Earlier this year, JCI USA launched a new Advocacy Taskforce with a series of virtual trainings that will continue through 2026 bimonthly. All sessions so far are available now in the Young Leader Lab. The next session is coming up on August 12th and will feature a guest speaker from Vote Forward as we launch this new partnership! To register in advance, check out the JCI USA Training Calendar.
While this is a new formalized program for JCI USA, the idea is not – and it’s deeply connected to our organization’s mission. For more than a century, JCI USA has focused on developing young leaders and empowering them to create positive change in their communities. Advocacy has always been part of that work. Not partisan politics, but leadership-driven, community-centered action. For more background on the program, see our previous blog post from earlier this year.
The virtual sessions are a great opportunity to learn more about advocacy and get inspired to take action in your community. However, we aren’t stopping there! JCI USA is excited to announce a national advocacy project, centered on get out the vote (GOTV) efforts for the upcoming midterm elections this fall.
Why GOTV?
GOTV has been part of JCI’s story since its founding decade: in 1926, the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce became the first national organization to conduct a systematic campaign to educate citizens of their civic duty to vote. As a result, 12 million more individuals voted in the 1928 election than in 1924.
100 years later, young Americans are far less likely to vote than those over 45. Yet, the issues being debated today will have a much greater impact on younger generations than those who are voting at higher rates. With decisions being made on critical issues like affordability, climate, and AI, it is more important than ever that young Americans’ voices are heard at the ballot box.
Our Partnership with Vote Forward
This is why we are excited to launch our partnership with Vote Forward, an organization dedicated to increasing voter turnout through letter writing campaigns.
Since 2017, Vote Forward has written over 40 million letters to voters with the help of over 285,000 volunteers. The organization runs a variety of non-partisan and partisan campaigns, with a focus on reaching potential voters in underrepresented demographics.
To maintain our non-partisan mission, JCI USA will only be participating in campaigns centered around getting more young Americans to the polls, without endorsing any candidate or party. Regardless of who you support, exercising your right to vote is fundamental to a healthy democracy and gives you the power to create positive change for your community.
How it Works
Step 1: Make an account at votefwd.org/JCIUSA. Making an account through this link allows us to track progress across the organization. After making an account, you may receive promotional emails from Swing Left, the 501(c)4 organization associated with Vote Forward. JCI USA’s activities for this partnership will only include Vote Forward’s non-partisan “social” campaigns, so feel free to unsubscribe from those emails if you are not interested in receiving them.
Step 2: Gather your supplies. You will need access to a printer, stamps, pens, and tape/stickers. Feel free to get creative and decorate your letters! If supplies are a barrier to participation, you can request a letter writing kit from Vote Forward for free. Please only request a kit if you are experiencing a financial need, as Vote Forward has a limited amount of kits to provide volunteers.
Step 3: Adopt voters. Once your account has been approved by Vote Forward, you can start writing letters! Navigate to the highlighted “PA New Voters” campaign after logging in, and review the instructions for preparing your letters. Voters can be adopted in sets of 5 or 20.
Step 4: Prepare your letters. Print the templates and add a personalized, non-partisan message about why you vote. New Voter Guides do not require envelopes. Fold as instructed and seal with tape or stickers. Vote Forward provides mailing addresses, as well as a return address to use. Add a stamp and they are ready to go!
Step 5: Mail your letters. All campaigns have a specified date range to mail your letters for optimal timing to reach the target voters. Once your letters are sent off, mark them as “sent” in your Vote Forward account to complete the process.
For more in-depth instructions, check out this page on Vote Forward’s website. Through this partnership, members can take action to increase voter turnout on three different levels:
- Individual: Follow the steps above to write & send letters on a timeline that works for you
- Local Organizations: Organize a letter-writing event with your chapter, in-person or virtually. These can be limited to members or open to the public. More resources to come on hosting events!
- National Events: August’s Advocacy Taskforce training will double as a virtual letter-writing event, with a representative from Vote Forward joining us; more details to come on an in-person opportunity at Annual Meeting in September
Next Steps
Help us reach our goal of sending 1,000 letters to potential young voters this year!
Remember to make your account through JCI USA’s dashboard so that we can track our progress. Vote Forward adds campaigns throughout the year based on states’ election processes. You can check our dashboard again later, and keep an eye on our social media pages for updates.
And if writing letters isn’t your cup of tea, there are plenty of other options for advocacy & civic engagement projects that your chapter can get involved with. Consider hosting a candidate forum for upcoming elections, or work with your local elected officials and nonprofit leaders to find an issue area that will make a difference in your community. For some high-level inspiration, take a look at the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and see what goals are most relevant to your members.
To register in advance for our August 12th event, check out the JCI USA Training Calendar.
Please reach out to the Advocacy Task Force at advocacy@jciusa.org for any questions. Happy letter writing!