Power & Democratic Life
Power & Democratic Life
Books top
by Bill Moyer, JoAnn MacAllister, Mary Lou Finley, and Steven Soifer
(Jackson, TN: New Society Publishers, 2001)
by Mark R. Warren
(Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001)
by Sam Kaner, Lenny Lind, Catherine Toldi, Sarah Fisk, Duane Berger, Michael Doyle
(San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007)
by Gianpaolo Baiocchi
(Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 2005)
by Benjamin Barber
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004)
by Robert Reich
(New York: Knopf, 2007)
by John Keane
(New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009)
by Matt Leighninger
(Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 2006)
by Richard Wilkinson
(New York: New York: Bloomsbury, 2009)
by Beth Simmone Noveck
(Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2009)
by Archon Fungm and Erik Olin Wright
(Brooklyn: Verso, 2003)
Community Builders top
ACORN is the nation’s largest grassroots community organization of low- and moderate-income people with over 400,000 member families organized into more than 1,200 neighborhood chapters in about 75 cities across the country. Since 1970, ACORN has been building community organizations that are committed to social and economic justice, and won victories on thousands of issues of concern to our members, through direct action, negotiation, legislative advocacy and voter participation. ACORN helps those who have historically been locked out become powerful players in our democratic system.
Business Alliance for Local Living Economies mission is to catalyze, strengthen and connect networks of locally owned independent businesses dedicated to building strong Local Living Economies. BALLE believes in the power of local businesses to transform communities for the better by working cooperatively toward a shared vision.
Citizens on Patrol, an outgrowth of the community oriented policing strategy adopted by the Cincinnati Police Department. Civilian volunteers have been incorporated in the departments operations since 1990. Volunteers patrol their neighborhoods, acting as the eyes and ears of the police. Patrols concentrate around problem areas aiding the police by increasing visibility. COPP units deter crime by their mere presence and visibility to the general public.
Industrial Areas Foundation is non-ideological and strictly non-partisan, but proudly, publicly, and persistently political. The IAF builds a political base within society's rich and complex third sector - the sector of voluntary institutions that includes religious congregations, labor locals, homeowner groups, recovery groups, parents associations, settlement houses, immigrant societies, schools, seminaries, orders of men and women religious, and others. And then the leaders use that base to compete at times, to confront at times, and to cooperate at times with leaders in the public and private sectors.
Kentuckians for the Commonwealth – KFTC is a statewide citizens organization working for a new balance of power and a just society. As we work together we build our strength, individually and as a group, and we find solutions to real life problems. We use direct action to challenge—and change—unfair political, economic and social systems. Their membership is open to all people who are committed to equality, democracy and non-violent change.
Lawrence Community Works- Poder Institute is a leadership building experience for Lawrence residents who are part of the Community Works Network. The Institute provides an intensive semester of training for emerging leaders who want to become more effective in the effort to revitalize the City. Throughout the course, members develop their skills as facilitative, participatory and transformational leaders.
Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy is a leading advocacy organization dedicated to building a new economy for all. Combining dynamic research, innovative public policy and the organizing of broad alliances, LAANE promotes a new economic approach based on good jobs, thriving communities and a healthy environment.
Merrimack Valley Project was started to unite people across the region’s widening racial, ethnic, and economic rifts in common action to strengthen the communities. They have worked together to save over 1,600 manufacturing jobs in the Valley, protect over 600 units of affordable housing, improve the job prospects of the region’s growing temporary worker population, and bring over $10 million to the Valley for housing, job training, and community development.
Metro Alliance is a coalition of congregations, schools, and unions coming together so that we can effectively act on behalf of families. C.O.P.S. and the Metro Alliance work within each of these institutions to identify a diverse, broad-based leadership that can connect to each other in new ways in order to act effectively on behalf of children, families, and neighborhoods. By learning to work together for the public good, C.O.P.S. and Metro Alliance leaders are able to work with the business community and elected officials to make San Antonio a better place for families.
National People’s Action is a national organizing, policy, research, and training center for grassroots community organizations dedicated to building power to reclaim our democracy and advance racial and economic justice. For more than 36 years, NPA has worked nationally to build and strengthen people's organizations, to develop indigenous leadership, and to advance campaigns for a more just, equitable, and sustainable society.
Save Our Local Economy is a community group out of Ukiah California that successfully battled against the development of a 800,000-square-foot big-box store. The Ohio developer’s spent a record-breaking $1.2 million—or about $133 dollars for every vote it got, outspending the citizens’ group almost twelve dollars to one.
With Time Banking, you will be working with a small group of committed individuals who are joined together for a common good. At its most basic level, Time banking is simply about spending an hour doing something for somebody in your community. That hour goes into the Time Bank as a Time Dollar. Then you have a Time dollar to spend on having someone doing something for you. It's a simple idea, but it has powerful ripple effects in building community connections.
Dialogue Initiators top
Conversation Cafes are sponsored by Youth For a New World, a non-profit educational and charitable organization that seeks to promote awareness, caring and action. They strengthen connection and compassion by linking youth through schools and other organizations in joint study and projects.
Meetup, Inc. is the world's largest network of local groups. Meetup makes it easy for anyone to organize a local group or find one of the thousands already meeting up face-to-face. More than 2,000 groups get together in local communities each day, each one with the goal of improving themselves or their communities. Its mission is to revitalize local community and help people around the world self-organize. Meetup believes that people can change their personal world, or the whole world, by organizing themselves into groups that are powerful enough to make a difference.
National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation is a loose-knit community of practitioners, researchers, activists, artists, students, and others who are committed to giving people a voice and making sure that voice counts. NCDD’s mission is to bring together and support people, organizations, and resources in ways that expand the power of discussion to benefit society. They envision a society in which systems and structures support and advance inclusive, constructive dialogue and deliberation.
AmericaSpeaks gives citizens an authentic voice in local, regional and national decision-making on the most challenging public issues of the day. Their vision is that the public's business will be conducted differently - that by developing a rich national infrastructure for democratic deliberation through our projects, innovation and collaboration, we can access the collective wisdom of the American people.
Everyday Democracy helps people of different backgrounds and views talk and work together to solve problems and create communities that work for everyone. They place particular emphasis on the connection between complex public issues and structural racism. Issues addressed include: poverty and economic development; education reform; racial equity; early childhood development; police-community relations; youth and neighborhood concerns.
Rural Southern Voice for Peace (RSVP) which serves as the Listening Project Training and Resource Center provides training, consultation, trainer referral and many LP resources including a manual for LP organizers and trainers . The Listening Project is an organizing tool for nonviolent social change, especially useful in communities where conflict and disempowerment weakens efforts toward community development, justice, peace or protecting the environment. Listening Projects use trained volunteers to conduct one-on-one interview that address local and sometimes national or international issues.
Fair Economics top
GoodGuide provides the world's largest and most reliable source of information on the health, environmental, and social impacts of the products in your home. They make information available and easy to use so each of us can express our own values and concerns in the marketplace. They now have a "GoodGuide Mobile App" available for iPhones and a text messaging system for all cell phones.
Real Food Challenge serves as both a campaign and a network. The campaign is to increase the procurement of real food on college and university campuses, with the national goal of 20% real food by 2020. By leveraging their purchasing power we can catalyze the transformation of the larger food system. Then network offers a chance for students and their allies (those working on the campaign along with those who've yet to sign on) to make connections, learn from one another, and grow the movement.
TransFair is one of twenty members of Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO), and the only third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States. They audit transactions between US companies offering Fair Trade Certified™ products and the international suppliers from whom they source, in order to guarantee that the farmers and farm workers behind Fair Trade Certified goods were paid a fair, above-market price. In addition, annual inspections conducted by FLO ensure that strict socioeconomic development criteria are being met using increased Fair Trade revenues.
Multimedia resources top
In a one-hour PBS special airing November 18th, Host David Brancaccio visits communities across America using innovative approaches to create jobs and build prosperity in our new economy.
In a one-hour PBS special airing November 18, 2010, Host David Brancaccio visits communities across America using innovative approaches to create jobs and build prosperity in our new economy.
Policy Innovators top
Oakland Institute is a policy think tank whose mission is to increase public participation and promote fair debate on critical social, economic and environmental issues in both national and international forums. Its trademark is to work in coalitions and networks to strengthen social movements, especially as we forge multi-cultural, cross-border and cross-class alliances. As a policy think tank their work is unique (in that they are bringing new approaches to social change including the awareness of economic, social and cultural rights) as they work with grass roots constituency (faith-based, farm workers, immigrant rights groups, Black farmers, among others) and help bridge policy think tanks with activist networks and social movements.
World Future Council brings the interests of future generations to the center of policy making. The Council addresses challenges to our common future and provides decision- makers with effective policy solutions. In-depth research underpins advocacy work for international agreements, regional policy frameworks and national lawmaking and thus produces practical and tangible results.
Reclaiming Politics top
National organizations, state groups and individuals across the country are taking action and calling on our leaders in Washington (and in state capitols) to make elections about voters and volunteers instead of big campaign contributors. The Fair Elections Now website tracks progress on the Fair Elections Now Act, and provides opportunities for you to raise awareness and demand change.
PowerShift is yet another movement fueled by the power of the youth. The campaign is demanding "bold action on climate and energy" by the Obama administration now, knowing that today's youth will be forced to endure the consequences of climate change.
Common Cause is a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy organization founded as a vehicle for citizens to make their voices heard in the political process and to hold their elected leaders accountable to the public interest. Today, Common Cause strives to strengthen our democracy by empowering our members, supporters and the general public to take action on critical policy issues.
FairVote is a catalyst for reforming American elections to respect every vote and every voice through bold approaches to increase voter turnout, meaningful ballot choices and fair representation. As the national organization most focused on fundamental structural reform of American elections, they act as a traditional think tank through careful research, innovative analysis, effective educational resources and timely conferences, but also creatively engage with leading reformers, thought leaders and the media to turn new ideas into widely accepted policy options.
change-congress.org is a a non-partisan advocacy organization whose sole purpose is to protect the independence of Congress by fighting the influence of money in politics. They hope to do this by passing a hybrid of small-dollar donations and public financing of elections.
Public Campaign is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to sweeping campaign reform that aims to dramatically reduce the role of big special interest money in American politics. Public Campaign is laying the foundation for reform by working with a broad range of organizations, including local community groups, around the country that are fighting for change and national organizations whose members are not fairly represented under the current campaign finance system.
You Street is an initiative of Americans for Campaign Reform, a non-profit, non-partisan whose mission is to mobilize support for public funding of all federal elections.
Youth/Education top
KIDS Consortium is a nonprofit organization that serves schools and community organizations in Maine, throughout New England and beyond. KIDS staff train and assist teachers, administrators and community partners as they work with K-12 students to identify, research and address real community challenges (an approach known as service-learning).
School Mediation Associates transforms schools into safer, more caring, and more effective institutions. Through: encouraging young people to become leaders in their schools, and disseminating an approach to problem solving that values diversity and respects differences of opinion.
YouthBuild is a youth and community development program that simultaneously addresses core issues facing low-income communities: housing, education, employment, crime prevention, and leadership development. In YouthBuild programs, low-income young people ages 16-24 work toward their GEDs or high school diplomas, learn job skills and serve their communities by building affordable housing, and transform their own lives and roles in society.
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“Ideas have power, so we work to reframe limiting ideas - of scarcity, power, and democracy -
to free citizens to create living democracies, turning our planet toward life.”
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