Bring People Together. Watch Civic Engagement Grow
July 16, 2026
The League of Women Voters of the Charleston Area recently brought together a group of people in South Carolina to talk about bringing together groups of people.
The muggy weekday event — ironically focused on the idea that such gatherings are becoming increasingly rare — was a screening and discussion of the 2023 documentary Join or Die, based on Harvard researcher and Bowling Alone author Robert Putnam’s premise that the drop in club memberships is bad news for democracy. When people become isolated — when they no longer join the PTA or attend church or bowl in leagues — they lose their sense of community, of opportunities to solve problems together.
Social good organizations, including nonprofits such as the LWV and community foundations, are natural antidotes to this troubling trend. Leaders and communication professionals can champion efforts to bring people together, provide them with access to resources and reliable information, and help them strengthen their communities.
Here are five ways to build civic engagement.
1. Inform, don’t persuade
People are bombarded with spin. At family gatherings. On social media. Even the most venerable news outlets today work persuasive arguments into their political coverage.
Community-based organizations can distinguish themselves by providing detailed, accurate, nonpartisan election and civic information. Give citizens the facts to make informed decisions, then let them do just that — no editorializing.
That information can come in the form of voter guides, newsletters, FAQs, webinars, op-eds. Organizations can point citizens to trusted resources, like Ballotpedia, the LWV’s Vote411, Vote Smart, or reliable local news sites.
2. Bring people face to face
Social media and virtual events can be tools for convening people, but they're not replacements for face-to-face gatherings. Online groups are often echo chambers that fuel partisanship and isolation. When people with different experiences do encounter each other on social media, it’s often to talk at, not with, each other. It’s easy to forget our humanity when looking at a screen instead of a human.
Social good organizations are natural conveners. They can host celebrations and workshops, networking events, even community bowling nights. Meeting in real life with people who have different experiences, beliefs, and perspectives strengthens empathy, refuels our sense of humanity, and builds community. When civic-minded neighbors come together, ideas grow and change takes shape.
For instance, when Fairfield County’s Community Foundation (FCCF) invited members of the community to its offices to watch a webinar on Black philanthropy in Connecticut, the attendees were so inspired that they decided on the spot to form a giving circle that, in just one year, drew 114 contributing members and raised $48,000 in grant money that went to Black-led and Black-serving organizations in the county.
3. Empower and educate citizens
Before the 2020 census, the Black Belt Community Foundation in Alabama rallied volunteers to go door to door with laptops and hotspots to ensure every household was counted. The impact was clear: Bullock County, for instance, saw its response rate jump from 20% in 2010 to 55% in 2020.
There are plenty of urgent reasons to bring people together today, as an attendee of the Join or Die screening pointed out. That accounts for the success of SINO — Silence Is Not an Option — a nonpartisan group in Charleston that has built a surprisingly strong, active following since it formed last year. SINO organizes pop-up protests, candidate forums, and citizen guides to empower people to fight to preserve our democracy.
Such grassroots coalitions can make a big difference not just for communities, but for the participants as well. For instance, FCCF’s Allies network brings together people who want to make a difference but might not know how to do so on their own. Through the program, they learn about the Connecticut legislative process, upcoming bills, how to submit testimony or contact their legislators — tools to help them effect change.
“When 90 voices swell together,” said Ryan Deal, Director of Community Philanthropy at FCCF, “that's a lot louder and more effective than one single voice.”
4. Anticipate and answer questions
Are you registered to vote? Is it still valid? When is the deadline to register? Do you have the proper identification to vote? Do you have transportation and know where your polling place is? How can you vote early or by absentee ballot?
These are all critical questions that busy citizens often struggle to find answers to. Don’t make them hunt for it. Bring it to them.
Providing voter information is a great example of being responsive to questions — and getting out the vote. In 2021, the New York Community Trust’s GoVoteNYC fund partners reached 2 million voters in eight languages. Turnout among people of color contacted by grantees was 37%, compared with 20% among those who weren’t contacted. These were trusted organizations already working in neighborhoods — houses of worship, senior programs, youth organizations. They didn’t just say voting is important; they explained how it connects to housing, transportation, public safety, and other issues affecting citizens.
5. Learn from your peers
You don’t have to bowl alone.
Many social good organizations aren’t competing for dollars or customers — especially when they are not based in the same community. They can work together to reach their goals, and they are often supercharged when they join forces.
That was the impetus for a free webinar we’re hosting in partnership with FCCF on Wednesday, July 22. We’ll focus on ways community organizations can inform, engage, and empower citizens and organizations to work collectively for the greater good.
The first step is surprisingly simple: Bring people together.
