While Indivisible Evanston works with many organizations to fulfill its mission, there are many more organizations doing great work to promote progressive causes as well.
Indivisible Evanston focuses primarily on federal issues. Our current goal is to inform, encourage and organize area citizens about federal issues, to resist regressive policies, and to promote progressive politics.
While this mission keeps us very busy, we are aware that there is also much important work to do on specific progressive issues as well as state and local issues. No one organization can do all that needs to be done.
We thought it would be helpful to provide you with a list of organizations other than Indivisible Evanston and other Indivisible groups that are doing great work which you may want to follow or support.
The following is a list of political organizations doing progressive work, with a brief description and contact information. We have attempted to organize the list by the type of work they are doing. This list is by no means exhaustive. If we have missed groups that you think should be included on this list, please let us know (Indivisibleevanston@gmail.com)
PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS
POSTCARDS TO SWING STATES (PART OF PROGRESSIVE TURNOUT PROJECT)
Postcards to Swing States has sent more than 29 million postcards to voters in 19 swing states. They proved in controlled experiments in 2020 that voters who receive handwritten postcards are more likely to vote. In 2022 they will focus on 7 swing states with critical elections this year. Postcards to Swing States has merged with Progressive Turnout Project which is the largest voter contact organization in the country, specifically dedicated to mobilizing the Democratic Party and defending democracy. Their mission: rally Democrats to vote.
RUST BELT RISING
Rust Belt Rising exists to reconnect the Democratic Party to its base of working families by training candidates to lead on foundational economic issues. They work with Democratic candidates in the six states bordering the Great Lakes (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin) to transform their values into persuasive economic messages. Through down-ballot work in these six states, they build a pipeline of qualified candidates and strengthen Democratic infrastructure in the Rust Belt. In 2020, IE volunteers and leaders worked with RBR on a highly successful voter registration program in WI and MI, contacting 184k voters by mail, text and phone, resulting in 43,000 new voter registrations.
COMMON CAUSE
Common Cause IL is a nonpartisan watchdog group whose mission is to promote open, ethical, and accountable government. Since 1970, Common Cause has been working to hold power accountable through lobbying, litigation, and grassroots organizing. Their non-partisan, pro-democracy work has helped pass hundreds of reforms at the federal, state, and local levels. More than 1 million members and more than 30 state organizations around the country work to strengthen our democracy by empowering the voices of everyday Americans in government.
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
MIDWEST ACCESS COALITION
Midwest Access Coalition (MAC) envisions a world in which all people have access to safe, free, legal abortions wherever they live. As a practical abortion fund, MAC helps people traveling to, from, and within the Midwest access a safe abortion by assisting with travel coordination and costs, lodging, food, medicine, childcare, and emotional support.
PLANNED PARENTHOOD
Planned Parenthood was founded over 100 years ago on the revolutionary idea that women have the right to access the information and care they need to live strong, healthy lives. Today, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund (PPAF) fights to protect that right — often in the face of extreme politicians trying to take it away.
Facebook Group - Planned Parenthood Action: https://www.facebook.com/PlannedParenthoodAction
ANTI GUN VIOLENCE
MOMS DEMAND ACTION
Moms Demand Action is a grassroots movement of Americans fighting for public safety measures that can protect people from gun violence. They work to pass stronger gun laws and close the loopholes that jeopardize the safety of our families. They also work in communities and with business leaders to encourage a culture of responsible gun ownership.
MARCH FOR OUR LIVES
Born out of a tragic school shooting, March For Our Lives is a youth-led movement dedicated to promoting civic engagement, education, and direct action by youth to eliminate the epidemic of gun violence. They work to create safe and healthy communities and livelihoods where gun violence is obsolete.
Other Gun Safety and Community Violence Prevention Groups:
STATE AND LOCAL ISSUES
SISTER DISTRICT
Sister District is a national organization focusing on key state legislative seats. Their flagship electoral program works to get Democrats elected to strategic state legislative seats by supporting campaigns with grassroots action. They “sister” volunteers from deep blue districts with carefully targeted races in swing districts, where flipping control of the state legislature will advance progressive policy. Volunteers canvass, phonebank, write postcards, textbank, and fundraise for candidates.
THE STATES PROJECT
The States Project focuses on winning governing majorities in the states by making state legislative campaigns more effective and better-funded. They do this because they believe that state legislatures are the strongest force for change in this country.
RUN FOR SOMETHING
Run for Something recruits and supports young, diverse progressives to run for down-ballot races in order to build sustainable power for Democrats in all 50 states. They work with every candidate that wants to run in down-ballot races, not just those who meet the standard “viability” test (i.e., how much money they have raised). Their candidates come from all walks of life and represent communities that have been excluded historically or discouraged from running for office. They have helped candidates win offices ranging from state legislator to county clerk.
CITIZEN ACTION/ILLINOIS
Citizen Action/Illinois is the state's largest public interest organization. Building on over a decade of experience, Citizen Action/Illinois is a key player in the fight for social and economic justice at the state and national levels.
FIGHTING VOTER SUPPRESSION
VOTERIDERS
Vote Riders mission is to ensure that no eligible voter is prevented from casting a ballot due to voter ID laws. They educate voters and assist citizens to secure the voter ID they need. Vote Riders was founded in 2012 in response to the increasing number of stringent voter ID laws across the country. Vote Riders is a non-profit – and therefore non-partisan – organization.
WHEN WE ALL VOTE
Created by Michelle Obama, When We All Vote brings together individuals, institutions, brands and organizations to register new voters and advance civics education for the whole family. In 2020 When We All Vote ran a multi-faceted campaign that reached more than 100 million people to educate them about the voting process and get them registered and ready to vote.
FAIR FIGHT
Founded by Stacy Abrams, Fair Fight promotes fair elections around the country, encourages voter participation in elections, and educates voters about elections and their voting rights. Fair Fight Action brings awareness to the public on election reform, advocates for election reform at all levels, and engages in other voter education programs and communications.
FIELD TEAM 6
Their motto is “Register Democrats. Save the world.” Armed with Voterizer.org, a custom-built app just for registering Democrats, they track down eligible voters and get them on the voter rolls where they belong. To win in 2022, they will register Democrats where they’ll make the most impact – in the most flippable states and districts, where small numbers of Democrats can swing elections up and down the ballot.
THE YOUTH VOTE
HEADCOUNT
HeadCount is a non-partisan organization that uses the power of music to register voters and promote participation in democracy. They reach young people and music fans where they already are – at concerts and online – to inform and empower. Headcount stages nonpartisan voter registration drives at more than 1,000 live events each year and collaborates with cultural leaders to promote civic engagement on a national scale.
ROCK THE VOTE
Rock the Vote is a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to building the political power of young people. Young voters are new voters and as new voters they face unique obstacles to voting that result in turnout that is historically 20 to 30 points below older voters. From the rise of voter ID laws to intensified efforts to remove polling sites from college campuses, young people must navigate obstacles designed to keep them from making their voices heard. Rock the Vote uses pop culture, music, art, and technology to engage young people in politics.
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/rockthevote
NEXT GEN AMERICA
Founded by Tom Steyer in 2013, NextGen is the nation’s largest youth voting organization using innovative digital and field strategies to turn out young voters in key states. They have registered over 1.4 million young people to vote. In the 2020 election cycle, they spoke to over 10.5 million young voters and got 4.6 million of them to the polls, leading to the largest youth voter turnout in our nation’s history.
CHICAGO VOTES
Chicago Votes is a non-partisan organization that works to engage young Chicagoans in civic education, leadership, and empowerment. They've created numerous initiatives, including:
Unlock Civics: a massive effort to register and educate new voters in Cook County Jail
Reimagining Democracy: an initiative to ensure that our democracy truly represents the many peoples of our country. This initiative includes actions such as:
Massive marches to the polls
Tracking legislative education in Chicago Public Schools
Producing in-depth voter guides
Organizing Court Watches
Give a Sh*t Chicago: a hub for creatives to rethink how we get young Chicagoans to engage in the political process.
CLIMATE CHANGE
SUNRISE MOVEMENT
Sunrise is a movement of young people (under the age of 35) working to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process. They work to ensure that local governments, state offices, and our federal administration embrace green legislation to provide a livable future for us all. Evanston and Chicago have local Sunrise “hubs”.
Etown Sunrise Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/etown_sunrise/?hl=en
RACIAL EQUITY
BLOC MILWAUKEE – BLACK LEADERS ORGANIZING COMMUNITIES
Community-based organizing and face-to-face conversations lead to change. BLOC listens in order to build transformational, not transactional, relationships. BLOC is working to lift up the Black citizens, leaders, and businesses of the community. Through coordinated political action they work to ensure a high quality of life and access to economic opportunity for members of the Black community in Milwaukee and throughout Wisconsin.
BLACK LIVES MATTER
Black Lives Matter Chicago is an intersectional vehicle that values Black people and their right to self-determination. They fight for justice with families most impacted, while working to create just and equitable systems. They work to end state violence and criminalization of Black communities by deconstructing white supremacist, capitalist, patriarchy.
NAACP
Together with more than 2 million activists across the country the NAACP works to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination. Their vision is to ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights and there is no racial hatred or racial discrimination. There is an Evanston/Northshore branch of the NAACP and Chicago has southside and westside branches.
IMMIGRATION
NATIONAL IMMIGRATION LAW CENTER
Established in 1979, the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) is one of the leading organizations in the U.S. exclusively dedicated to defending and advancing the rights of immigrants with low income. They use litigation and policy expertise to challenge unjust laws and policies that marginalize low-income and other vulnerable immigrant communities, and advance systemic policy solutions that make it possible for immigrants and their loved ones to thrive. They are also focused on building a stronger, more inclusive immigrant justice movement and fostering intersectional alliances with other communities in order to amass the political power necessary to hold decision makers accountable for making policy changes real and lasting.
OTHER PROGRESSIVE ORGANIZATIONS
WOMEN’S MARCH CHICAGO/MARCH ON
Women’s March Chicago brings together women and allies in support of women’s rights including equal rights, equal pay, reproductive justice, affordable healthcare, affordable childcare, racial justice, voting rights, freedom from violence, LGBTQ+ rights, immigrant rights, fair wages, access for persons with disabilities, environmental protections, and other critical areas of focus. It is led by an independent team of diverse women from across the city and suburbs. Women’s March Chicago is affiliated with March On, a national group formed by leaders of the January 2017 marches across the country.
Women’s March Chicago - Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/WomensMarchChicago/
March On: https://wearemarchon.org/
SWING LEFT
Swing Left was created in 2016 to provide easier ways for Democrats to volunteer in their nearest swing districts. Its mission now is to maintain the (slim) Democratic majorities in the House and Senate. Like Indivisible, Swing Left has local chapters such as Swing Left Chicago.
Swing Left Chicago focuses on the Midwest, especially Illinois and our neighbor Wisconsin. Through their partnership with Vote Forward they provide volunteers with opportunities to increase voter turnout and protect voters from institutional voter suppression. They host regular actions online such as virtual letter-writing parties and virtual phone banks.
MOVE ON
Whether it’s supporting a candidate, passing legislation, or changing our culture, MoveOn members are committed to an inclusive and progressive future. Their rapid-response organizing and campaigning, communications interventions, digital innovation, rigorous data science and testing, and culture of grassroots participation have repeatedly combined to produce real-world impact, changing outcomes and making our country better.
VOTE FORWARD
Vote Forward volunteers send heartfelt, hand written letters to Americans, encouraging them to vote. Their mission is to empower grassroots volunteers to encourage their fellow citizens in under-represented communities to vote. VF is non-profit and their messages are non-partisan but they have historically worked with Swing Left to target swing districts.
THIRD ACT
Third Act is people over the age of 60 — “experienced Americans” — determined to change the world for the better. They muster political and economic power to move Washington and Wall Street in the name of a fairer, more sustainable society and planet. They back up the great work of younger people, and make “good trouble” of their own.
POOR PEOPLE’S CAMPAIGN
In 1968, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and many others called for a “revolution of values” in America. They sought to build a broad, fusion movement that could unite poor and impacted communities across the country. Today, the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is bringing people together to confront the interlocking evils of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism and the war economy, and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism.
March on Washington Planned for June 18th
FOCUS4DEMOCRACY
Focus4democracy is a giving network dedicated to safeguarding our democracy. They use evidence-based research to identify under-resourced efforts in order to maximize the impact of their members’ contributions. Focus4democracy has chosen Working America (below) as a key organization to support.
“Donations to Working America are among the most effective and cost-effective investments for the midterms. Thanks to this network we are setting Working America up with the early onramp and long runway they need to ensure optimal results for 2022, and critically 2024. And no matter what happens in 2022, their programs are designed to be early investments for the critical Presidential and Senate races in 2024.”
WORKING AMERICA
Working America unites working people who don’t have a union on the job. Founded in 2003, Working America, this community affiliate of the AFL-CIO, makes sure that the priorities of working people, their families and communities are heard from our state houses to the White House, from our city councils and school boards to the halls of Congress. Whether the issue is good jobs or health care, education or Social Security, we offer good information on candidates and issues – and provide an on-ramp to support policies that will improve the lives of working people.