Pitching Civic Solutions

TL;DR

Students will explore organizations in the Organization Directory to inspire and develop a social enterprise that addresses a community issue. They will present their ideas, demonstrating their understanding of key entrepreneurial and nonprofit principles.

Objective

Strategic Planning: Creating a comprehensive plan including vision, goals, and resources.
Innovation and Creativity: Crafting original solutions and approaches to address community needs.
Leadership and Teamwork: Coordinating with group members, delegating tasks, and managing team dynamics.
Risk Management: Identifying potential risks and developing strategies to mitigate them.
Problem-Solving: Addressing and resolving complex issues with practical solutions.

Materials needed

Post-it notes
Device with internet access

Instructions

Class 1

1. Access Prior Knowledge: Local Issues (10-15 minutes)

Ask students to identify 2-3 issues in their own communities/neighborhoods that they would like to see improved or addressed and write these issues on post-it notes (should use a separate post-it for each issue). Encourage students to be as specific as possible (Ex - instead of “homelessness” write “lack of affordable housing for residents”)
Invite students to add their post-it notes to a board or wall
Then, ask students to work together to group the identified issues into themes (Ex - housing security, climate justice, transportation, economic mobility)

2. Utilize the Hub: Identifying Organizations (20 min)

Direct students to the Youth Civic Hub’s Organization Directory
Students should choose an organization that aligns with one of the themes identified by the class earlier (can work individually or in pairs)
Students should use that organization’s website to discover:
- What is the organization’s mission?
- Who do they serve?
- How do they accomplish their mission?
- How can New Yorkers get involved with this organization?
Have students pair up to share about the organizations they researched. Depending on time, you can do multiple rounds of this pair + share.

3. Collaborate: Develop a Civic Solution (20-25 min)

Students can work in pairs or small groups to:
1. Create an idea for their own organization, inspired by the ones they researched and the issues their class identified
2. Create a program or project that one of the organizations they researched could implement to address a social issue
Students should use a “Strategy Mapping” approach to their planning. This requires students to identify:
- Activities & initiatives of their organization/program
- Key stakeholders and resources they will need
- Any anticipated challenges to their organization’s or program’s success
- Intended outcomes and goals of their organization/program
Students will present about their organizations or programs in the next class. Their 5 minute presentations should include:
- Visionary Thinking: Clearly present a vision for the social enterprise. What is the mission? How does it address a specific community need or issue?
- Innovation: Showcase your approach to solving the problem. What makes your organization innovative or unique? If adding a program to an organization, how does it add to what the organization is already doing?
- Leadership and Management: Who will need to be involved for this organization or project to be successfully implemented?
- Risk-Taking: Identify potential risks or challenges and your strategies for mitigating them.
- Problem-Solving: Present a practical solution to the problem. How feasible and effective is your solution?
- Incorporate Terms: Your presentation must use at least 2 terms from the Youth Civic Hub’s Civic Glossary. Demonstrate how these terms are relevant to your idea.

Class 2

4. Presentation & Reflection (45-60 min)

Each student group will have 5 minutes to present their idea

5. Optional Ideas

If time allows, students can do last minute prep at the beginning of class
If time allows, include a brief Q&A for each presentation from the other students
Invite administrators or community members in to act as “funders,” deciding which organization or program they would award a grant to (you could also let the students vote for each other)
Ask students to write and submit a brief reflection on how the organizations they researched influenced their own idea and how the activity helped them understand the connection between civic entrepreneurship and nonprofit work.

Relevant Standards

NY State Grades 9-12 Social Studies Framework

Civic Participation: Participate in activities that focus on a classroom, school, community, state, or national issue or problem.
Civic Participation: Identify situations in which social actions are required and determine an appropriate course of action.

NYS Social Studies Standards - Commencement

Students should: participate in school/classroom/community activities that focus on an issue or problem
Students should prepare a plan of action that defines an issue or problem, suggests alternative solutions or courses of action, evaluates the consequences for each alternative solution or course of action, prioritizes the solutions based on established criteria, and proposes an action plan to address the issue or to resolve the problem