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Here are some of my favorite organizations and information sources useful for getting involved in social change. 

ACORN
www.acorn.org
[national low-income community group]

AFL-CIO
www.aflcio.org/home.htm
[information on union campaigns]

AFL-CIO--Union Summer Project
www.aflcio.org/unionsummer
[Summer program, aimed at students, that offers training and paid internships in union organizing campaigns]

After Downing St
Working to get the US public to take seriously the British Downing St memo, with its confirmation that the Bush administration consciously lied in creating rationalizations for the Iraq war.
www.afterdowningstreet.org

Alliance for Democracy
www.thealliancefordemocracy.org
[Grassroots network working on campaign finance, improved voting standards, single payer health care, opposition to abuses of corporate power and unilateral US military policies]

American Civil Liberties Union
www.aclu.org

American Friends Service Committee
www.afsc.org
[veteran Quaker peace and justice group with regional offices]

Americans for Peace Now
[US affiliate of main Israeli peace group. Along with Tikkun, the best source on Middle East alternatives]
www.peacenow.org

Americans Talk Issues
www.publicinterestpolling.com
[Innovative approaches to public interest polling, detailed in their book, Locating Consensus for Democracy]

Amnesty International
www.amnesty.org

Campus Outreach Opportunity League [COOL]
www.cool2serve.org
National organization that provides college students and their campuses with educational and leadership opportunities to strengthen communities through service and action

Catholic Worker
www.catholicworker.org
[organization founded by Dorothy Day to link service, spirit, and social change, with local Catholic Worker houses and a national newspaper]

Center for Ethical Leadership
www.ethicalleadership.org
[Seattle community-training institute helping
organizations develop their vision. Paul Loeb
is an affiliated scholar]

International Center for Nonviolent Conflict
www.nonviolent-conflict.org/index_HTML.htm
Excellent center with resources on nonviolent action.

Children's Defense Fund
www.childrensdefense.org

Citizens for Tax Justice
www.ctj.org
[best available analysis of federal and state taxation patterns, including more progressive alternatives]

Democratic Socialists of America
www.dsausa.org
[Politically similar to European socialist parties, puts out excellent magazine and has local chapters. Major leaders include Cornel West, Barbara Ehrenreich, United Farmworkers co-founder Dolores Huerta, and the late Michael Harrington. I'm a long-time member and think it's a great group.]

Democracy Matters
www.democracymatters.org
[New student-community group founded to work on real campaign finance reform, following the successful model of Maine]

Economic Policy Institute
www.epinet.org
[best source on economic trends and inequality]

Environmental Working Group
www.ewg.org
[core information source on environmental issues]

Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
www.fair.org
[national media-watch group with some local chapters. They also put out an excellent magazine called Extra]

Fellowship of Reconciliation
www.forusa.org
[veteran ecumenical religious peace group with national magazine and local chapters]

Giraffe Project
www.giraffe.org
[gives you real-life heroes' stories, a free classroom lesson, information on the K-12 Giraffe Heroes Program and printable quotes on courage and service]

Global Exchange
www.globalexchange.org
[wonderful group working on global trade issues and taking people on "reality tours" of places affected by economic injustice. They helped spearhead the Nike campaign and the Seattle WTO protests. Also did great organizing against war on Iraq.]

Greenpeace
www.greenpeaceusa.org

Habitat for Humanity
www.habitat.org

 

Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF)
www.industrialareasfoundation.org
[Parent organization of COPS, with regional affiliates]

INFACT
www.infact.org
[Coordinates grassroots boycotts]

Jobs With Justice
www.jwj.org
[Wonderful national network to support local labor organizing. It's a great vehicle to participate if you aren't already in a union, or even if you are]

League of Women Voters
www.lwv.org
[long-time enviornmental and political democracy organization]

Moveon.org
The prime progressive on-line organizing site in the country. Has done an amazing job in giving over two million people a way to participate electronically. They're now doing more and more to build face-to-face community. No excuse for anyone not to sign up.
www.moveon.org

NAACP
www.naacp.org

National Labor Committee
www.nlcnet.org
[coordinates anti-sweatshop campaigns like the Gap boycott]

National Priorities Project
http://www.nationalpriorities.org
[Excellent information source for state-by-state impacts of national budget choices--like resources allocated to military spending]

New Party
www.newparty.org
[my favorite of the national third-party alternatives, focusing on winnable local races]

NOW
www.now.org
[National Organization for Women]

Oxfam America
www.oxfamamerica.org
[Wonderful hunger relief and advocacy organization]

Organizer's Collaborative
www.organizenow.net
[Uses technology to enhance grassroots organizing efforts]

Parents for Public Schools www.parents4publicschools.com

Pax Christi
www.nonviolence.org/pcusa
[international Catholic peace group]

Peace Alliance www.renaissancealliance.org
[Organization, founded by Marianne Williamson, to bridge spiritual and social change efforts]

Peace Action
www.peace-action.org

Public Campaign
www.publicampaign.org
[major coordinator of clean elections campaigns]

Public Citizen
www.citizen.org
[research and advocacy group, founded by Ralph Nader, on consumer, health and environmental issues]

Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs), www.pirg.org/uspirg
[campus and community-based group originally founded by Ralph Nader]

Rainforest Action Network
www.ran.org

RESULTS
www.results.org
[a wonderful international grassroots citizens' lobby, working to create the political will to end hunger and the worst aspects of poverty]

Sierra Club
www.sierraclub.org

Sierra Student Coalition
www.ssc.org/index2.html
[Student arm of the Sierra Club, founded by Adam Werbach]

Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC)
www.seac.org

Surfrider Foundation
www.surfrider.org

Tikkun
[Magazine and organization offering a progressive Jewish alternative on issues like peace in the Middle East.]
www.tikkun.org

Tikkun also has a new campus affiliate, for faculty and students: http://www.tikkun.org/community/campusnet/

True Majority
Founded by Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, an excellent on-line network allowing people to quickly and easily email representatives on key issues.
www.truemajority.org

United for a Fair Economy
[Excellent research and action group working on tax and economic inequalities]
www.ufenet.org

United States Student Organization
www.usstudents.org/cgi-bin/ussa
[Students join through their student governments. The most effective student voice for acting on issues like federal financial aid]

United Students Against Sweatshops
www.usasnet.org
[Students working against sweatshop labor, including making sure that their campus sweatshirts, t-shirts etc are produced in conditions that respect the workers that make them]

War Resisters League
www.nonviolence.org
[veteran pacifist group, with local chapters and magazine]

Workingforchange.org
www.workingforchange.org
Produced by the alternative long distance and credit card company Working Assets, includes excellent daily commentaries, plus ways to take action. I write for them regularly.

 

[Soul of a Citizen Website hosted by local Seattle ISP, Eskimo North: www.eskimo.com]