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Looking for organizations that promote civic engagement? There’s no shortage! There are likely hundreds of thousands of groups that are engaging their communities.
Below is just a sampling of some of the bigger efforts that promote civic engagement in the U.S. and around the world. This post is periodically-updated. If you don’t see what your organization or one that you think should be on this list, tweet us about it – @StreetCivics.
| Name | Focus | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| American Association of School Administrators | Professional Association | Nationwide |
| American Association of State Colleges and Universities | Higher Education | Nationwide |
| American Bar Association – Division for Public Education | Education/Rights | Nationwide |
| American Educational Research Association | Education/Resources | Nationwide |
| American Federation of Teachers (AFL-CIO) | Professional Association | Nationwide |
| American Political Science Association | Professional Association | Nationwide |
| American Society of News Editors | Educaton/Media Literacy | Nationwide |
| Americans for Informed Democracy, AMP Global Youth | Youth/Service/Global Affairs | Nationwide |
| AmericaSpeaks | Government-Citizen Engagement | Program Ended |
| AmeriCorps | Service/Volunteering | Nationwide |
| Amizade Volunteer and Service-Learning Programs | Fair Trade | International |
| Andrew Goodman Foundation | Voting | Nationwide |
| Anneberg Classroom | Education/Online Platform | Nationwide |
| Association for the Study of Higher Education | Research and Education | Nationwide |
| Association of American Colleges & Universities | Higher Education | Nationwide |
| Association of Public and Land-grant Universities | Research and Education | Nationwide |
| Bill of Rights Institute | Education/Online Platform | Nationwide |
| Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI) | Education/Resources | Nationwide |
| Bonner Foundation | Higher Education | Nationwide |
| Campus Compact | Service/Volunteering/Higher Education | Nationwide |
| Campus Election Engagement Project | Education/Voting | Nationwide |
| Campus Vote Project | Voting | Nationwide |
| Case Foundation | Community Grants | Nationwide |
| Cast Your Vote – 1812 | Online platform/Education/Resources | Nationwide |
| Center for Civic Education | Higher Education | Nationwide |
| Center for Community Progress | Community Development and Restoration | Nationwide |
| Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning & Engagement | Research and Education | Nationwide |
| Center for Politics – University of Virginia | Education/Resources | Nationwide |
| Center for Prevention Research & Development | School of Social Work – University of Illinois | Education/Resources | Nationwide |
| Center for the Study of the American Constitution (CSAC) | Education/Resources | Nationwide |
| Center for Youth Political Participation | Higher Education | Nationwide |
| Center on Representative Government | Education/Resources | Nationwide |
| Character.org | Leadership/Youth | Nationwide |
| Choices for the 21st Century Education Project | Citizen Education | Nationwide |
| Citizen Advocacy Center (CAC) | Education/Resources | Nationwide |
| Civic Nation | Citizen Action/General Resources | Nationwide |
| Civics Connection | Education/Youth/Leadership/Resources | Florida |
| Civics Renewal Network | Education/Resources | Nationwide |
| Civicus | Citizen Action/Accountability | International |
| CivXNow | Education/Youth/Leadership/Resources | Nationwide |
| Close Up Foundation | Higher Education | Nationwide |
| Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) | Accountability | Nationwide |
| Common Cause | Accountability/Citizen Action | Nationwide |
| Community Outreach Partnership Centers (COPC) Program | Government-Citizen Engagement | Nationwide |
| Constitutional Rights Foundation (Los Angeles) | Education/Resources | Nationwide |
| Constitutional Sources Project (ConSource) | Education/Resources | Nationwide |
| Corporation for National and Community Service | Service/Volunteering/Government-Citizen Engagement | Nationwide |
| Dirksen Center | Education/Resources | Nationwide |
| DoSomething.org | Online Platform | Nationwide |
| ENACT: The Educational Network for Active Civic Transformation | Higher Education | Nationwide |
| FactCheck.org | Accountability | Nationwide |
| FairVote | Accountability | Nationwide |
| Ford Foundation | Grants | Nationwide |
| Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge | Education/Resources | Nationwide |
| Gamaliel Foundation | Training/Faith | Nationwide |
| GovTrack | Online Platform | Nationwide |
| HeadCount | Voting | Nationwide |
| iCitizen | Online Platform | Nationwide |
| iCivics | Education/Youth/Leadership/Resources | Nationwide |
| Illinois Civics Initiative | Education/Resources | Illinois |
| Imagining America | Arts/Education | Nationwide |
| Independent Voter Network | Voting | Nationwide |
| Innovations in Civic Participation (ICP) | Youth/Service/Global Affairs | International |
| Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) | Higher Education | Nationwide |
| International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement | Research and Education | International |
| International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) | Voting/Global Affairs | International |
| International Partnership for Service-Learning | Higher Education | International |
| Jack Miller Center | Education/Resources | Nationwide |
| James A. and Louise McClure Center for Public Policy – Unversity of Idaho | Research and Education | Nationwide |
| James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation | Grants | Nationwide |
| Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life | Higher Education | Tufts University |
| Josephson Institute of Ethics | Accountability | Nationwide |
| Junior State of America (JSA) | Education/Youth/Leadership/Resources | Nationwide |
| Justice For All: Courts and The Community | Government-Citizen Engagement/Education & Rights | Nationwide |
| Kettering Foundation | Research and Education | Nationwide |
| Kids Voting USA | Voting/Early education | Nationwide |
| League of Women Voters | Voting | Nationwide |
| Mikva Challenge | Education/Youth/Leadership/Resources | Nationwide |
| Miller Center | Higher Education | International |
| National Civic League | Government-Citizen Engagement | Nationwide |
| National Coalition on Black Civic Participation | Education/African-American Civic Participation | Nationwide |
| National Conference on Citizenship | Government-Citizen Engagement | Nationwide |
| National Constitution Center | Citizen Education | Nationwide |
| National Council for the Social Studies | Professional Association | Nationwide |
| National Institute on Money in Politics | Accountability | Nationwide |
| National Issues Forum | Education/Resources | Nationwide |
| National Society for Experiential Education | Professional Association | Nationwide |
| National Youth Leadership Council | Leadership/Youth | Nationwide |
| News Literacy Project | Education/Media Literarcy | Nationwide |
| Next Up | Youth/Service/Leadership | Oregon |
| Nonprofit VOTE | Voting | Nationwide |
| On The Issues | Accountability | Nationwide |
| Open Knowledge Foundation | Open Data/Education/Resources | International |
| OpenSecrets.org | Accountability | Nationwide |
| Peace Development Fund | Grants | International |
| Points of Light | Citizen Action & Volunteering | International |
| PopVox | Online Platform | Nationwide |
| Project Citizen | Education | Nationwide |
| Project Pericles | Higher Education | Nationwide |
| Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution | Education/Resources | Nationwide |
| Rock the Vote | Voting | Nationwide |
| Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership | Education | Virgina |
| Stony Brook Center for News Literacy | Education/Media Literacy | Nationwide |
| Street Law | Education/Rights | Nationwide |
| Student PIRGs | Youth/Service/Leadership | Nationwide |
| Students Learn Students Vote | Education/Voting | Nationwide |
| Sunlight Foundation | Accountability | Nationwide |
| Teaching with Historic Places – National Park Service | National Parks/Education | Nationwide |
| The John Marshall Foundation | Grants/Education/Resources | Nationwide |
| United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA) | Global Affairs | Nationwide |
| Vote Smart | Voting | Nationwide |
| What Kids Can Do | Early Education | Nationwide |
| Woodson Center | Grants/Service | Nationwide |
| World Affairs Councils of America | Global Affairs | Nationwide |
| Young Voter Strategies | Youth/Voting/Education | Nationwide |
| Youth Activism Project | Leadership/Youth | Nationwide |
| Youth Guidance | Education/Youth/Leadership/Resources | Nationwide |
| Youth Service Amierca | Leadership/Youth/Service | Nationwide |
| Youth.gov | Grants/Service/Government-Citizen engagement | Nationwide |
Other Relevant Databases:
- BBB National Charity Report Directory
- CANDID – grant director
- Charity Navigator – database of nonprofit organizations
- Citizen Audit – nonprofit tax data
- GuideStar – database of nonprofit organizations
Looking for sources of advocacy news, nonprofit news, and other government data? Check out our post here for a list of recommended bookmarks.