Our goal is to identify, categorize, and quantify existing organizations, networks, and funders who work to promote and protect healthy democracy in America. We aim to create a compelling, interactive resource that educates and empowers users to engage in democracy.
We worked with dozens of leaders in the field to collectively define a broad set of categories of democracy work in America. Our 12 categories reflect commonly applied terminology to reflect how groups from across the political spectrum define the type of democracy work they do.
We also ground our classification of healthy democracy in more precise and numerous terms, building on the goals and ambitions drawn from the mission statements and about us pages on organization websites. In so doing, we add further nuance to how organizations describe themselves.
in public decision-making, service and volunteering, voicing concerns to power, economic collaboration, and developing community-driven solutions.
across differences, between generations, and between citizens and journalists.
civic technology, civic education, and youth engagement and leadership.
including human rights, free and fair elections, and the rule of law.
Civic Associations
Groups that help people work with government, other institutions, and one another
Civic Education / Learning
Information and learning experiences that equip citizens to participate in democracy
Civic Media
Types of journalism that build media literacy and engage citizens directly with journalists
Civic Research
Research that focuses on skills, attitudes, and activities that are central to citizenship
Civic Technology
Digital technologies that improve public decision-making, problem-solving, and community-building
Connecting Across Differences
Bringing people together across differences to build relationships, collaboration, and trust
Deliberative, Participatory & Direct Democracy
Governance processes where citizens work together to develop recommendations or make decisions themselves
Electoral Reform
Changes to voting systems that make them clearer and more reflective of what citizens want
Faith-Based Efforts
Work within faith communities to engage people in public decision-making and problem-solving
Organizing & Advocacy
Efforts to help people with common interests work together directly to achieve policy changes
Service & Volunteerism
Programs that help devote their time to activities that solve problems and help others
Voter Engagement
Efforts to help citizens understand how to vote and get the information they need to make good decisions
Responsive Governance
Builds trust in established institutions by meeting community needs through transparent, inclusive, and accountable processes
Funders
Private and public forms of philanthropy that invest in civic initiatives that strengthen democracy, empower diverse voices, and protect freedoms
Explore over 50 goals by clicking on the six themes to the left. The organizations featured in the Map are working toward one or more of these goals in their democracy-strengthening efforts.
The Map is hosted by the National Civic League, America’s oldest good governance organization. Founded in 1894 by a group led by Teddy Roosevelt and Louis Brandeis, the League championed many of the democracy innovations of the early 20th Century.
Today, the League’s Center for Democracy Innovation works with public officials in the US to understand, test, and disseminate the next generation of civic innovations, which have the potential to make democracy more participatory, equitable, and productive.
