Theory of change
There is no required path through Virtutem Populo.
Our programs are not prerequisites. A young person can enter anywhere, participate once or return for years, and still be doing the thing the model is designed to produce.
with civic powerMany doors. One purpose.
Three functions, one purpose
Educate
Knowledge
History, the Constitution, government structure, economics and media literacy, built through workshops, competitions, learning stations, discussions and student written curriculum.
Activate
Practice
Competitions, simulations, government access, site visits, interviews and leadership environments where students speak, ask questions, complete written work and take responsibility for something public facing.
Advocate
Contribution
Public comment, policy ideas, pitches, journalism, civic art and student led projects that move an idea toward the people positioned to act on it.
Programs occupy more than one function.
This is why a straight line from one program to the next would misrepresent how the organization actually works.
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CDQ Constitution Day Quest
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CKB Civic Knowledge Bowl
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CAP Civic Action Podcast
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YGD Youth Governance Day
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SSBMI Florida Student School Board Member Initiative
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CEG Civic Excellence Gala
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S305 Strive305 Economic Fellowship
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SOS Speak Out September
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PUBLIC. PUBLIC.
Read plainly
Enter anywhere. Experience. Build.
Enter anywhere. Constitution Day Quest, Civic Knowledge Bowl, Youth Governance Day, Speak Out September, the Civic Action Podcast, PUBLIC. or the Strive305 Economic Fellowship. A student may attend one experience once, or several across multiple years.
Experience. Some combination of educate, activate and advocate, which can happen inside a single program or across several.
What we seek to build. Knowledge, confidence, agency and contribution.
The fellowship is our most intensive leadership experience. It is not a final level, and it is not what the other programs are preparing students for. A student who competes once in the Civic Knowledge Bowl and never returns has still done the thing.
Why access matters
Access changes what students believe they can do.
70%
of young people who interacted with their community often believed they could make a difference there.
29%
of those who never interacted in person with their communities believed the same.
Source: CIRCLE, Tufts University