Democracy House is a fiscally sponsored project of the Foundation for Civic Leadership that organizes programs to engage college students in political advocacy and recruit them to vote. ¹

Democracy House’s programs have featured left-of-center activists and Democratic politicians, including gun-control activist David Hogg, left-of-center youth activist Teddy Landis, and U.S. Representative Maxwell Frost (D-FL). ²

Background

Democracy House is a nonprofit project of the Foundation for Civic Leadership. It organizes college programs that recruit students to engage in political activism, policy advocacy, and to vote. ³

Democracy House advertises its college programs as methods of “advancing democracy” by training its participants to organize political activism in the community, including by offering “coaching.” ⁴

Programs

Increasing Youth Voters is a Democracy House initiative that partners with ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, Scholars Strategy Network, Students Learn Students Vote, and Student Vote Research Network to go to college campuses and advocate for students to vote. In 2023, the initiative began using federal work-study funds to hire college students to perform voter registration and “civic engagement.” ⁵ In 2023, Democracy House made grants to ALL IN and Student Vote Research Network to fund voter mobilization campaigns nationally. ⁶

Young Leaders Summer Institute is a summer program hosted by Democracy House for college students. It includes webinars that are hosted by left-of-center activists, including David Hogg and Teddy Landis, as well as U.S. Representative Maxwell Frost (D-FL). The topics of the webinars use the ideals of democracy to persuade the participants into engaging in political advocacy. ⁷

Democracy House’s Young Leaders Civic Action Program is a cohort of current and previous participants of Democracy House’s other programs who can apply based on a statement about how they seek to engage in political activism in their communities. It includes a training program that discusses how participants can engage in political advocacy. Participants are also paid a stipend to attend and have their travel expenses paid. ⁸

The Democracy Center

Founded in 2001, Democracy House rents meeting spaces in a Cambridge, Massachusetts, home in Harvard Square that it calls “The Democracy Center.” Offices in the home are available to the general public to rent, and the left-of-center advocacy groups Better Future Project, The Black Response, and One Fair Wage use the location as a primary meeting space and offices. Cambridge Response, an alternative medicine-based emergency response organization, and New England Bangladeshi American Foundation also claim the building as their home office. ^{9 10}

Leadership

Ian Simmons is the president of the Foundation for Civic Leadership and a cofounder of Democracy House. Simmons is also a board member of Freedom House, Issue One, Social Finance, and Scholars Strategy Network. ¹¹

Dana Green works as Democracy House’s National Director of Advancement. Green was chief advancement officer for Hearth where she managed its fundraising department and campaigns. Prior to Hearth, she worked for Mystic Seaport Museum as the advancement events and special initiatives manager where she also oversaw fundraising campaigns. ¹²

1. “Our Mission.” democracyhouse.org. Accessed April 1, 2024. https://www.democracyhouse.org/mission
2. “Young Leaders Summer Institute.” democracyhouse.org. Accessed April 1, 2024. https://www.democracyhouse.org/ylsi.
3. “Our Mission.” democracyhouse.org. Accessed April 1, 2024. https://www.democracyhouse.org/mission.
4. Christy, McKenna. “Driving Change: Student Leaders Sharpen Skills in Political Leadership.” OHIO News, February 23, 2024. https://www.ohio.edu/news/2024/02/driving-change-student-leaders-sharpen-skills-political-leadership.
5. “Increasing Youth Voters.” democracyhouse.org. Accessed April 1, 2024. https://www.democracyhouse.org/youthvoting.
6. “Our Impact in 2023.” Our Impact in 2023. Accessed April 1, 2024. https://us21.campaign-archive.com/?u=de5de4537d15782cb42d5b126&id=ed94cc9232.
7.  “Young Leaders Summer Institute.” democracyhouse.org. Accessed April 1, 2024. https://www.democracyhouse.org/ylsi.
8. “Young Leaders Civic Action Program.” democracyhouse.org. Accessed April 1, 2024. https://www.democracyhouse.org/ylcap.
9. ^[1] “Engaging Campus and Community.” democracyhouse.org. Accessed April 1, 2024. https://www.democracyhouse.org/community.
10. “Democracy Center.” democracyhouse.org. Accessed April 1, 2024. https://www.democracyhouse.org/democracycenter.
11. “About Ian Simmons.” democracyhouse.org. Accessed April 1, 2024. https://www.democracyhouse.org/aboutiansimmons.
12. “Dana Green.” Development Guild DDI, June 3, 2022. https://www.developmentguild.com/completed-search/dana-green-democracy-house/.