Every day, more organizations and projects are launched to help people better use technology for the causes they care about. Technical Majority aims to be a catalog of what's out there.
These are groups of technologists, technology-minded folk, or those using technology to help activists.
| Code for America | The godmother of modern Civic Technology, Code for America has helped hundreds of activists and civic governments for over a decade. "We help government deliver services to the public better using the tools and practices of the digital age. And we organize a network of people dedicated to spreading these practices in government for the benefit of all Americans. Since 2011, we’ve worked with thousands of tech industry professionals to help 100+ local governments serve their communities better. Now we're working with government to make the most of our tax dollars to help millions of underserved Americans." | Join |
| DevProgress | DevProgress is an Open Source community dedicated to building tools for progressive organizing. Created by the DNC as a resource for Hillary 2016 campaign, DevProgress built a collection of tools and sites to support Hillary for America. DevProgress is going to continue on as an Open Source community dedicated to building tools for progressive organizing. It will continue being affiliated with the DNC. The projects that DevProgress take on are largely driven by what the DevProgress developer community is interested in working on, and what the DNC thinks would be nice to have. Anyone can sign up here: devprogress.us. | Join |
| Ragtag | Ragtag is a team of tech-generation volunteers and activists working to support progressive causes and organizations. We are not affiliated with the DNC, though we are still good friends. :) Ragtag works on projects that range from building software, to writing how-to guides, to providing in-person tech support for organizers and activists in their communities. Ragtag's project ideas come from group members, and from requests from external groups. Sign up to join at ragtag.team/join. Orgs and other groups can get in touch with Ragtag about getting help with projects or tech support by heading to ragtag.team/connect. | Join |
| Tech Solidarity | Tech Solidarity is intended to bring the tech world together with the local communities where it lives to discuss practical steps we can take in the face of a Trump administration, while there is still ample time to prepare and plan. We'll operate on the assumption that Trump means what he says, and that he will work to implement the policies he campaigned on, including mass deportations, "extreme vetting" of immigrants and visitors, and a registry of Muslim Americans. Together we hope we can find ways to minimize the impact of these policies, help people defend their rights (and fight back), and lobby the companies we work to stop collecting and storing sensitive data wherever possible. | Join |
| Beta NYC | BetaNYC is a civic organization dedicated to improving lives in New York through civic design, technology, and data. We envision an informed and empowered public that can leverage civic design, technology, and data to hold government accountable, and improve their economic opportunity. | Join |
| DataKind | DataKind couples data scientists with non-profits to address their analytical, visualization, and modeling needs. From evening or weekend events to multi-month projects, all are designed to provide social organizations with the pro bono data science skills they need to address a range of issues across education, poverty, health, human rights, the environment and cities. | Join |
| Data For Democracy | Data for Democracy is a community of data people volunteering on social impact projects. It is a virtual organization that operates through Slack and Github. Current project areas include election transparency, analysis of online communities and the extreme right, campaign spending, and more. | Join |
| Data Refuge | DataRefuge is building refuge for federal climate and environmental data vulnerable under an administration that denies the fact of ongoing climate change at Data Rescue events across America. It is an opportunity for civic hackers, scientists, activists, and volunteers of all kinds to to identify, back-up, and help to preserve at-risk climate and environmental data resources before they are suppressed from public view and use. | Join |
| Tech Resistance | The tech community at its best stands for openness, inclusion, collaboration and innovation. These values stand in stark contrast to the kind of world the Trump Administration is trying to create. As members of the tech community we commit to resisting the Trump Administration’s efforts to divide, to silence, to persecute and to oppress. We will resist by harnessing our unique skills and resources behind efforts to promote truth, engage citizens, hold elected officials accountable, and push for justice. | Join |
| Progressive Coders Network | Volunteer coders behind Bernie Sanders' 2016 campaign cemented the role of volunteer tech in politics. Hundreds of coders created online tools for his campaign, boosting the movement by engaging millions of people to vote, volunteer, and inform themselves about the issues. We're building on that momentum and creating a sustainable network of volunteers: creating open-source tools for the progressive movement; helping progressive campaigns compete without needing millions of dollars in funding; enabling them to champion a platform centered in social and economic justice without big money's influence. | Join |
| Code Corps | We help people build simple software that solves hard problems. Here's our plan: We're matching developers and designers, project managers and marketers – any and every talent – to ambitious projects that need their help. We're educating and training, developing and encouraging people who build public software. We want to help projects be successful and people to do their best work. We're building a crowdfunding platform to support ongoing work. We aim to keep funders engaged in projects and connected to the teams they're supporting. We're developing tools to help people collaborate on, organize, and even distribute their work. We're listening closely to hear what needs built, and then building it. | Join |
| Tech For Justice | Tech For Justice® is an initiative to accelerate the development of technology applications and processes that improve access to justice in human rights, legal aid, and the environment. We aim to support those who need critical help more efficiently, and change processes that no longer serve the people. Technology provides communities with the ability to gather around targeted problems. | Join |
| Trans*H4CK | We shift the ways trans*, gender non conforming, agender and non binary people live by creating technology that economically empowers, improves access to social services, promotes gender safety and community sustainability, while bringing visibility to trans* tech innovators and entrepreneurs. | Join |
| Tech for Campaigns | Tech for Campaigns (TFC) is a community where world class tech talent and progressive, centrist political campaigns in need of volunteer man-power come together. The promise is not only different political outcomes but the sustained engagement of people concerned with the direction America is going. | Join |
| Tech Workers Coalition | We are a coalition of workers in and around the tech industry, labor organizers, community organizers, and friends. We are organizing for activism, civic engagement and education in the Bay Area. We work in solidarity with existing movements towards social justice, workers rights, and economic inclusion. | Join |
| WTF Volunteer Switchboard | Mid-term elections are just around the corner. It’s time to be extraordinary. Volunteer Switchboard is our first project: Connecting talented volunteers to opportunities to win elections. Wondering what you can do to stop Trump? | Join |
| Catchafire | Catchafire connects social good organizations with pro bono professionals who want to donate their skills | Join |
| Debug Politics | Debug Politics hosts events aimed at converting the tech community's frustration with politics into meaningful action. Let's use our talents as developers, designers, and technologists to find innovative ways to make a real difference. | Join |
| The Digital Service | Thousands of people go to work every day to defend our rights, protect at-risk populations and organizations, and provide opportunities and resources for those in need. Whether you care about immigration, civic engagement, education, jobs, or the environment, there are lawyers, non-profits and activists who are working to solve problems and they need your help. Connect with the people who have dedicated their lives to serving the people, and be of service to them. | Join |
| Project 501 | Project 501 matches non-profit organizations with talented professionals who want to donate their skills. Skill-based volunteer projects offer meaningful opportunities for volunteers to make an impact. | Join |
| Techs and Balances | We are a community of 100+ Engineers, Designers, and Product Managers devoted to building tools that make a positive impact - from standalone apps to integrations and enhancements for existing organizations and movements. We do not charge for our services, though we do pursue creative ways to capitalize projects for devops, server costs, and so on as needed ( e.g. patrons, donors, crowdfunding). | Join |
What the groups above have been working on to help activists and the politically minded.
| HillaryBNB | We want to build an app to allow supporters to share their homes with others from out of town and to help supporters on the road find lodging. | Built by DevProgress |
| Nomad | Nomad is a web app for arranging long-distance carpools for supporters and activists, which was used to great success during the Hillary 2016 campaign. | Built by DevProgress |
| NeverAgain Pledge | NeverAgain is the pledge signed by technologists around the country who are pledging to refuse to build a database of people based on their Constitutionally-protected religious beliefs. The refuse to facilitate mass deportations of people the government believes to be undesirable. The pledge is no longer accepting individual signatories. | Built by Tech Solidarity |
These are tools that have been developed to help activists build great things.
| data.world | data.world is a social network for data people, and makes data more discoverable, interoperable, and social. The mission of data.world is to build the most meaningful, collaborative and abundant data resource in the world in order to maximize data’s societal problem-solving utility, advocate publicly for improving the adoption, usability, and proliferation of open data and linked data, and serve as an accessible historical repository of the world’s data. |
| The Groundwork | APIs and building blocks for grassroots organizing, fundraising, and supporter engagement with extensive developer documentation. Powered donations, mail, and engagement for Hillary Clinton during her campaign. |
Ways to get involved outside of tech, and stay up-to-date
| More than Votes | Sometimes voting isn't enough. Find your local city or county meetings. Show up. |
| Swing Left | Find your swing district. Control of the House in 2018 will be decided by a handful of Swing Districts, places where the last election was decided by a thin margin. Find your closest Swing District and join its team to learn about actionable opportunities to support progressives—and defeat Republicans—in that district, no matter where you live. We can stop Trump and the GOP agenda by working together NOW. |
| 5Calls | Spend 5 minutes, make 5 calls. There's one simple and straightforward way to influence the Government that is supposed to represent you: Call them on the phone. Calling is the most effective way to influence your representative. 5 Calls gives you contacts and scripts so calling is quick and easy. We use your location to give you your local representatives so your calls are more impactful. |
| #2018Pledge | 60% of eligible voters turned out for the 2016 election but only 40% are expected for the 2018 midterms. #2018Pledge is a simple effort to keep our eye on the ball for the next election so we can create a progressive Congress for progressive policies. Take the #2018Pledge, spread the word, and be reminded so you don't sit out the 2018 election. |
| Tax March | President Trump still hasn't released his tax returns. That is unacceptable — and 74% of Americans agree. Let's show him. |
| I Stand Up For US | It's hard to ignore stacks of actual snail mail. This site makes it easy to write a custom message and mail a postcard to your elected officials. We'll use your zip code to find your Senator(s) then take care of the formatting, printing and mailing for you. Speak up, loudly and often. |
| Run For Something | Run for Something will recruit and support talented, passionate youngsters who will advocate for progressive values now and for the next 30 years, with the ultimate goal of building a progressive bench |
| flippable | flippable's mission is to turn America blue by building a movement to flip seats. They focus on state races, which play a huge role in national elections but are often overlooked. They tell you which races are important, who's running, and how you can support them. |
| 100 Days of Resistance | Join the Resistance to stop Trump's destructive agenda during his first 100 days in office! |
| What Do I Do About Trump? | Upset about Republican-dominated politics and want to make a difference? Get started at What Do I Do About Trump. Comprehensive guide to volunteering and action. #Resist! |
| Action Hub | We collect action alerts and calls to action from more than 30 different websites, so you can find actions to take ––– and see what’s happening across the resistance ––– all in one place. |
| Call Them In | Remind your government who they work for. Timely email reminders with tailored call scripts at your fingertips, so you can oppose Donald Trump's agenda and back progressive legislation in a meaningful way. |
| Call Trump Out | Add your elected officials to your address book. No matter who you voted for then, hold him accountable now. |
| Calls For Change | It's easier than you think to do something to advance women and equality. Calling members of Congress is one of the most effective ways to influence the political process, and Calls for Change makes it simple and fast. Each week we'll send you all the information you need — from the right phone number to a sample script — so in just ten minutes you can make sure your voice is heard. Learn more about the issues we’re focused on. We hope you'll join us. |
| Carpool Vote | In many states, new voting rules have made it more difficult for people to get to polling stations. These rules particularly affect people of color, people with disabilities, young people, elderly people, and women. Carpool Vote is a tool to fight back against an unfair political system in the 2016 election. We connect volunteer drivers with anybody who needs a ride - to the polls or voter I.D. office. |
| Countable | Why does it have to be so hard to understand what our lawmakers are up to? With Countable, it doesn’t. Countable makes it quick and easy to understand the laws Congress is considering. We also streamline the process of contacting your lawmaker, so you can tell them how you want them to vote on bills under consideration. |
| Daily Action | RESISTING EXTREMISM IN AMERICA, ONE PHONE CALL AT A TIME. The majority of our country believes in decency, in moderation, in sanity. Let’s not let the powers that be forget it. If we all band together against extremism and spend a few minutes a day using tools that have been proven to work, we can make a big difference in defending those values we share as Americans. Phoning our legislators, as New York Times recently reported*, is an extremely effective way to make our voices heard. That’s where the Daily Action alerts come in. We follow the news cycles closely to determine where we can collectively make the greatest impact. The point of Daily Action alerts is to make civic engagement easy and logistically painless. |
| Drive the Vote | free rides to and from the polls on election day. |
| Indivisible Guide | A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR RESISTING THE TRUMP AGENDA. Former congressional staffers reveal best practices for making Congress listen. |
| Phone Your Rep | Call local. Call often. If we want to have an effect on our politics, we need good representation. Our reps need to hear us if they're going to represent us. Calling them works, and we've made it easy to download their contact info. Just enter your address. |
| Phone Congress | Phone your congress representatives on issues you care about |
| Posters for Progressives | Print, download and share posters & placards to show you're fighting for progress! |
| Resistance Manual | Action begins with information. There are more of us who believe in equity and justice than those who support Donald Trump's ideology of fear and hate. Together, we can harness the collective power of the people to resist the impact of a Trump presidency and to continue to make progress in our communities. Get educated. Get organized. Take action. |
| Sister District Project | The Sister District Project harnesses the energy of volunteers in deeply blue (or red) places and channels it to where it can make a real impact. We are a network of local teams that support strategically important, winnable races across the country. In 2017, our focus is down-ballot on critical state and local races where Democratic control hangs in the balance. Together, we will ensure that all Americans have equal representation and our government works for all people, not just the minority in power. |
| Social Roots | SocialRoots enables you to find like-minded people, organize, and quickly spread a message across your digital networks. You can start your own campaign, or hop into an existing team. Get started in less than a minute. |
| What The Fuck Just Happened Today? | Logging the daily shock and awe. By @matt_kiser |
| The Town Hall Project | Find where and when all your elected representatives are having town halls. |
| IssueVoter | IssueVoter is a nonpartisan voter engagement tool for busy Americans to make a real impact on Congress. We present complex bills in simple, easy to read language that helps voters form opinions, which we then forward on to congress. Over time, we're able to generate a personalized scorecard that shows how well congress is representing our users. |
| Resistance Calendar | All the events for resistance, across the country. Submit your own, or find one to join |
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