Change.org Invests $100 Million to Give People a More Powerful Voice in Local Democracy

Nearly two decades after its founding, the world's largest petition platform is rebuilding itself with one of the largest investments in civic technology to date.

NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Change.org announced a $100 million investment over the next three years to give people a more powerful voice in the decisions that most affect their lives. The investment is funded entirely by the more than 3 million people who contribute to Change.org each year.

"We believe the biggest challenge facing our democracy isn't partisanship. It's that too many people no longer believe their voice matters," said Ben Rattray, founder and CEO of Change.org. "This investment is about changing that, starting in their own communities."

Nearly 20 years after its founding, Change.org will use the investment to rebuild its platform from the ground up, using AI to help people turn local concerns into real results.

The first wave of new tools will roll out over the coming months and includes an AI assistant that guides people through every step of building an effective campaign and a feature that uses AI to support human-led outreach to officials on behalf of every petition with more than 100 local signers. Early results are promising and the outreach has already doubled elected officials' response rate to Change.org petitions.

Most petitions on Change.org are now local (59%) and nonpartisan (62%). The platform is used by Republicans, Democrats and independents to weigh in on decisions closest to home.

About Change.org

Change.org is the world's largest platform for giving people a voice in the decisions that affect their lives. More than 500 million people in 196 countries have used Change.org to start and sign petitions. Change.org is owned by the nonprofit Change.org Foundation. Learn more at change.org.

SOURCE Change.org