We describe our approach to incorporating a civic engagement component into a quantitative literacy (QL) course and the resulting gains in student learning, confidence, and awareness of local civic issues. We revised the existing QL course by including semester-long group projects involving local community issues that students could investigate using the mathematical topics of the course. Compared to students in the standard QL course, students in the projects-based course performed similarly on all topics on the post-test except one, and significantly better on that one topic. They showed increased awareness of community issues, gained confidence in their ability to respond to mathematical situations using course material, and reported learning non-mathematical skills. (Contains 2 figures and 1 table.)