RepresentUs Education Fund

RepresentUs Education Fund is fighting for an America where the government works for everyone, not just a handful of billionaires and special interests.

To change the system, we must create a social movement smart and strong enough to transform our democratic institutions. That movement must be mobilized in support of viable advocacy strategies. This begins by building political power from the bottom up, educating and mobilizing millions of people online and across America. A Harvard study of 112 years of political movements around the globe shows movements that mobilize at least 3.5% of the population win every time. In America, that’s 11 million people. Building such a movement is a huge undertaking, one that RepresentUs Education Fund is uniquely fit to lead.

A robust grassroots political movement is the foundation of any reform effort. To build that movement, we need to reach people – millions of them. While advances in social media and digital communication have given us powerful tools to do so, we have to contend with the challenges of the day: email fatigue, shortened attention spans, and a deep cynicism about prospects for reform. Breaking through the noise requires a 21st-century, hybrid campaign model: boots-on-the-ground organizing, creative digital media, and an emphasis on local action.

According to polls by Gallup, American confidence in government has been dropping for decades. It’s clear most people believe that the government is broken and corrupt – yet instead of meeting them where they are, for decades, reformers have thrown around obscure political jargon like “campaign finance," “democracy reform," and “instant runoff voting." RepresentUs Education Fund engages and mobilizes new audiences by using relatable and inspirational language.

The Campaign Connector works closely with our local volunteer-led chapters to educate and empower them to address problems of political corruption in their areas. We provide volunteers with press training, collateral, and branded online resources. We unleash the power of our national membership by providing an array of actions our members can take regardless of their location. This program facilitates peer-to-peer learning between our volunteers. Experienced volunteers take on leadership roles and further develop their advocacy skills, while newer volunteers will benefit from their knowledge. This program will allow us to get to scale more quickly.

Today, RepresentUs Education Fund is America’s leading right-left anti-corruption organization. We’re supported by more than 55,000 grassroots donors, philanthropists, and charitable foundations from across the political spectrum. With more than 800,000 members and more than 100 victories behind us, including America's first municipal Anti-Corruption Act in 2014 and first statewide Act in 2016, we are already winning. With each victory, we battle the public perception that change is impossible, and pass laws that effectively fight corruption and usher in a new era of solutions-oriented governance.

RepresentUs Education Fund has over 40 full-time experts and organizers, as well as an august group of business and entertainment leaders who are leading this strategy along with veteran CEO and co-founder Josh Silver. Our Board of Directors, Advisory Council, and Creative Council include some of the brightest minds in the nation. We have over 50 local chapters with active constituencies and influence. We have best-of-breed marketing, social media, and messaging to recruit, mobilize, and amplify the voices of activists working to fix our democracy.

We've seen the power of grassroots action first-hand – both on the ground and virtually. Our dual tactics of educating the public online and speaking with community members in person have allowed us to build both the largest online community fighting corruption today as well as a powerful network of local chapters on the ground in cities and states across the country.

Here's how our efforts have paid off to date:
-Our membership has grown to over 800,000.
-1.6 billion social media reach in 2019.
-Over 750,000 social media followers.
-We have produced 95+ videos that have accrued over 45 million views
-We produced two viral social campaigns.
-We've received press coverage from multiple major national news outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and NPR, among others.
-We have 50+ chapters and more than 5,000 politically diverse, active volunteers.

Our goal is to reach 25 million people with content about the democracy reform movement over the next two years.

We recently employed a full-time staff member to spearhead a diversity initiative for the organization. Our goal is to increase the participation of women, people of color, faith communities, and the political right, building truly intersectional grassroots support for the movement.