(Not Quite) Tinder For New Activists: “Why Don’t We Already Have This?”

Many people are looking for a way to do something. They have heard that we the people — all of us — may be the last functioning guardrail against fascism.

By Arash Kolahi, Alexandria Shaner, Bill Fletcher Jr., Cynthia Peters, Evan Henshaw-Plath, Frances Kunreuther, Jeremy Brecher, Leslie Cagan, Michael Alber, the All of US conveners

People Are Looking for Organizations

People are outraged by the Trump/Musk agenda. They are speaking up at town hall meetings and getting dragged out by private security. They are attending protests to protect national parks, defend federal employees, support immigrants and trans people, takedown Tesla, and hold the U.S. accountable for genocide in Palestine. Even in deep red counties, people are turning out in droves to hear Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez deliver an anti-oligarchy, pro-populist message. Many people are looking for a way to do something. They have heard that we the people — all of us — may be the last functioning guardrail against fascism.

But how do they take the next step? How do they go beyond showing up for a protest? What can they do to join with others and engage in the organizing and mutual aid that is necessary right now? How do they find a group, organization, or project to assist?

Let’s say you are one of these people. In the past, you may have volunteered at your place of worship or pitched in at a neighborhood clean-up. But you have never really engaged with social change work, and you are ready to do that now. Maybe you Google it. The search engine takes a millisecond to ponder your request and then, using who-knows-what algorithms, throws up a list of internet rabbit holes.

Maybe you keep digging and you find an organization near you that looks effective, but when you click on “Get Involved,” the options are limited. They include sending a letter to your congressperson, donating, and getting on the email list. These are not bad options, but you want to actually sit down with other people, engage with the work, maybe stick around long enough to build relationships, help develop strategy, and go through iterations of struggles — building on the lessons you learn. What do you do? Where do you turn that doesn’t involve AI-generated advice, auto-reply emails, no real systems for onboarding new people, and other dead ends?

We have an answer to this question: It’s called the All of US Directory.

The purpose of the site is to provide an easy-to-use and effective means for you to find organizations or projects that you want to contribute to. With this new online resource you can now specify your location, the issue you are interested in working on, and/or the way you want to engage, and the site will give you a list of relevant organizations.

Organizations Are Looking for People — Find Your Match

Not only that – and this is key! – these organizations have identified themselves as ready and willing to accept and welcome new volunteers. They’re not just looking for your email address or donation. They want you.

It’s not quite Tinder for new activists, but it’s close. You have to do more than “swipe right” if you see an organization that appeals to you. But after filtering for location, issue, and type of engagement, you should be pretty close to a good match for your activist energies!

All of US is poised to play matchmaker for these two groups – newly mobilized and seasoned activists on the one side and, on the other side, the organizations that could provide a constructive outlet for their energies. Many hundreds and thousands of matches will contribute to a critical guardrail against Trumpism.

Everyone we talk to about this project exclaims, “Why don’t we already have something like this?” Well, now we do.

Listing Your Group

Are you part of an organization/group that is not yet listed? Please go here – https://allofusdirectory.org/join-directory – and fill out a simple form that will trigger us to approve your entry. You’ll then have your own unique page in the Directory, plus a password so you can log back in at any time and make edits to your page.

Moving Forward

The database will continue to grow with more and more diverse organizations that will provide the match to those seeking an outlet for their skills and passions. So please… Share this article! Post it to your social media and other outlets where people looking for ways to get more involved will find out about this directory. Spread the word to all the groups in the U.S. that make up big-tent, non-sectarian efforts to stop Trumpism and build something better. We need all of them, and they need all of us.