LWVMA Citizen Education Fund

The Lotte E. Scharfman Memorial Citizen Education Fund was established in memory of a League president who died in 1970 on her forty-second birthday. Lotte Scharfman was a refugee who escaped with her family from Austria during World War II, and who devoted her life to working for the democratic process and to helping citizens gain access to government. She is widely credited with coining the phrase, “Democracy is not a spectator sport.” The Fund currently supports a variety of voter service and citizen education programs, including:

Voting Activities

The Scharfman Fund supports all of LWVMA’s voter registration, education, engagement, and protection activities.

School Civics Celebration Project

The Scharfman fund supports a state-wide effort through our 46 Leagues to celebrate and recognize the student-led civics projects completed at schools that each of the Leagues work with. For more information click here.

Forums and Conferences

The Scharfman Fund educates and engages citizens through public conversations on timely and important issues. We are proud to sponsor and co-sponsor events that bring together experts in their fields to share research, analysis, and recommendations with members of LWVMA and the general public. For further information about recent events, click here.

Lotte E. Scharfman Citizen Education Grant Program

The Lotte E. Scharfman Citizen Education Grant program helps our local Leagues carry out events and projects that increase citizen participation in the democratic process, study key community issues in an unbiased manner, and/or enable people to seek positive solutions to public policy issues through education and conflict management. For further information about the Lotte E. Scharfman Citizen Education Grant program, click here.