cbc58
12-29-2010, 09:25 AM
Anyone want to help with this ? This needs funding to get developed and one of the reasons I am posting the idea here. Take a look and see if you think it has merit:
Background - I am absolutley convinced that the number one thing that is keeping the average voter back from getting more involved is the lack of understanding and knowledge of how the political process works, what is really going on and how everything effects them. In other words - we need to educate people to current realities so they can be armed with the knowledge to make their own conclusions and be active in the political process.
How many of us went to the polls and knew all of the people on the ballot for all elections and what their positions were? How many of us attend local meetings or visit the state house to learn about legislation that effects them? How many of us know how gerrymandering works or what the implications are of altering voter districts? How many of us know there are over a dozen political parties in the US.. or call our elected officials regularly? 99% of the population doesn't.
So it boils down to education. Educating voters on the process, the issues, the interconnection among players and how everything fits together and effects our daily lives - at the federal, state and local levels. Unfiltered and unbiased.
Here is what I am thinking of starting: The Voter Education Project. (www.voteredproject.org) This will be a 501(c)3 non-profit organization who's mission is to educate and inform voters on the political process and the issues. It will be compeletely non-partisan and non-biased and will give the average citizen the tools and information they need to become more active in the political process. While there are some cursory voter ed systems - this would be "in the field" and interactive.
One goal would be to have at least one volunteer in every voter precienct in the US. This volunteer would hold informational meetings, gather information, create candidate position boards, help enroll new voters and other volunteers, and become a point of contact for citizens. That's alot to ask of a volunteer so ideally they should recieve some form of stipend. The idea is to create highly focused local resources that are connected and work to get people more educated and more involved.
As this grows there are many avenues to make it self supporting from a financial standpoint: hold exit polls (sell results to media outlets), raffles, grants, tax-deductible donations, campus events, concerts, etc. As people become more involved they should see the value in having this resource and be willing to support it.
This would be a formal 501(c)3, registered and operating as a non-profit organization.. and would seek a determination letter from the IRS so that people can contribute to it with tax-deductible donations (using the system to help change the system).
To recap:
- Non-profit voter ed project
- Inform and educate average citizens
- Get people involved more in political process
- As people become more aware they will seek answers
- Non partisan - volunteers accross country
- Contributions will be tax deductible
- Non threatening / non confrontational way to effect change
- Long-term, bottom-up grassroots solution
That's the overall idea - open for discussion. This will take some initial funding to get started and one of the reasons I am posting it here - is it worth a money bomb or would you contribute to getting something like this going? Do you consider it a good enough idea to want to volunteer or help fundraise? It's a huge endeavor.
Background - I am absolutley convinced that the number one thing that is keeping the average voter back from getting more involved is the lack of understanding and knowledge of how the political process works, what is really going on and how everything effects them. In other words - we need to educate people to current realities so they can be armed with the knowledge to make their own conclusions and be active in the political process.
How many of us went to the polls and knew all of the people on the ballot for all elections and what their positions were? How many of us attend local meetings or visit the state house to learn about legislation that effects them? How many of us know how gerrymandering works or what the implications are of altering voter districts? How many of us know there are over a dozen political parties in the US.. or call our elected officials regularly? 99% of the population doesn't.
So it boils down to education. Educating voters on the process, the issues, the interconnection among players and how everything fits together and effects our daily lives - at the federal, state and local levels. Unfiltered and unbiased.
Here is what I am thinking of starting: The Voter Education Project. (www.voteredproject.org) This will be a 501(c)3 non-profit organization who's mission is to educate and inform voters on the political process and the issues. It will be compeletely non-partisan and non-biased and will give the average citizen the tools and information they need to become more active in the political process. While there are some cursory voter ed systems - this would be "in the field" and interactive.
One goal would be to have at least one volunteer in every voter precienct in the US. This volunteer would hold informational meetings, gather information, create candidate position boards, help enroll new voters and other volunteers, and become a point of contact for citizens. That's alot to ask of a volunteer so ideally they should recieve some form of stipend. The idea is to create highly focused local resources that are connected and work to get people more educated and more involved.
As this grows there are many avenues to make it self supporting from a financial standpoint: hold exit polls (sell results to media outlets), raffles, grants, tax-deductible donations, campus events, concerts, etc. As people become more involved they should see the value in having this resource and be willing to support it.
This would be a formal 501(c)3, registered and operating as a non-profit organization.. and would seek a determination letter from the IRS so that people can contribute to it with tax-deductible donations (using the system to help change the system).
To recap:
- Non-profit voter ed project
- Inform and educate average citizens
- Get people involved more in political process
- As people become more aware they will seek answers
- Non partisan - volunteers accross country
- Contributions will be tax deductible
- Non threatening / non confrontational way to effect change
- Long-term, bottom-up grassroots solution
That's the overall idea - open for discussion. This will take some initial funding to get started and one of the reasons I am posting it here - is it worth a money bomb or would you contribute to getting something like this going? Do you consider it a good enough idea to want to volunteer or help fundraise? It's a huge endeavor.