About Us
Common Power works to foster, support and amplify a democracy that is just and inclusive.
We provide creative on-ramps to civic fieldwork, expand the people engaging in and benefiting from it, and sustain this effort by investing in the next generation of leaders.
Drive Civic Action
Catalyze through education, and bolster a public who takes action in support of a just and inclusive democracy.
Build Lasting Community
Foster a community in which people learn from, support and grow with one another.
Promote New Leadership
Identify and invest in young, diverse leaders and promote them into leadership positions within CP and beyond.
Our Team
Young and diverse on purpose, our staff reflects actual, tangible investment in the next generation of civic leaders. This is the America we hope to help build.
(Click each image for bio)
PART - TIME STAFF
The Details
Common Power is a family of organizations: a Political Action Committee (Common Power PAC), a 501c3 (Common Power Future), and a 501c4 (Common Power). Financial integrity and transparency are core values for us. We file public monthly FEC reports for every dollar raised and spent in our PAC and SPAC, and every report since we began in July 2018 can be found here! Our 501c3's annual 990 reports can be found here for 2021 fiscal year and here for 2022 fiscal year. We created a 501c4 in 2023, and our first 990 form was filed with the IRS in May 2024.
Here is our 2023 annual report for the full family of Common Power organizations. In creating these aligned yet distinct organizations, we are able to be strategically flexible and maximize the impact with the financial support we receive. It also makes it easy for supporters to direct funds to specific initiatives within CP. Donation details using either option are outlined on our donation page.
Common Power partners with trusted legal, regulatory, and HR services that provide a foundation of support as we innovate in education, political, and leadership development spaces. Elias Law Group provides legal counsel on regulatory, employment, and campaign/political finance, Premier Political Compliance guides us through our FEC filing and general state and federal political compliance, and Reverb advises internal staff HR needs.
Our Champions
Our Common Power “Champions” bring a lifetime of experience as civil rights leaders and footsoldiers, and believe that Common Power is a key part of the continuation of their work in the movement for voting rights. They frequent our learning tours to the south, and participate in our virtual events from time to time. We consider them valued elders who inspire our community, and we love and support them however we can.
JoAnne Bland
“During my lifetime, I have been both a witness and a participant in some of our nation's most consequential civil rights battles. In the early 60's, I began my activism, with the SNCC (The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee) organized for myself along with other children and teens in my neighborhood and area to participate in the Civil Rights Movement.
Born and raised in Selma, Alabama, I have seen first hand how racism and segregation created a deadly divide between two races and decided that it was my duty to ensure that my voice was one of the many that was heard to create equality and voting rights for African Americans.
Currently, I am the owner and operator of Journeys for the Soul, a touring agency that specializes in Civil Rights tours with a major focus on Selma, Alabama.”
Ms. JoAnne is also a key stakeholder and board member of Foot Soldiers Park in Selma.
Charles Mauldin
Charles Mauldin was 17 years old and a student leader in Selma AL during the voting rights campaign of the 1960s. He learned from Dr. Bernard Lafayette and other civil rights movement leaders. He was inspired by the Teachers March on January 22, 1965, which is a moment in which educators took action for voting rights.
On Bloody Sunday on March 7, 1965, Mr. Mauldin was in the third row of American heroes who marched from AME Brown Chapel toward Montgomery. On the far side of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the marchers were beaten by Alabama police and sheriffs, and forced back to Selma. But Mr. Mauldin and the others returned two days later, and then on March 21-25 he was one of a little more than 300 marchers who walked the full 54 miles to Montgomery. This New Yorker article about the march includes insights and experiences of Mr. Mauldin.
New Yorker article on Charles Mauldin and others marching in Alabama: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1965/04/10/letter-from-selma
Mr. Mauldin: "We were just doing what we thought was right. It was not about me, or John Lewis, or any of our leaders. We wanted to vote, and we just did what we thought needed to be done to get there. That's what Common Power is doing now."
CP COMMUNITIES
At Common Power our commitment to building a lasting effort to strengthen our democracy is manifested in CP Communities. These Communities create unique spaces for people at different life stages to on-ramp them into civic action through community, education, and investment in next-generation leadership. All of these elements in concert allow us to sustain and grow this effort for political engagement every year, at home and around the country.
Common Power
The Community that started it all in 2018, the CP Now or core Common Power group tends to be in and around the retirement life-stage. People here bring decades of experience, often with leadership backgrounds, to their work with CP. This makes this Community very effective in the action we undertake and also allows for an environment rich with mentorship and guidance opportunities for next-gen leaders.
Targeted Generations: Boomers, Gen-Zers
Community Size: 1,000 - 3,000 depending on year
Primary Actions: Broad efforts impacting national politics
Primary Methods: Large Team-based remote/travel work & community-building
Ongoing Programs: Fieldwork, Advocacy, The Institute for Common Power
The Institute for Common Power
The broad education community at Common Power has launched on its own as The Institute for Common Power, a place for evergreen learning. The educational offerings are mostly virtual and year-round when suited for a broad audience, with limited, intensive in-person events for specific groups. The Institute is the primary catalyst for activating and reengaging our volunteers across Common Power.
Targeted Generations: Boomers, Gen-Xers, Millennials
Community Size: ~2,000
Primary Actions: Virtual online lectures, In-person learning tours
Primary Methods: Large zoom webinars (100-500 attendees), medium-sized zoom workshops, multi-day 20-40 person learning journeyss
Ongoing Programs: Educator Learning Tours, Courses, Lectures
CP FUTURE
In the summer of 2020 we launched Action Academy: a 12 week program that teaches civic engagement through the CP lens of Mindset, Mojo, and Mobilize. 62 college-age students have participated in this program, and through their friend groups grew the overall CP Future Community to encompass volunteer Action Days, community-building social events, and the creation of CP Crews that support national CP Team efforts. CP Future folx seed the future of CP Next and CP Now leadership positions, largely via “Crews”.
Targeted Generation: College-age Gen-Zers
Community Size: 60-150
Primary Actions: Focused Nat’l Political Actions, Identity Issue Activism
Primary Methods: Small Crew-based remote work, general community Action Days
Ongoing Programs: Action Academy, Special Sessions, Crews
Our Partners
After choosing our states, we select local partners who know the political landscape, can support our volunteer volume and are connected to the progressive causes and candidates we want to support. These partnerships ensure our teams are effective while in-state, and help us keep our out-of-state perspectives to ourselves… ;-)
We’re field multipliers.
When we choose to work with a local partner organization we’re following their lead. We carefully partner with local orgs that share our values, and while working with them we fully adopt their plans, priorities and tactics. We know that the most lasting change is driven by local citizens.
CP in the News
THE LATEST
NPR ALL THINGS CONSIDERED: 24 Hour Teach-In Event run by The Institute for Common Power
https://www.wypr.org/show/midday/2023-05-17/florida-teach-in-seeks-to-counter-gov-desantiss-policies
Dr. Terry Ann Scott talks about our Florida teach-in event with Institute for Common Power Fellow Dr. Yohuru Williams on NPR. At CP, we understand that Education is a catalyst for civic action, and felt compelled to stand up as educational standards are being stripped away.
FEATURED
HARVARD: Advanced Leadership Initiative, Social Impact Review - April 1, 2021
Our philosophy on how Blue States — organizations and people — should operate in red and purple states in a post-2020 world.
PREVIOUS
SEATTLE STORM WNBA Team: Voting Rights Night Partner - July 1, 2022
In partnership with the Seattle Storm WNBA team, Common Power, led by our CP Future team, set up voter registration tables at Climate Pledge Arena and educated voters.
THE DAILY (UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON) - August 4, 2020
http://www.dailyuw.com/news/article_8cb351ee-d5fe-11ea-b757-03154334ce25.html
A feature of our Gen Z program and the young leaders who help run it.
THE FULCRUM - July 27, 2020
https://thefulcrum.us/voting/safe-voting
Focuses on CP’s vote-by-mail advocacy effort and how volunteers can get involved.
GEEKWIRE - July 1, 2020
A full overview of the organization and its programs to date.
Org origin and philosophy
COVID shift to digital voter outreach
Advocacy for vote-by-mail
Next-Gen recruiting
SEATTLE TIMES - MARCH 27, 2020
https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/we-the-people-can-tear-down-roadblocks-to-the-right-to-vote/
Our manifesto on voting rights in a time of COVID and an early statement focused on vote-by-mail advocacy for the 2020 elections.
KUOW - March 27, 2020
https://www.kuow.org/stories/will-covid-19-crisis-swing-progressive-voters-to-biden
A short interview with Angela King of KUOW early in COVID quarantine on our election perspectives and shifts in our work.
