National network
50501
50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement. A volunteer-built, nonviolent movement defending democracy, with state and local groups organizing days of action and community.
find groups in your state
don't see your state? start with a national organization.
These national organizations have local chapters, hubs, or groups across the country. Click through to find the one closest to you, or to start one where you live.
National network
Authors Against Book Bans
A national network of writers, illustrators, and other creators fighting book bans and challenges. Members back local grassroots groups, speak at school board meetings, meet with legislators, and stand with librarians, educators, parents, and students defending the freedom to read.
National network
Black Voters Matter
Co-founded by LaTosha Brown and Cliff Albright, Black Voters Matter boosts voter registration and turnout in Black communities, mostly across the South, funds and trains local partner groups, and tours on its "Blackest Bus in America" to highlight voter suppression.
National network
Common Defense
Common Defense organizes veterans and engages the military community to transform our society by advocating for progressive policies that work for all of us.
National network
Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)
The largest socialist organization in the U.S. Local chapters organize tenants, workers, and neighbors to build an economy run for human need, not profit. Look up your chapter by zip code.
National network
Dream Defenders
Dream Defenders is a Black-led, feminist, socialist, abolitionist, and internationalist political formation fighting for a world without prisons, police, capitalism, and imperialism. We envision communities where safety is built through solidarity, care, and self-determination rather than through punishment and surveillance. Founded in 2012 in response to the killing of Trayvon Martin, the Dream Defenders has grown into a powerful force advocating for liberation, justice, and dignity for Black and marginalized people across the United States and beyond.
National network
Indivisible
A network of thousands of local groups that hold elected officials accountable and defend democracy. Use the group map to find one near you, including groups marked newcomer-friendly.
National network
NDN Collective
Rapid City-based and Indigenous-led, this collective backs Native communities through organizing, grants, and loans to Indigenous groups and entrepreneurs. Its campaigns include LANDBACK, which seeks the return of Lakota lands in the Black Hills, along with climate justice and education equity.
National network
Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ)
A national network organizing white people to fight racism and economic injustice as part of multiracial movements. Find a local chapter or join a regular online orientation.
National network
Sunrise Movement
A youth-led movement of local hubs working to stop the climate crisis and win a Green New Deal. No hub near you? Sunrise will help you start one.
National network
Third Act
Organizes older Americans to protect climate and democracy, through volunteer-led working groups by location and by affinity.
National network
Working Families Party
Building a multiracial party of working people. WFP recruits and elects progressive candidates and organizes between elections, with state parties in 18 states and volunteer actions everywhere.
★ Priority group
WORC Network
This Billings, Montana-based network links grassroots member groups in eight Western states, helping community members protect land, water, and food systems and press for clean energy and accountability from coal, oil, and gas companies.
★ Priority group
WORC Network
This Billings, Montana-based network links grassroots member groups in eight Western states, helping community members protect land, water, and food systems and press for clean energy and accountability from coal, oil, and gas companies.
Philadelphia
215 People’s Alliance
Black, Brown, and white working-class Philadelphians organize through neighborhood chapters in Northeast and South Philly on public schools, fair housing, gentrification, and worker rights, including the Our City Our Schools campaign and a restaurant workers' committee.
50501
50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement. A volunteer-built, nonviolent movement defending democracy, with state and local groups organizing days of action and community.
Manchester
603 Forward
Young New Hampshire leaders get recruited, trained and coached by 603 Forward to run for school boards, select boards, budget committees and other local offices, with campaign support aimed at a more affordable, inclusive Granite State.
Los Angeles / Oakland
ACCE Institute
ACCE fosters transformative community change across California through ground-up organizing with low-income residents, especially in Black and Brown communities.
Durham / Raleigh
Action NC
Organizing in poor and working-income neighborhoods across North Carolina, Action NC tackles the root causes of poverty and inequality through training and mobilization on fair and affordable housing, health care, immigration, education, women's rights, and voter participation.
St. Louis
Action St. Louis
Focused on Black communities in the St. Louis region, Action St. Louis uses organizing, communications, advocacy, and direct action to reduce harm, contest for political power, and shift resources away from jails and policing toward community solutions.
Salt Lake City
Alliance for a Better Utah
Based in Salt Lake City, this nonpartisan group tracks the Utah Legislature and holds public officials accountable through podcasts, broadcast commentary, and social media. Its work touches the environment, LGBTQ rights, reproductive rights, and civil liberties.
Portland
APANO
Uniting Asian and Pacific Islander communities across Oregon, APANO organizes, advocates, and trains leaders from offices in Portland and Beaverton. Its work includes the Jade District, small-business support, clean energy along 82nd Avenue, and cultural programs.
Philadelphia / statewide
API PA
API PA organizes Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities in Philadelphia / statewide, Pennsylvania to build civic and political power. Its work centers community education, leadership development, voter engagement, and advocacy for an inclusive democracy.
Little Rock
Arkansas Community Organization
Working with lower-income and working households across Arkansas from offices in Little Rock and Pine Bluff, this group runs campaigns for affordable health care, safe housing, and livable incomes, and offers eviction defense and free tax filing.
Atlanta
Asian American Advocacy Fund
The Asian American Advocacy Fund is a grassroots 501(c)4 social welfare organization dedicated to building a politically-conscious, engaged, and progressive Asian American base in Georgia.
Atlanta
Asian Americans Advancing Justice Atlanta
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta is the first and only nonprofit legal advocacy nonprofit dedicated to the civil rights of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) in Georgia and the Southeast.
Authors Against Book Bans
A national network of writers, illustrators, and other creators fighting book bans and challenges. Members back local grassroots groups, speak at school board meetings, meet with legislators, and stand with librarians, educators, parents, and students defending the freedom to read.
Phoenix
AZ AANHPI Advocates
AZ AANHPI builds political power and representation for Arizona’s Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities through outreach, education, and advocacy.
AZ Poder
Multigenerational Latino families and working-class Arizonans organize with AZ Poder around voter education, community co-governance, and shifting public safety away from punishment, with a bilingual People's Voter Guide and candidate endorsements in the Phoenix area.
Milwaukee
Black Leaders Organizing for Communities / BLOC
Based on Milwaukee's North Side, this Black-led group sends neighborhood ambassadors door to door year-round. Residents shape the BLOC Agenda on gun safety, mental health, and housing discrimination, and candidates join "Silent Canvass" walks to listen rather than pitch.
Atlanta
Black Male Initiative
Centering Black men and youth in Atlanta and across Georgia, this group pushes for change on voter engagement, criminal justice, education, health, and economic justice. It works to shift the narrative about Black men and supports the work of Black women leaders.
Black Voters Matter
Co-founded by LaTosha Brown and Cliff Albright, Black Voters Matter boosts voter registration and turnout in Black communities, mostly across the South, funds and trains local partner groups, and tours on its "Blackest Bus in America" to highlight voter suppression.
Washington, PA / Appalachia
Center for Coalfield Justice
Residents of Washington and Greene Counties in southwestern Pennsylvania organize with this group to hold coal mining and fracking operations accountable, protect public health and Ryerson Station State Park, and defend local democracy.
Washington, PA / Appalachia
Center for Coalfield Justice
Based in Washington, Pennsylvania, the Center for Coalfield Justice organizes coalfield residents who live with the daily impacts of mining and fossil fuel extraction, pairing community education and organizing with legal work to push for stronger oversight and protect public and environmental health.
Charleston
Charleston Area Justice Ministry
Congregations of many faiths, races, and neighborhoods make up this Charleston-area network, which researches local problems such as affordable housing and holds an annual Nehemiah Action assembly where members press public officials for concrete commitments.
Chicago
Chicago Votes
At Chicago Votes, we believe in the potential of our generation to use organizing and advocacy to change politics as usual. We utilize these tools to develop the next generation of young leaders in Chicago. We bring together young, driven Chicagoans who are ready to get their hands dirty and learn the grassroots basics of our democracy.
Chispa Arizona
Chispa is dedicated to empowering Latinx communities to influence policy, protect natural resources, and combat climate change. Through grassroots advocacy and community engagement, we strive for clean air, safe water, and healthy neighborhoods for the communities worst impacted by the detrimental impacts of climate change.
Milwaukee / Madison
Citizen Action of Wisconsin
Citizen Action of Wisconsin is dedicated to economic, racial, and environmental justice, and achieving a Wisconsin and an America where every human being has an equal opportunity to live a meaningful and fulfilling life. We believe that organizing is the only pathway to unlocking the true potential of democracy to fundamentally transform our society in the human interest and overcome structural racism, sexism, xenophobia, corporate domination, and other forms of oppression.
Lincoln / Omaha
Civic Nebraska
Civic Nebraska combines grassroots energy with strategic know-how to protect, strengthen, and expand democratic life across Nebraska. In a landscape full of narrowly focused or nationally driven efforts, we stand out for our local roots, our breadth of programming, and our deep commitment to building the long-term civic infrastructure for our communities to thrive.
San Fransisco
Coalition on Homelessness
Coalition on Homelessness organizes people in its community around housing justice and the right to safe, stable, and affordable homes. The group builds tenant leadership, supports community campaigns, and advocates for policies that put residents ahead of landlords, developers, and corporate interests.
Denver
Cobalt
Cobalt advances abortion access and reproductive rights in Colorado through advocacy, organizing, political work, and direct financial assistance.
Statewide
Colorado People’s Alliance
Colorado People’s Alliance is a racial justice and member-led organization dedicated to advancing and winning progressive social change locally, statewide, and nationally. We are a power-building organization, working with those directly impacted by our issues to win on climate, economic, & immigrant justice.
Know a group we're missing? Add it to the directory.
how do I pick the right group?
- Meets regularly, at least monthly, in person or online.
- Is led by the people most affected by the issue it works on.
- Has a way in for newcomers, like an orientation or a one-on-one.
- Asks you to do something, not just donate.
- Has won something, or knows what it's fighting to win.
You don't have to find the perfect fit. Pick the one closest to your heart or your home and go twice before you decide.
your first-meeting checklist
- Bring a friend if that makes it easier.
- Say why you came. One sentence is enough.
- Write down the name of one person you met.
- Say yes to one small task.
- Go back a second time.
why join an organization instead of just showing up to protests?
Protests show how many people care. Organizations turn that care into power that lasts. A good organization keeps you connected after the crowd goes home, trains you to lead, and wins concrete changes like tenant protections, fair wages, and clean air.
what is a base-building organization?
A base-building organization grows its power by recruiting, training, and organizing a large membership of everyday people over many years. Members set the agenda, build leadership, and take collective action on shared problems. Examples include tenant unions, labor unions, faith-based organizing groups, and community organizations rooted in a neighborhood or identity.
what happens at a first organizing meeting?
Usually someone welcomes you, people share names and why they came, and the group works through an agenda: updates, a plan, and asks for who will take on what. You can just listen the first time. Most groups will follow up for a one-on-one conversation.
not ready for a group yet?
Meet your neighborsquestions people ask
How much time does organizing take?
As little as one hour a month to start. Most groups have roles for every level of time and energy.
What if I'm shy or anxious around new people?
You're not alone. Many groups have behind-the-scenes roles like making calls, designing flyers, cooking, or tracking data. Bring a friend.
What if there's no group near me?
Look up your nearest union hall, tenant group, or faith-based organizing network. Or start a neighbor group using our toolkit. Many organizations began that way.
Do I have to pay dues?
Some groups ask for small dues, often on a sliding scale. Many are free.
common questions
How do I get involved in community organizing?
Start close to home. Learn the names of a few neighbors, then join a local organizing group that meets regularly and trains new members. Go to one meeting, say yes to one small task, and keep showing up. Our directory can help you find a group in your state.
How do I find activist groups near me?
Choose your state at the top of this page to see long-term organizing groups that work there, with priority groups listed first. If none are close by, national groups like Indivisible, DSA, Sunrise Movement, and Showing Up for Racial Justice have local chapters in most states.
What is a base-building organization?
A base-building organization grows its membership over years, trains everyday people to lead, and wins changes through collective action. Unlike a one-time protest or campaign, it keeps going between elections.
What is the difference between mutual aid and organizing?
Mutual aid meets people's needs right now, like groceries, rides, or rent. Organizing changes the conditions that create those needs, like wages, housing policy, or who holds power. Strong villages do both.
Is voting enough?
Voting matters, but it is just the first step. What happens between elections depends on organized people who keep showing up, pressing officials, and taking care of each other.