Since launching our Civics Education in Appalachian Ohio program in partnership with the Longaberger Family Foundation in 2019, FAO has awarded more than $95,000 in funding to provide K-12 students with opportunities to study, participate in and experience what it means to be engaged in their communities.

During funding periods, we accept grant applications from K-12 public schools, educators, students and public and nonprofit organizations serving K-12 students across Appalachian Ohio’s 32 counties. Funding is allocated to projects and programs that support and encourage civics education opportunities for K-12 public school students with a goal of providing the children of Appalachia the knowledge and skills necessary to become informed and engaged community members.

The most recent grant round closed on March 12, 2024.

Previous grant recipients

  • The Academy for Urban Scholars Youngstown, serving Mahoning and Trumbull counties, to purchase equipment to launch a student-led, civics-based podcast featuring civic leaders.
  • The Boys & Girls Club of Washington County to expand its Summer Brain Gain program to include social studies and civics, with an emphasis on American civics and democracy.
  • Caldwell Exempted Village School District in Noble County to support student participation in the Ohio Model United Nations Conference, a three-day education simulation that allows youth to learn about the United Nations.
  • Lawrence County to support the Lawrence County Civic Scholars Fellowship, which places students in local government offices to learn about public service.
  • Majestic Galleries in Athens County to support a visual arts contest through which K-12 classrooms throughout Appalachian Ohio will create paper quilts based on a civics prompt that will be exhibited in conjunction with accompanying events.
  • Maysville Local Schools in Muskingum County to support high school students’ participation in National History Day competitions.
  • Morgan Junior High School to support experiential learning in Marietta connected to the Northwest Territory, as well as participation in a service-learning project and opportunities to learn how civic engagement can positively impact quality of life.
  • Rural Action to support its Youth Climate Action Teams for teens in Athens, Jackson and Ross counties. Team members will develop peer relationships and engage in civic projects informed by local needs and data.
  • Southeast Ohio History Center to develop a social studies program for fourth- and eighth-graders in Athens County commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Fort Gower Resolves.
  • Warren Local Schools in Washington County to fund Mock Trial expenses for students.
  • Wellston High School in Jackson County to support student participation in the Ohio Youth in Government Conference at the Ohio Statehouse.

  • Alexander High School to support the ­­­Think Globally, Act Locally project, which identifies humanitarian issues facing people globally and addresses those issues at the local level. High school students attended the Ohio Model United Nations conference and returned home to share their civics education experiences with middle school students and make positive change within their own community.
  • Belmont County Sheriff’s Office (BSCO) to support the BSCO Explorers’ Post #7 project, which expanded and enriched Post #7 by recruiting new candidates and building the skills of existing Explorers.
  • Cambridge High School Ohio Model United Nations to fund students’ attendance fees for the Ohio Model United Nations State Conference.
  • Fort Frye High School to support ­­­Operation: Monument Restoration, a service-learning project through which students cleaned gravestones of community founders.
  • Ohio Alliance of YMCAs Foundation to support the ­­­Ohio YMCA Youth and Government project, designed to encourage and support young citizens who are educated and passionate about being involved in their community and local democracy. Funding provided a supplemental curriculum for students who, within a mock-state government body, assessed community needs, wrote legislative bills and worked to resolve issues deepening their knowledge of democracy.
  • Ohio FFA Foundation Inc. to provide scholarships for students to attend the Ohio Legislative Leadership Conference.
  • Ohio University to support the ­­­Strengthening Civics Education in Appalachian Ohio project. This project supported a pre-existing project by WOUB Public Media called “Our Ohio,” a documentary film project that challenges students to learn about and explore films about Appalachian cultural identity, community, media literacy and multimedia storytelling. The project introduced a film called “Portraits and Dreams” to students at Logan, South Gallia, Alexander, Wellston and Meigs high schools and asked them to participate in a virtual panel discussion and multimedia storytelling workshop held by WOUB.
  • Ohio Valley Youth Network and Sycamore Youth Center to support the ­­Sycamore Civic Literacy & Community Service program, which gives Jefferson County junior high and high school students the opportunity to study the history, structure and operations of local government.
  • Ohio-West Virginia Youth Leadership Association (YLA) to send students to government seminars.
  • Vinton County Middle School to support a project that teaches sixth-grade students about civic engagement and for field trips to the Cincinnati Art Museum and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
  • Zanesville High School to help fund tours of some historical sites that have framed our nation from its founding to today.

  • Adams County Ohio Valley School to support a project aimed at familiarizing students with the same touch technology used when voting.
  • Cambridge City Schools to purchase a Chromebook cart to give students in the Ohio Model United Nations program the opportunity to learn about the world and prepare for the state conference in Columbus.
  • Dawson Bryant Local School District to support the Lawrence County Scholars Fellowship project, which encourages high school juniors and seniors to intern for the county’s elected officials.
  • Fort Frye Local School District to support the school district and the Sink or Swim project, which aimed to identify funding issues with community pools within the area.
  • Logan-Hocking School District to support the Student Leadership and Community Partnership project, through which students pick a community provider and learn how the organization benefits the community.
  • Switzerland of Ohio Local School District to provide and produce civics education literature, lesson plans and experiential learning for first- to fourth-grade classrooms.
  • Warren Local Schools to support Warren High School’s expansion of student voting initiatives.
  • Zanesville City School District to support digitizing the fourth-grade Ohio’s History through Art curriculum and a new 12-part gallery-experience video series that explores key images within the curriculum.