Many non-profit organizations have built their activist options around being able to aggregate activists around specific action items in ways that bring huge numbers of people together so that signatures or letters or postcards or petitions or other materials can be presented en masse to the traget individual, organization, government, and so on.
And, often these non-profits are able to do so in ways that effect REAL CHANGE.
No matter what issues are important to you, I find it best to:
- Narrow down a list of non-profit organizations that are in line with your values
- Decide how much time and energy you have to invest in your activism
- Decide how much money you are willing or able to invest to support your activism
- Commit to a regular routine of engaging in activism
For me, that means staying on the email lists for a few organizations, making it a point to sit down and read about issues several evenings per week, and making it a point to sign online petitions or letters every week, and to send postcards or emails and make phone calls to officials and those in positions of power every week.
Also, like many of you, I don't have a lot of spare time on my hands, so I accomplish my activism in small bursts and by doing it BEFORE I go on social media, Netflix, Hulu, and so on.
I prioritize this aspect of my life because I want to prioritize my values through my actions. And, I want to model activism for my son.
I routinely follow through on online activities via the "Take Action" tabs on several non-profit websites. For me, these frequently are related to criminal justice reform, Constitutional issues, healthcare equity, womens rights, indigenous peoples protections, and environmental/climate issues.
You may have different values or beliefs, and that's totally fine with me, but don't complain either way about the state of the world if you aren't willing to get involved (see THIS post for more of my thoughts on that).
Here are a few of the Take Action pages I visit regularly -- some will keep track of your actions if you create an account, some will autofill fields if you allow it, and some will also filter actions based on how much time you have (it is helpful to create a separate email or filter your email so that your inbox isn't bombarded with follow ups and new email lists you weren't expecting to be added to...):
- Amnesty International USA
- ACLU -- American Civil Liberties Union
- NRDC -- National Resources Defense Council
- The Sierra Club
- International Rescue Committee -- The IRC holds a special place in my heart as I personally know at least one person that was directly helped by this organization. The IRC helped the person escape from human traffiking and helped them seek and gain asylum in the United States when returning to their home country could have (most likely would have) led to their murder.
There are many others that I follow and look into and take actions through regularly, but the above are the ones I turn to most frequently.
When you take actions through these organizations and stay on their email lists, you will periodically get updates about the outcomes of various actions. It always feels great when the outcome is victory!
Please note: I am in the United States and thus linked to sites primarily directed at US residents.