How to Apply How to Endorse More Info

The Democracy Summer brochure can be downloaded as a PDF. (PDF 158 kb)

The Florida election scandal was an intense civics lesson for everyone in the U.S. Though our government is held up worldwide as a model of democracy, citizens are disenfranchised by electoral systems that entrench injustice and inequality. The will of the people is subverted by a system dominated by Big Money and exclusionary practices.

The best thing we can do with our anger is to organize for change.

Democracy Summer is a training program on electoral reform for young people. The program will bring together the organizing energy, skills, and resources of diverse constituencies that have been propelled into urgent action following the 2000 elections. We hope you will join this effort to connect the diverse approaches to deepening democracy in the U.S. and help galvanize young organizers to sustained action on transforming U.S. democracy.

We hope you will help us recruit participants to attend a Democracy Institute June 17-23, 2001 on democratic reform and organizing skills at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. Participants will learn from experts and each other how to make lasting change in our election systems. Following the Institute, participants will have the opportunity to spend time working with on-the-ground projects and campaigns on electoral reform in Florida and elsewhere.

Sponsoring Organizations: Center for Voting and Democracy, Democracy Matters, Fannie Lou Hamer Project, Global Exchange, Hearts and Minds Alliance, Independent Progressive Politics Network (IPPN), Institute for Policy Studies/Progressive Challenge, NAACP Youth and College Division, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation/Black Youth Vote. See democracysummer.org for a complete list of endorsers.

How YOU can help!

1. Co-Sponsor Democracy Summer! Support Democracy Summer through a direct contribution of resources. We are asking that sponsoring organizations contribute $1,000, and we invite co-sponsors to play a leading role in shaping Democracy Summer.
2. Endorse Democracy Summer! If your organization is unable to contribute financial resources, we encourage you to endorse. The best thing endorsers can do is to help publicize Democracy Summer by linking your organization's web-site to democracysummer.org, sending our information out to list-serves, sending our brochures to young people, publishing articles in your newsletter, and acting as a recruitment hub in your community. We are committed to drawing a diverse group of young people and we need your help!
3. Send a delegation of young people to attend the week-long Democracy Institute. Tuition, room and board for the Institute is $300 per person, and transportation will be an added cost. Your organization can send allies or interns of your organization, or you can agree to fund a delegation and we will match you up with low-income applicants.
4. Host an organizer. The power of Democracy Summer is that participants will be plugged into on-the-ground electoral reform campaigns following the training institute. We encourage your organization to apply to host one or more young people to work on your electoral reform campaigns during the summer of 2001. We are seeking hosting organizations who are focusing on aspects of electoral reform that have particular relevance or resonance with your constituency or local community. Where possible we encourage groups to raise money to pay young organizers a stipend in order to make Democracy Summer accessible to low-income people.

Endorse Democracy Summer

(Participants: please use the this form.)

Organization __________________________________________________________

 Contact ________________________________________________________________

 Address ________________________________________________________________

 Phone___________________________________________________________________

 Email___________________________________________________________________

____ We would like to co-sponsor! We are sending a check and want to help organize!

____ We want to endorse! Please list us on your website and we will publicize Democracy Summer far and wide! Send us an additional ____ (#) of brochures to distribute to potential participants.

____ We will fund a delegation! We would like to send _____ (#) people and please match us with _______ (#) people who could not otherwise afford to go.

____ We will host an organizer! (Please indicate on a separate sheet what the internship would consist of, what campaign(s) the participant would be working on, what office and staff resources you are able to devote to the internship, and whether or not you would able to pay a stipend or offer room and board. *Don't worry if you don't have the answers to all of these questions!)

We appreciate anything you can do to support Democracy Summer.

Please send this form back as soon as possible to:

Democracy Summer c/o Institute for Policy Studies, 733 15th Street NW, Suite 1020 Washington, DC 20005 or to democracysummer@excite.com.

For updates, visit www.democracysummer.org or call (202) 234-9382, x257 & ask for Tanya or Sekou.