While the 2025 Local Democracy Challenge is over, you can still use our resources below to engage with your local elected officials and begin making a difference in your community!

When threats to stewardship of the land, economic fairness, and democracy seem to be daily news headlines, it’s hard to know how you can make a difference. Engaging in your local democratic and civic community is a great place to start. The bedrock of a strong community is the ability for the people who live there to have a say in the future they want to see through their townships, counties, and other forms of local government.  

We’ve seen what happens when big money and corporate interests run roughshod over our towns — jobs are promised in the short run, but our soil is left bare, water is polluted and depleted, local businesses close, schools and clinics shuttered. This leaves people and our communities footing the bill.  

One day a year we exercise our democratic right to vote for our elected leaders at various levels. But just casting your ballot isn’t enough — these officials represent us all year and we need to hold them accountable for actions they take once they are voted into office. That’s where you come in: