Civic Engagement News

Civic Engagement News

First Focus Launches Future in Focus Initiative

The Future in Focus initiative seeks to take advantage of the upcoming political debates and elections by injecting the needs of children and young adults into the conversation. Participating student organizations will raise awareness of federal and state specific problems that affect children, and the potential solutions. First Focus is offering college student organizations a special opportunity to receive up to $2,000 to fund activities aimed at bringing attention to children’s issues during the fall elections. Highly motivated, innovative collegiate student organizations or groups are encouraged to su bmit proposals for funding to participate in the Future in Focus initiative. These student organizations or groups can either be a formal organization affiliated with a university and or the surrounding community, or a less formal group or club with college student members/participants. Proposals to participate must be received by First Focus no later than 5:00pm Eastern Daylight Time on September 12, 2008. Applications submitted earlier will be given advanced consideration.

Download the Application Package at: http://www.firstfocus.net/Download/FutureinFocusRFP.pdf

To learn more about the Future in Focus Initiative, visit the First Focus website: http://firstfocus.net/pages/3431/Young_Advocates.htm

Apply for an Action Grant for your Campus Issue Campaign

Campus Progress wants to help you start an issue campaign on your campus or in your community, or help you make an existing campaign even better. Action grants are not just about the $200-$1,000 in funding support (although we know that helps), they are also about training, assistance with media and events, help with planning, connecting to other organizations, and more. Campaigns can be on almost any issue; past grantees have focused on issues including the death penalty, sweatshops, college affordability, climate change, the crisis in the Sudan, and reproductive health. To learn more about the program, or to apply, go to: http://www.campusprogress.org/page/s/actiongrant

Be a Part of the First-Ever Democracy 2.0 Grant Summit on Money in Politics

Mobilize.org is proud to announce the launch of the first Democracy 2.0 Grant Summit, focusing on the impact of money in politics, sponsored by The Sunlight Foundation in partnership with Mobilize.org, Common Cause and CSIS. Please pass this on to anyone you think would be interested and even RSVP to come yourselves!

The Money in Politics Grant Summit, taking place in Washington , DC on September 19-21, presents members of the Millennial Generation with the opportunity to identify a need at the local, state, or national level for clean elections practices and develop an innovative idea. Participation is FREE.

Early application deadline closes on August 31st.

The Democracy 2.0 Grant Summits are designed to proliferate new ideas to promote Democracy 2.0 compliant governance. The winners of this competition must advance a new solution that changes the pattern in the field of civic engagement. Grant summit winners will each receive a grant between $3,000 and $5,000. More importantly, they will receive the support of Mobilize.org and its extensive partner network to champion their proposal and create systemic and long lasting change in the way elections are run.

These ideas will be evaluated against existing projects and initiatives, as Mobilize.org is focused on the real “change potential” afforded by the projects it selects to fund in the next two years. The selection process, featuring a panel of expert judges, funders and the peers of competition participants, will measure:

Relationship to Democracy 2.0
Use of Innovative Technology and Databases
Creativity / Entrepreneurial Idea
Plan for Sustainability
Social Impact of the Idea

The Democracy 2.0 Grant Summits are modeled after Mobilize.org’s successful Party for the Presidency, which brought together hundreds of young people to refine the Democracy 2.0 Campaign - the blue print not only for the democracy we hope to inherit but also for the democracy we must commit to build. This campaign has already included thousands of online and offline participants who created the Democracy 2.0 Declaration, a document that addresses the vision and needs of our generation.

We look forward to working with you to pioneer a program that entrusts our future leaders with the opportunity, and obligation, to find innovative solutions to the problems facing the democracy we have inherited. Visit www.mobilize.org for more information. I hope you can join us at this groundbreaking event!

Mobilize.org Looking for 500 Poll Workers Under 30 To Mobilize The Polls

Are you from AL, AZ, AR, CA, CT, DC, FL, GA, HI, ID, IN, IA, KS, LA, MD, MO, NB, NV, NH, NC, ND, OH, OR, PA, RI, TN, VT or WV? If so, then you still have time to register as a poll worker!

Mobilize.org is proud to launch the Mobilize the Polls Program, which aims to recruit 500 poll workers under the age of 30 (and hopefully engaging many people above 30 as well!) for the 2008 Presidential Election. This election year, while youth are coming out to the polls in record numbers, they also have the opportunity to contribute to their fellow citizens’ understanding and access to the democratic process by volunteering to be a poll worker. In many cities across the country, there is a demonstrable need for poll workers. With the new technologies that are being explored to enhance the voter experience, members of the Millennial Generation can contribute their familiarity with technology to aid other members of their community to cast their ballot this November. If you're interested, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Retired Supreme Court Justice O'Connor Unveils "Our Courts" Video Game

By Claudia Parsons

NEW YORK (Reuters) - America's first female Supreme Court justice unveiled a videogame project on Wednesday to teach children how courts work, saying she wanted to counter partisan criticism that judges are "godless" activists.

Sandra Day O'Connor, 78, who served as U.S. Supreme Court justice from 1981 until her retirement in 2006, said she never imagined she would be asked to address a conference about digital gaming.

She said she got involved with developing the project called "Our Courts" out of concern over public ignorance about the judiciary and partisan attacks on what should be an independent institution.

"In recent years I've become increasingly concerned about vitriolic attacks by some members of Congress, some members of state legislatures and various private interest groups ... on judges," O'Connor told the Games For Change conference on using gaming technology for social improvement and education.

Application period open for Millennials to attend Democracy 2.0 Entrepreneur “Money in Politics” Grant Summit to be hosted in July 2008

Mobilize.org, the all-partisan youth civic engagement organization, has announced the application launch for its Democracy 2.0 Entrepreneur Grant Summit, Money in Politics, to be held July 18-21, 2008, in Denver, Colorado. In partnership with The Sunlight Foundation and Common Cause, Mobilize.org is seeking innovative projects focused towards clean election practices at the local, state, and national level.

Mobilize.org is focusing efforts on empowering members of the Millennial Generation to develop innovative clean elections practices, emphasizing the creation of public finance reforms at the local and state level. Mobilize.org’s Money in Politics Grant Summit presents members of the Millennial Generation with the opportunity to identify a need for clean elections practices, and through the use of interactive key pad voting technology and peer to peer dialogue, develop an idea or solution that would address that need, and present a proposal for funding at the Summit.

Grant summit winners will each receive a grant, between $3,000 and $5,000, and more importantly, will receive the support of Mobilize.org and our extensive partner network to champion their proposal and create systemic and long lasting change in the way elections are run.

For more information on the Democracy 2.0 Entrepreneur Money in Politics Grant Summit, see our Democracy 2.0 Issues Brief “Money in Politics” at http://www.mobilize.org/catalogFiles/12DCfil46.pdf .

Grant Summit Rules and Application form can be found at: http://www.mobilize.org/catalogFiles/11dccfil11699.pdf.

The application deadline is June 15, 2008.

If you are interested in applying, or have any questions, please contact Mobilize.org via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or via phone at 202.736.5703. General grant summit information is located at: http://www.mobilize.org/index.php?tray=content&cid=11DC92&tid=11DCtop8.

Rock the Vote Letter to McCain & Obama

The General Election is here. We've got presumptive Republican and Democratic nominees -- Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama.

It's time for us make sure that the candidates address the issues most critical to young voters, and we need to act quickly. I'm sending a letter to McCain and Obama with Rock the Vote's 2008 Young Voter Platform. Can you join us in speaking out for the 44 million young voters of America and co-sign the letter?

http://rockthevote.com/act-out/letter2008/

We've attached it below (click "Read More") -- I need your signature to make sure that the candidates hear us.