2021 National Campaign Highlights
Indivisible activists organized over 1,400 civic engagement events online or in their communities in 2021.
Leaving it all on the field for democracy
Indivisible activists fought like hell to secure voting rights, the elimination of the filibuster, and structural democracy reform. During several weeks of action held during congressional recesses throughout the year, Indivisible leaders nationwide held town halls, met with their members of Congress, and mobilized to call for democracy reform. And after several failed votes in Congress throughout 2021, all of this work came to a boiling point in January of 2022—when 52 Senators chose to entrench voter suppression. While we did not succeed in reforming the filibuster to pass the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act, our efforts in 2021 reinforced our belief that constituent power works.
Image from Castleton Indivisible VT Network
A year ago, there was deep uncertainty that this Congress would prioritize democracy reform at all. But Indivisible activists around the country hosted hundreds of events to demand they prioritize saving our democracy. And they did—the most recent vote on democracy reform wasn’t the first, it was the fifth. Usually votes on large pieces of legislation are one-and-done, but Majority Leader Schumer didn’t give up after the first failed vote—Indivisible activists wouldn’t let him. And until recently, filibuster reform was written off by senators and the administration alike. It was the work of our in-turf organizers, coupled with sustained constituent pressure, that got senators in California, Delaware, Maine, Colorado, Minnesota, and Georgia to go on the record in support of filibuster reform. We went from a handful of Senators supporting filibuster reform, to 48 of them.
As part of our democracy campaign, Indivisible activists organized the largest mobilization in Indivisible’s history, holding 375 events across the country for our July recess “Deadline for Democracy.” Indivisible groups held events in 40 states and D.C. to demand passage of S. 1, the For the People Act. This massive show of grassroots force was part of a cross-movement campaign we co-created to pass S. 1 over the summer. The coalition had 114 partners, including Declaration for American Democracy, Common Cause, End Citizens United, Just Democracy, Public Citizen, SEIU, and Sierra Club, among others. Indivisible groups held creative press-grabbing actions, including over 130 Arizona Indivisibles protesting in front of Senator Sinema’s Phoenix office in 100+ degree heat and Colorado Indivisibles coordinating visits to 11 different Senate offices at the same time to ensure their Senators understood the urgency of passing S. 1. Indivisible Project paid for billboard trucks in both states to support the local group actions. Throughout the Deadline for Democracy campaign, Indivisible members made over 25,000 calls to Senators and submitted over 900 letters to the editor to their local news outlets.
Building progressive power
Since 2018, Indivisible has been involved in the formation of a progressive voting bloc in the House. That year, after we won the House, we hosted a training led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Rep. Mark Pocan for newly elected progressive members on how to wield their power (including voting bloc tactics and leveraging the grassroots). And in 2020, Indivisible played a key role in helping the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) pass a rules reform package that allowed for a strong progressive voting bloc. Indivisible’s continued work alongside the CPC and progressive voting bloc helped us to secure a multi-issue recovery agenda, which was no small feat, and not preordained. When the Build Back Better Act came into play—we supported the CPC as they fought for the package—refusing a vote on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework without a concurrent vote on the Build Back Better Act. This was a momentous flex of power on the part of the CPC and progressive voting bloc and the first time that progressives had successfully banded together to demand ambitious legislation. And although the Build Back Better Act did not pass in 2021, the progressive voting bloc’s ability to hold the line shifted power within Congress.
Image from SAWW
In November, the offices of three MOCs called our National Advocacy Director to clarify or change their positions, based specifically on targeted asks we had of Indivisible groups in their district.
When it became clear that we had a chance to win once-in-a-lifetime progressive reforms through the Build Back Better Act, Indivisible remained nimble and our grassroots network was able to pivot quickly to take advantage of the moment. From the start of the fight we advocated for the most inclusive and comprehensive package possible. Core to our strategy was ramping up surgical advocacy efforts on conservative members of Congress (MOCs) who refused to support the Build Back Better Act. Our team of policy experts alerted organizers in key districts to hold members of Congress accountable, particularly those who were failing to get on board with the bill. In November, the offices of three MOCs called our National Advocacy Director to clarify or change their positions, based specifically on targeted asks we had of Indivisible groups in their district. Local groups were able to demand their MOCs strengthen their spine on immigration and push forward on the Build Back Better Act more quickly. It was Indivisible’s goal to get these reforms passed before the end of the year, and we drove calls and events demanding “no vacation without legislation.” We laid important groundwork in 2021 that will allow us to build on these efforts by identifying new legislative vehicles for advancing progressive priorities.
Truth Brigade Initiative
Indivisible’s Truth Brigade program launched in 2020 with the goal of training thousands of volunteers to use fact-based messaging to combat disinformation online and offline. Since its inception, we’ve accrued over 220 million measurable social media impressions—and an estimated 200 million more in private networks. We’ve recruited over 4,500 volunteers in at least 45 different states to take action against the spread of disinformation. Through Indivisible Civics (c3) and Indivisible Project (c4), we provide communications guidance, deep training, and tools tailored for best practices to leverage online algorithms to favor fact over fiction. Truth Brigaders use these tools to not just fight disinformation, but promote positive truth, from election security to vaccine mandates to big legislation like the American Recovery Act.
In 2021, Truth Brigade activists drove over 170 million measurable social media impressions. We ran over 40 distinct campaigns to combat disinformation on pressing topics, held monthly calls to train and onboard volunteers, and took the program public, which made a significant splash in the headlines, with features in the Washington Post, Forbes, and TechCrunch.
Central to the growth of the program was a monthly “Big Truths” call series, where we delivered timely presentations, trainings, and messaging tactics to Truth Brigade volunteers on topics like moving the media, climate change in the news, the psychology of disinformation, misconceptions on the pandemic and vaccines, and more. Armed with these tools, Truth Brigaders stayed informed and ready to engage in critical campaigns throughout the year. For instance, over 120 activists joined our November 2021 national Truth Brigade call, which focused on pushing back against climate disinformation. Participants received valuable messaging and communications advice from subject matter experts like Philip Newell of ClimateNexus and Devin Bahceci of the Global Strategic Communications Council, which they immediately put into action during the week of COP26.
American Rescue Plan Ads
In 2021, we launched English-language and Spanish-language ads in rural California to uplift benefits afforded to communities through the American Rescue Plan (ARP). Indivisible staff consulted with local groups in several towns throughout the Central Valley to understand what issues and messages would resonate most within their communities, then used these insights to develop tailored English-language ads in local rural newspapers. These ads used hyper-local messaging to highlight ARP benefits like funding for education, health care, public transportation, Native American housing grants, housing vouchers, and other direct aid to towns. We also ran tailored Spanish-language ads on 27 radio stations—and developed a comprehensive online resource—highlighting benefits like $1,400 checks and free summer lunches for 30 million children.
Shaping the Narrative
Indivisible accrued over 38 billion press impressions, including broadcast and print in 2021.
Shaping the Narrative
Indivisible accrued over 38 billion press impressions, including broadcast and print in 2021.
Amplifying the Grassroots through Press Support
Indivisible’s dedicated team of press experts designed and implemented press trainings for Indivisible groups, developed resources for drafting letters to the editor (LTEs), uplifted the organizing work of local groups through earned media, and shifted the narrative on democracy reform through national press amplification. For example, our training team partnered with the press team to host a press training ahead of Indivisible’s democracy week of action in November—and this training is now one of the most highly requested by organizers and group leaders across the country. This work is reflected in the leadership that local groups take in developing their own LTEs. For example, in Georgia 20-30 group leaders across the state regularly come together to share best practices and ideas for LTEs and share whenever their letters are published.
Leveraging our bully pulpit
Indivisible leveraged our bully pulpit to elevate the importance of passing the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, and to eliminate the filibuster to get these reforms passed. We moved the needle on filibuster reform—encouraging MOCs to shift their positions and gradually establishing filibuster reform as critical to passing democracy reforms and advancing a more inclusive democracy.
Shifting the dialogue on democracy reform
Press coverage of Indivisible’s Deadline for Democracy week of action reached viewers over 5.8 billion times through print and broadcast mentions during July congressional recess. Our press team elevated earned media of local events to major news outlets, which resulted in national press hits calling attention to the importance of democracy reform in Washington Post, NPR, NBC News, McClatchy, Politico, New York Times, The Hill, The Guardian, and Vanity Fair.
Moving the needle on filibuster reform
Indivisible remained at the forefront of calling for filibuster reform. We wielded the power of our bully pulpit to bring folks along with us in recognizing the racist history of the filibuster and how it continues to impede progress, from blocking critical democracy reforms to preventing the passage of transformative policies and recovery packages. Our efforts to eliminate the filibuster were featured in national news outlets including Buzzfeed News, the Rachel Maddow Show, The New Republic, NBC News, and The New York Times. Indivisible activists were also featured in news outlets for the actions they took to demand filibuster reform, including features in Newsweek and the LA Times.
Uplifting conversations on court reform
As a part of the Unrig the Courts Coalition, Indivisible continued to work alongside our partners to call for court reforms, including term limits, expansion of the lower courts, expansion of the Supreme Court, and improved ethics and transparency requirements. We advocated for court reform on the Medhi Hasan show, and provided our analysis of the administration’s SCOTUS reform commission report on the Ayman show—successfully driving national conversations on court reform throughout the year.
Indivisible Project (501c4) drives coordinated campaigns, powering the grassroots Indivisible movement to defeat the rightwing takeover of American government, and win an inclusive democracy and bold progressive policies.
Indivisible Civics (501c3) provides movement coordination, resources, training, and tools to fuel a powerful and aligned national movement of Indivisible groups and activists to organize for change.
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