To each of you that chose to
BE THE ONES
in your communities this year,
THANK YOU.
Join us in taking a moment to celebrate, together.
A snapshot of our year…
51 events & community engagements
38 partnerships activated locally
453 new voters registered (30% under 25 years old)
2250+ voter conversations between September - November
30K nonpartisan voter information cards distributed
2 percentage point increase in municipal voter turnout in Charleston County (SC) from 2019
And, we’re just getting started.
We’re grateful and honored to be in this moment together; working to engage, inform and activate our communities so we’re ready and prepared to participate in local civic activities.
Join us as we continue creating and expanding opportunities in 2024 and beyond.
OUR MISSION:
Be The Ones is a nonpartisan grassroots organization building healthier communities, a more equitable democracy, and expanding power by removing barriers to local civic participation across the Southeast.
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550,000 +
Number of state and local elected officials across the country.
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99 %
Of all government officials are elected locally.
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$3 Trillion
The amount of local government spending state and local officials control annually.
WHY LOCAL:
Local elected officials and governments shape our lives. They make decisions impacting everything from kids’ education, closing the racial wealth gap, expanding healthcare, and voter access.
AND, YET….
80%
of eligible registered voters do not
vote in local elections
4in10
say not knowing the role of Secretary of State prevents them from participating
58%
decrease in local civic meeting attendance over last 20 years
BE THE ONES:
We cannot meaningfully improve peoples lives without addressing the civic information & participation health crisis.
This is where Be The Ones comes in.
Civic participation is an essential component of a healthy democracy and well-functioning society. But, it’s hard to participate if you don’t know when elections are, leaders’ roles & how their decisions impact issues you care about. How can you advocate for better outcomes if you don’t know how systems work? It’s impossible to run for office if you don’t know what you’re running for?
We work to identify and close local civic information and participation gaps.
Our programs aim to inform, connect, and activate so you can participate - from the ballot box to fixing that pesky pothole.
While we believe every person deserves access to information & opportunities, our programs are designed to expand power among systemically excluded communities.