Disclosure: As a participant in affiliate prograrms, we earn from qualifying purchases made on our website. If you make a purchase through links from this website, we may get a small share of the sale from these affiliate programs. You can read our complete disclaimer for more details.
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.
Recent Posts
Writing a letter to the president can be an effective way for advocates to have their voices heard, influence policy decisions, and move public opinion if done with some planning and intentionality....
This is a straightforward guide for organizers who are planning protests. The below sections layout the logistics of organizing a demonstration, strategies, and tactics, and how to leverage the event...