Dozens of America's Leading Companies Join Forces to Form the "Civic Alliance" to Strengthen Nonpartisan Civic Participation

NEW YORK, Jan. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, dozens of leading companies announced a commitment to participate in the Civic Alliance, America's premier nonpartisan coalition of businesses working together to build a future where everyone can vote, volunteer and take action to shape our country.

Founded by Democracy Works and the CAA Foundation, the leading entertainment and sports agency's philanthropic arm, the Civic Alliance brings together and supports its member companies as they each take concrete actions that encourage internal and external audiences to participate in elections, the 2020 Census, and to be active members of their communities.

"We are lucky to live in a country where people can participate and make a difference, whether it's through voting, volunteering, or participating in a Census or townhall. We have commitments from dozens of leading companies like Amazon, Facebook, and Starbucks, who will work together to support the strength of our communities and democracy, particularly in an election year where we can encourage first time voters, promote online registration efforts, and create digital campaigns to help people find their nearest polling station. We hope more companies and citizens will join us in this effort to shape a more optimistic future," said Richard Lovett, President of Creative Artists Agency.

"Companies have the ability to drive voter turnout rates to historic levels in 2020," said Seth Flaxman, CEO of Democracy Works. "Americans interact with brands nearly every moment of their day -- on their phones, at work, and at home. Through the Civic Alliance, we will provide strategic guidance so that companies transform each of those interactions into reminders to be civically active at the moment it counts and deliver trusted information that voters need about how to participate." 

Both Democracy Works and the CAA Foundation have proven experience in spearheading corporate civic engagement initiatives with a strong legacy of impact, such as I am a voter. the Civic Culture Coalition and the TurboVote Challenge, that have each shifted voting habits and contributed to an increase in voter turnout. In 2018 alone, the two organizations partnered with companies to help a total of 2.7 million people register to vote and 4.9 million people find their polling place.

"We are proud to be a part of the Civic Alliance," said Miki Woodard, Head of Good Robot at Bad Robot, a production company led by J.J. Abrams. "Active citizenship has always been a company priority at Bad Robot and we look forward to continuing to engage our employees and audiences everywhere. It's never mattered more."

Commitments Civic Alliance members are making in 2020 include:

• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota has an exciting year of civic programming planned centered around the election theme of "I am 2020 ready" through its internal grassroots civic engagement program, CitizenBlue. By providing nonpartisan election guides and candidate rosters, hosting on-campus candidate forums and offering state capitol tours, Blue Cross aims to make it easy for employees to have a voice at every step in the democratic process and to inspire informed and engaged voters in 2020.
• CMT will give fans a chance to register to vote on their tour stops and major events like the CMT Awards, host a conversation about civic engagement with Tennessee's Secretary of State and other business leaders, and implement a comprehensive program to give employees the opportunity to register to vote.
• Intelligentsia Coffee is committed to promoting democracy and civic engagement in 2020. In partnership with TurboVote, Intelligentsia will promote online registration efforts in their 15 coffeebars and will be announcing additional activations to support this cause throughout the year.
• Magic Hat Brewing and Performing Arts Co. is committed to promoting democracy and civic engagement in 2020. In partnership with TurboVote, Magic Hat will promote online registration efforts throughout Vermont and the North East via their limited edition Participation Pak and will be announcing additional activations to support this cause throughout the year.
• MTV's +1thevote is a year-long voter turnout campaign that invites first-time voters to make voting a part of their identity, a social experience to be shared with friends, and easier and more accessible to do. MTV is hosting workshops with content creators across the industry to integrate storylines on voting within shows and help normalize civic engagement in culture, sponsoring high school proms running innovative registration drives, and collaborating with nonprofits to launch the first-ever national effort to create new polling sites on college campuses to give voters easier access to the polls.
• Snapchat is investing in the next generation of voters and giving them the tools to become voters when they turn 18 — helping thousands of newly eligible voters register to vote each month leading up to the 2020 election. In 2018, Snapchat helped over 425,000 users register to vote and over 1.4 million find their polling location.
• Spotify is creating a movement around civic engagement for fans, artists, podcasters, and employees. Drafting off of Get Vocal, its 2018 Midterms campaign leveraging Spotify's massive reach to encourage its audience to show up to the polls, in 2020 Spotify will be raising the volume in a number of ways, from supporting artists and podcasters in fostering a climate of civic engagement for their fans to finding new ways to support voting-eligible consumers and employees in registration and voting.
• Thumbtack is committed to helping small business owners in every state register to vote as well as participate in the 2020 election. This year, Thumbtack will reach the hundreds of thousands of small business owners and millions of customers using its platform through in-person events and online registration efforts in partnership with TurboVote.
• Univision has a long-time commitment to promoting civic engagement and empowerment in the Latino community. Its Vota Conmigo ("Vote with Me") campaign works to ensure that every eligible person registers to vote, turns out to vote, and encourages others to vote with them. Working with community partners, Univision is providing opportunities for and information on voter registration and electoral participation in races up and down the ballot. The Cuenta Conmigo ("Count on Me") campaign is dedicated to ensuring that every person is counted in the 2020 Census. Univision is using its multi-platform offerings to communicate with Hispanic America no matter where they consume media. From partner activations to public service announcements, Univision is informing and empowering its audience so we can have a fair and accurate count this year.
• Xandr, AT&T's advertising & analytics company, enables and optimizes the sale and purchase of digital advertising. Through its PSA program which supplies digital advertising space to non-profit organizations, Xandr is serving millions of digital ads that encourage Americans to register and vote in 2020. Since 2016, Xandr's digital advertising platform has served hundreds of millions of timely reminders for local, state and federal elections in all 50 states.

Other Civic Alliance member companies include Amazon, AMC Theatres, Anonymous Content, Bad Robot, BET, Creative Artists Agency, Comedy Central, Entertainment Industry Foundation, Facebook, FleishmanHillard, Gap Inc., General Assembly, Instagram, Just Salad, Kenneth Cole Productions, Lyft, Microsoft, Paramount Network, Reddit, Inc., Salesforce, SB Projects, Speakable/Action Button, Starbucks, Studio71, Target, Tribeca Enterprises, Tumblr, TV Land, Twitter, UncommonGoods, Urban Outfitters, Verizon Media, VHI, Warby Parker and WordPress. 

The Civic Alliance is providing tailored support for member companies through a "civic concierge" service, which provides best practices for nonpartisan civic engagement, and connects companies with trusted nonpartisan agencies, organizations and initiatives, including the Ad Council, All In Together, BallotReady, CIRCLE at Tufts University, Civic Responsibility Project, The Civics Center, Countable, DoSomething.org, Fair Elections Center, HeadCount, Motivote, My Faith Votes, National Conference on Citizenship, National Voter Registration Day, Nonprofit VOTE, Students Learn Students Vote Coalition, Time to Vote, VoteRiders, and the U.S. Census Bureau, among others. Experienced Civic Alliance member companies will also become "civic mentors" for companies new to civics, providing them with trusted guidance and support as they develop their own programs.

To join or learn more about the Civic Alliance, visit civicalliance.com or email [email protected].

About the Co-Founding Organizations:

CAA Foundation:
The CAA Foundation was founded in 1995, born out of the agency's desire to give back to communities and harness the power and reach of the entertainment industry to create positive social change by forging strategic partnerships, encouraging volunteerism, granting financial contributions, stimulating public awareness, and providing in-kind donations. The CAA Foundation has become a leader in the entertainment community on education, the environment, and health and social issues.

About Democracy Works:
Democracy Works is a nonpartisan, nonprofit that builds technology to simplify and modernize the voting process. Through TurboVote, an online tool that helps voters register and request absentee ballots, the organization sends election reminders to over seven million voters. Democracy Works also helps millions of Americans find their election information through the Voting Information Project, and helps track millions of ballots via Ballot Scout, adding confidence and transparency to the vote-by-mail process. Through partnerships with corporations, colleges, and nonprofits, Democracy Works expands the reach of their technology and makes it easier for voters to get to the polls, and participate in our democracy.

SOURCE Democracy Works

Related Links

http://www.civicalliance.com

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