 states. We encourage everyone to explore their area and share our materials with high school communities who would like to raise those rates and welcome their newest voters to democracy year after year.
With the midterms approaching, what is your team focusing on?
We’re supporting almost 200 high schools in planning and running their drives. 20% of seniors are old enough to vote this November, and millions more can pre-register today and be ready for their turn in 2028.
Is there a recent story or achievement you’re particularly proud of?
Our data has gotten press coverage in CA, TX, PA, OH, NH and LA. We’ve also had national coverage in The Guardian and The Hill. The opportunity that pre-registration presents is not well known, so we’re working hard to raise awareness and help young people see how important their voices are.
How has Sustainable Digital supported your work, and what have you valued most about our collaboration?
Since 2023, Sustainable Digital has provided steady support in monitoring the health of our website, adding content as needed, and suggesting critical improvements to increase our ranking and visibility. Very early on, SD recommended adding state pages which we were able to implement this year. The results have been very positive and we’re grateful for the guidance!
What message would you like to leave young people with?
You have the power to make change. When you register, you are telling your community and your representatives that you care, you count, and you intend to vote. So, take that first step and help your friends exercise their rights, too. We’re here to help!
Learn more about The Civics Center’s work and resources at thecivicscenter.org.
Images courtesy of The Civics Center.
