A Civic Action How-To Guide
UPDATE 2: Shift the Country is launching “Fierce Community” as our main focus in summer 2025. Changes to domains and naming are underway. We’ll start fierce community events online (on zoom) in early summer like the zooms in early 2025 but now with more focus. Some of the content on this site will also change.
UPDATE 1: This action page was posted in 2024, prior to the current new administration. It is all usable but you may need to add some additional security thinking, etc. It will be updated soon for the fierce community focus. In the interim, this post on Deportations & Disappearances is a 2025 community engagement tool that may be helpful for people & groups.
START HERE!
Shift the Country is set up to promote civic action to increase public pressure, drive change, & navigate disruption.
Use the guide below combined with any idea list and our 5 Things approach to get going.
THE BIG SHIFT GUIDE. ← START WITH THIS.
Idea List #1 — Activity Types. A core starter list of 39 event & activity types.
Idea List #2 — Variety Mix. 25 ideas for activities, events, engagement, & pressure.
Idea List #3 — Variety Mix. 25 ideas for activities, events, engagement, & pressure.
The 5 Things. Our 5-part approach for driving action & civic engagement.
Sparkly Big Vision. On growing the movement itself — this moment is so cool.
Shift the Country is a nonprofit that promotes ideas for activities that people and groups can use to raise a ruckus, influence the narrative, and get voters fired up. Together we can do a million things in a million places to elect good people and to bring about transformative change.
INVITE US TO SPEAK
If you know of people or groups who can do neat things with the ideas here, please help us get connected. We can do talks, calls, zooms, & training to get the word out. Invite us to speak, to do a workshop, or to do some coaching with your group.
Email team@shiftthecountry.com, call (515) 375-9027, or book an appointment to talk as soon as possible. The 2024 election is coming fast.
Shift the Country will help catalyze, nurture, coach, cheer-lead, foment, promote, support, grow, and incite this work at every level as we have the volunteers, capacity, and funding to do so — so give us a holler. Let’s do this.
MORE WAYS TO GET INVOLVED
Invite us to speak to share this work, or for coaching. We speak to groups about how to do these ideas & activities. We also do coaching & empowerment to make this shift happen. Book an appointment to chat about ideas, for speaking engagements, or for coaching for your group.
Share our Substack posts here with friends, family, relatives, online, & in-real-life groups you’re in who can help us get this shift going.
Subscribe to this Shift the Country Substack — for free or paid!.
Find community. Join our Community Rising Facebook group. It’s a community space for teamwork, connection, & community to help grow this shift.
Help fund this shift! This 501(c)(4) is relatively new & not yet funded at a consistent, sustainable level. More funds can help us run ads to bring in new participants & to spread the word. Funding would help us hire people to help do things to help grow this. More money helps us get wider permeation & reach. You can donate through ActBlue, through a Substack subscription (plus then you’ll get our announcements & info), through Patreon, or by check payable to: Shift the Country, PO Box 1093, Ames, Iowa 50014. Donations are not tax deductible.
SHIFT THE COUNTRY — SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow, like, & share our stuff to help ramp up engagement. As we collectively ramp up activity, our social media will get a whole lot more active.
Facebook. Get engaged via our Facebook: Shift the Country nonprofit page, or in community through our Facebook Group: Shift the Country – Community Rising. We’ll also plan to run ads on FB as funding becomes available to ramp up engagement, involvement, & reach.
Substack “Notes.” Engage via the Substack “Notes” with the founder here (Notes is a social media platform).
LinkedIn. Get engaged via LinkedIn: Shift the Country.
More platforms coming soon. We’ll create a Bluesky account, a podcast, + more social media as we get more volunteers or as we get funding for staff.