Nonpartisan Election Engagement

Since 2008, NCCE has supported efforts to register, inform, and mobilize student voters. In addition to sharing information and facilitating training on key election-related topics, we have disseminated grants to campuses throughout the state and facilitated Election Engagement Student Fellows programs.  In 2013, we started coordinating the NC Campus Voting Coalition and hosted the first three NC College Voter Summits.  

In 2016, we hosted regional network meetings on the topic “Student Voter Engagement in North Carolina: Issues and Strategies.” Representatives from 21 campuses attended. That same year, we trained and supported student Election Engagement Fellows on 11 of our member campuses. In 2020 – 2023, we hosted an Election Engagement Sustainability Fellowship which engaged faculty and staff members on four member campuses charged with forming a voting coalition and developing a three-year election engagement plan.

In 2022 we became a co-sponsor of the NC Campus Voting Challenge, in partnership with the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge and You Can Vote. 

Click the links above to learn more about the NC Campus Voting Challenge, the NC Campus Voting Coalition, and the NC College Voter Summit. You can also follow the NC Campus Voting Coalition @ncvotersummit to stay up to date on upcoming election engagement opportunities from partners throughout the state.

Election Engagement Spark grants

 NCCE has disseminated nearly $100,00 in grants to 40 member campuses since 2008 to support voter registration, voter education, and voter mobilization/Get Out the Vote efforts. Below are recent recipients. 

2024-25 Grantees

The following members were awarded a $1000 grant to mobilize their campus to participate in the November 2024 general election.

• Davidson-Davie Community College
• Elizabeth City State University
• Greensboro College
• Guilford Technical Community College
• Lenoir-Rhyne University
• UNC Asheville
• UNC School of the Arts
• Western Carolina University

2023-24 Grantees

The following members were awarded a $500 grants to mobilize their campus to participate in the November 2023 municipal/local election or the March 2024 presidential primary. This program is part of the NC Collegiate Civics Project with funding provided by the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.

• Central Piedmont Community College
• High Point University
• Mars Hill University
• William Peace University

2022-23 Grantees

The following member campuses were awarded $500 grants to support election engagement for the 2022 midterms. This program is part of the NC Collegiate Civics Project with funding provided by the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.

• Appalachian State University
• Central Piedmont Community College
• Duke University
• Elon University
• Greensboro College
• Lenoir-Rhyne University
• Methodist University
• UNC Charlotte
• UNC Pembroke

ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge
“Standout Partner Organization Award” Winner 2020

On November 8, 2021, NC Campus Engagement (our name was NC Campus Compact at the time) was awarded the 2020 Standout Partner Organization Award from the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. This award is presented to one organization annually that has provided outstanding leadership in helping college students to improve nonpartisan civic learning, political engagement, and voter participation.

Funders and Partners

Thank you to the funders and partners who have supported these efforts over the years:

• Campus Election Engagement Project (now Civic Influencers)
• Puffin Foundation
• Students Learn Students Vote Coalition
• NC Counts Coalition
• guides.vote (Access the 2022 NC midterm voter guides)

We are especially grateful to the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation who, in 2020 and 2022, awarded funds to NCCE for the NC Collegiate Civics Project (NC-CCP), an initiative to promote election engagement and civil discourse dialogue.

NCCE is a partner organization of the Ask Every Student Initiative. This initiative provides a framework to integrate voter participation efforts broadly across campuses with the goal of full participation.

NCCE is also a proud partner organization for the four major election holidays: National Voter Registration Day, National Voter Education Week, Election Hero Day,  and Vote Early Day.

Follow Us on Instagram!

Follow the NC Campus Voting Coalition @ncvotersummit to stay up to date on upcoming election engagement opportunities from the NC Campus Voting Coalition!

Featured Media

2021 SLSV PEG Roll Call 

 NCCE was invited to create the North Carolina video featured during the state roll call that occurred at the opening of the 2021 SLSV Post-Election Gathering (PEG).Thanks to the following campuses that participated: Davidson-Davie Community College, Elizabeth City State University, Meredith College, NC A & T State University, UNC Asheville, UNC Charlotte, UNC Wilmington, and Wake Forest University.