The largest nonprofit organization devoted to civic education outside the classroom environment in the United States, the Close Up Foundation is dedicated to civic renewal. Close Up enables participants -- primarily high school students -- to travel, to see their government at work, and to gain a fuller understanding of themselves and their country.




It was a time of turbulence and of protest, especially among young people. Americans were divided over such issues as the conflict in Vietnam and the civil rights movement, and the young were especially distrustful of their government. It was the end of the 1960s.

"It was fashionable then to be anti-establishment, but a lot of students had no idea why they were 'anti.' They didn't have an answer or a solution," says Stephen Janger, who was part of a small group that had an idea to give young Americans a sense of direction and of purpose.

Janger wanted to prepare students for a lifetime of civic participation and show them close up how government functions. "We felt that there ought to be some way to show young people that the system does accept input and that involvement is the key to constructive change," he says. His credentials for such an undertaking? He was running a summer study program taking American high school students to Europe.

Starting small-scale, in 1970 Janger helped create the Close Up Foundation and invited government leaders and members of the academic and business communities to join its board of advisers. The next year the foundation brought its first groups of high school students and teachers from Oklahoma, Texas and Florida to Washington for intensive week-long programs.

A FIRSTHAND LOOK AT DEMOCRACY

The four goals of the foundation were: to create in students a better understanding of the democratic process; to benefit the community after the students' return from Washington; to create a professional enhancement program for educators; and to bring together a true representation of America's diversity -- all income levels, all races, all academic and physical abilities, all religious backgrounds and all geographic areas. Over the years the programs have been greatly expanded while the goals have remained constant.

Close Up participants learning more about how government works during their visit to Washington, D.C.

Today, Janger is the Close Up Foundation president and chief executive officer, and, a quarter-century after its founding, this nonprofit, nonpartisan organization has given nearly 500,000 students and educators a firsthand look at democracy in the nation's capital. The program also includes activities for older Americans, international studies, television outreach and an extensive publishing operation.

In 1979, the C-SPAN television network gave Close Up an opportunity to reach out to classrooms and living rooms throughout the nation and, as a teaching tool, to create programming -- nonpartisan discussions of such issues as affirmative action or elections. Other foundation programs have included conferences held in state capitals covering a diverse view of community concerns; co-sponsorship of two-week summer institutes on energy, environment and public policy; and the Citizen Bee, a written and oral social studies competition. As Close Up has expanded over the years it has added more programs and staff.

FUNDING

Today the foundation has 184 full-time staff members, many of whom are involved in arranging the Washington programs, and another 115 part-year contract staff members who run the workshops and handle logistics and hotel functions. Its annual operating budget is in excess of $30 million. The bulk of the revenue is generated from tuition fees paid by program participants. But the foundation, which qualifies with the government for tax-exempt status as a registered nonprofit organization, could not exist without additional fundraising.

Janger devotes approximately one-third of his time to fundraising. The key elements, he says, are effective networking and having a worthwhile product. Three full-time staff members are at work garnering needed support from national corporate organizations and other potential contributors by stressing ties to schools located in the specific cities where they have their headquarters. Close Up receives donations from large philanthropic foundations, as well as from individual citizens who give just a few dollars at a time.

The foundation also receives notable public funding, administering the Allen J. Ellender Fellowship funds for the Department of Education. Congress has appropriated these funds, named after the late Senator Ellender of Louisana, to ensure that low-income students and others have access to educational opportunities like those sponsored by Close Up. The foundation receives public funding through the U.S. Department of the Interior to develop educational materials for students in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa and the Federated States of Micronesia.

The 14-member board of directors that oversees the foundation includes men and women from the ranks of business and government, and the hundreds of members of its board of advisers are a virtual "who's who" of members of Congress; state governors and other officials; city and county school superintendents; and business, education and community leaders.

COMMITMENT TO CIVIC EDUCATION

The program for high school students remains the foundation's core activity. The Close Up Foundation does not want only student leaders to participate. It wants a diverse mix -- especially students who have been underserved, who are part of migrant worker families, who are physically challenged. The foundation leaves it up to the schools to select participants, and it provides financial assistance for those who cannot afford the tuition fees.

For their week in Washington, D.C., the students are placed in hotels in groups that encourage interaction between urban and rural, northern and southern, eastern and western. They meet with experts who discuss national policy and current affairs, visit government offices and monuments, take part in discussions with members of the media, participate in numerous seminars, attend congressional hearings, visit foreign embassies and explore museums and other locations around the city.

"Our approach at Close Up is to create discussion about the issues, not to take sides," Janger says. "We help to frame the debate, all the while creating excitement and curiosity and instilling in citizens a desire to be involved in their communities and country. We do not tell people what to think, but we give them the tools to help them form their own opinions about issues and make their own decisions."

Janger emphasizes, "Our sense of purpose is to give our participants a firsthand look at the democratic process and show them how their efforts can help make a difference."

As one example, he points out, several years ago six girls from Arizona visiting the Lincoln Memorial expressed surprise that nowhere on the grounds was there any reference to two major public gatherings at the memorial -- the famous "I Have a Dream" speech by the late Dr. Martin Luther King, and a musical performance by the acclaimed African American singer Marian Anderson.

The girls started a campaign that quickly spread nationwide to create a museum at the base of the memorial that would pay tribute to these notable events. School children throughout the country contributed pennies to the fund, and Congress and the National Park Service ultimately converted storage space into an addition to the memorial that has been visited by millions.

For the next generation, even with all of the global technological and geopolitical changes taking place, Janger says there are still too many Americans disillusioned with their government and unaware of the key issues facing the nation. Therefore, Close Up Foundation's mission "is now more critical than ever," he says. "As we see America's role in the world changing, we know that the next quarter-century will demand an even greater commitment to civic education."

Issues of Democracy
USIA Electronic Journal, Vol. 3, No. 1, January 1998