Civic organizations play a vital role in society by providing services, advocating for causes, and fostering community engagement, all while operating outside of traditional economic structures. Cleveland County has a long tradition of civic engagement and community pride, evidenced by the historical impact of various civic organizations.
These are some of the organizations that have impacted the lives of our county citizens over the last 100+ years. Those with a website are still serving our community:
| organization/year organized | website |
| Boys & Girls Clubs of CC, 1959 | https://bgccleveco.org/ |
| Cleveland County Arts Council, 1986 | https://www.ccartscouncil.org/ |
| Exchange Club of Shelby, 1972 | exchangfb |
| Historic Shelby Foundation, 1977 | https://www.historicshelby.org/ |
| Junior Charity League of Shelby, 1934 | https://jclshelby.com/about/ |
| Kings Mountain Jaycees, 1935 | |
| Kings Mountain Kiwanis Club, 1930 | |
| Kings Mountain Lions Club, 1938 | |
| Kings Mountain Optimist Club, 1961 | kmoptimist.org |
| Kings Mountain Rotary Club, 1958 | kmrotaryfb |
| Kiwanis Club of Shelby, 1915 | kiwanisfb |
| Rotary Club of Shelby, 1926 | shelbyrotary |
| Shelby Civitan Club, 1961 | civitaninternat’l |
| Shelby Jaycees, 1940 | |
| Shelby Junior Charity League, | |
| Shelby Lions Club, 1929 | lionsfb |
| Shelby Optimist Club, 1953 | |
| United Way of Cleveland County | https://www.uwclevco.org/ |
Cleveland County History 