Grow with the People Powered community: Join us as a member!
/You don’t have to fight for democracy alone.
Push for change with a network of over 200 other organizations, civil servants, researchers, and practitioners working on participatory democracy around the world.
People Powered is a membership-driven organization. We help address common challenges, build power and resources, and advocate for shared priorities. Together, we’re growing a global movement to expand people’s democratic power.
There are two special reasons to apply for membership now:
First, you may win a global promotion boost! We will randomly select three new members who sign up this month and produce a profile of your work, for our global communications. Read past profiles of our members Meri Harutyunyan (Armenia) and Janaagraha (India), and apply now to have your work amplified too!
Second, you can raise more money for our work together! Membership fees are optional, but any contributions this month will be matched 4-to-1 by a generous donor. So if you contribute $100, it becomes $500. All contributions go into a pot of money that members allocate, to address their top priorities.
Who can be a member?
If you’ve been practicing, researching, implementing or otherwise working with participatory democracy for at least one year, you’re eligible to apply!
You may apply either as an individual or as an organization. Applicants from government or other political institutions are encouraged to apply as individuals. Read more about membership.
Why become a People Powered member
Peer networking and learning
Members join a global community of participatory democracy practice, providing direct access to peers ready to exchange information and ideas, offer technical support, and share resources. We offer exclusive workshops and informal peer learning spaces for our members to connect and share knowledge and practice, strengthening participatory democracy around the world.
We also host member convenings, including in Mexico in 2023, Warsaw in 2024, and online in 2025 with hundreds of attendees from over 30 countries.
“We've formed a team that I dream of working with again. What binds us together is our shared interest and work on trust and its impact on democracy. That's the guiding thread in our working relationship.“ — Aluna Serrano, Extituto de Política Abierta (Colombia)
2. Fundraising support and collaboration
We help members identify and apply for funding opportunities to support projects that involve international collaboration. We have helped raise over $4 million for member organizations.
Through the network, our members have collaborated on joint projects and funding bids. Read how we supported joint fundraising for members in Eastern Europe, which led to a grant for youth participatory budgeting.
3. Decision-making power
Our members guide organizational decision-making, from our member-elected Board of Directors to committees for specific work areas. Members decide what work People Powered prioritizes, and our organizational policies and strategies. So far, members have decided how to allocate $630,000 from a pooled fund for projects that benefit the global participatory democracy community, and then they have helped plan and implement the funded projects.
See what members voted for in 2025!
4. Publicity
We profile our members' work through multiple channels: newsletters, websites, social media platforms, and international partners. See our in-depth case studies of our members’ work in Mexico and Ukraine as examples. We also help our members secure international speaking and media opportunities.
5. Contract opportunities
We share opportunities for contract work and connect our members with technical assistance requests. Members are prioritized in all People Powered contracting, including paid agreements for mentorship, facilitation, speaking, content production, and more. We have directly allocated over $450,000 to members to implement joint programs.
Ready to become a member?
