Advocacy resources:
Our nation's 70,000-plus grant-making foundations — which steward half a billion dollars of partially public money — have an opportunity to help solve pressing social problems by investing in grass-roots civic engagement and advocacy. Their commitment to democracy can save it; their failure may well doom it. Blog
Burson-Marsteller Study: "Social Media Use by U.S. Based Political Advocacy Groups," a new Evidence-Based study today looking at how some of the largest U.S.-based political advocacy groups like the NRA, MoveOn.org and AARP are using social media during the run-up to the crucial mid-term elections in Nov. Blog
Eight states now let voters with a state driver's license or state id register to vote online. They are Arizona, Washington, Kansas, Oregon, Louisiana, Colorado, Utah and Indiana. Blog
Rock the Vote's voter registration tool can be easily embedded on websites, blogs, Facebook pages, and MySpace profiles, allowing almost anyone to spread the word and help register voters. Blog
In June, 2010, Big Business interests shamelessly dealt our already depleted democracy a devastating blow by misleading California voters into approving Proposition 14, without their opponents being able to reach the people with rebuttals. This voter initiative provides that the November elections in that state for members of Congress and state elective offices are reserved only for the top two vote-garnering candidates in the June primary. Supporters of a “top two” scheme want to spread it throughout the country, with Michigan as the next stop. Already, Washington state enacted “top two” for the 2008 election. Blog
News that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano's office allowed political appointees to review hundreds of public records requests is shameful. Political considerations have no place in the government's compliance with the Freedom of Information Act. Blog
World Alliance for Citizen Participation has launched a global virtual platform for knowledge development, sharing and learning on participatory governance, available at: www.pgexchange.org. Blog
WeGov.com will move from testing status to a full launch by the end of this month [July, 2010]. It bills itself as "the most comprehensive, nonpartisan platform for civic engagement, political participation, and organizational activism. . . . Our mission is to provide a place where citizens and groups can take REAL political action and make an impact." Blog
