Democracy Initiative
Mission: To build a democracy where the voice of all Americans is heard and counted and all Americans have a voice in the political process.
The Democracy Initiative is a dynamic network of more than 60 membership and issue-based organizations from the labor, environmental, and civil rights communities. Centered on the idea that all Americans must have an equal voice for a functioning representative democracy, the Democracy Initiative seeks key reforms to voting rights and our system of money in politics as absolutely necessary to ensure a government that works for us all.
Year Founded: 2013 • democracyforus.org
Current Democracy Work
The Democracy Initiative is building a network of issue-focused organizations that, along with their main mission work, commit resources to getting corporate money out of politics to build democracy itself. The Democracy Initiative engages in grassroots mobilization, public education, inclusive voices, and furthering the vision of a people-centered democracy. In 2015, it supported America’s Journey for Justice: a 1,000 mile march led by the NAACP with the message “our lives, our votes, our jobs, and our schools matter.” In 2016, the Democracy Initiative was a key partner in organizing Democracy Awakening, a mass mobilization in D.C. to demand an equal voice in our democracy.
Recent Successes
In 2015, Democracy Initiative worked closely with Mainers for Accountable Elections to pass a ballot measure that strengthens the state’s clean and accountable election law while limiting the power of wealthy donors and special interests. In 2016, they worked with a broad set of state and local organizations to restore voting rights in Maryland to people previously convicted of crimes, but had paid their debt to society. In April 2016, Democracy Initiative aided in organizing Democracy Awakening, which was hugely successful in mobilizing thousands of activists to advocate for getting money out of politics.
Your Entry Points
Subscribe to the Democracy Initiative’s newsletter to stay informed and be inspired. If you are a member of a social-concern organization, encourage its leadership to endorse the Democracy Initiative and become an ally in its campaigns and Task Forces.