Elevating the voices of noncitizen community members takes building trust through outreach and education. After the passage of Proposition N, allowing local non-citizens in San Francisco to participate in school board elections, a number of immigrant advocacy groups have mobilized to educate residents about their right to civic participation. Groups like the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) and the Immigrant Parent Voting Collaborative (IPVC) are working to organize numerous grassroots efforts promoting the civic engagement of non-citizens.

Amid divisive free speech discussions on campus, students across the country formed BridgeUSA, a group dedicated to the 'transpartisanship' movement. Student representatives are trained to facilitate constructive discussions with members of all political parties on campus. John Sarrouf, who trains students, noted, "The question shouldn’t be 'freedom of speech vs. safe spaces … but how do we create the context for people to engage each other [who have differences]?"

With one in every five newsrooms closing in the country over the last four years (that's 1800 newspapers), many local papers are trying radical new models to buck the trend. Novel strategies employed include turning to foundations or philanthropists, finding local owners, and comunity events like trivia nights, movie nights, concerts, and roundtable discussions.

As a reaction to police shootings of Black people in Missouri, one mom created a group called "Touchy Topics Tuesday" to invite White people and people of color to have frank conversations about race. By building trust and personal relationships, this group facilitates tough yet critical conversations surrounding race and racism in America and creates more empathy, support, and acceptance in the community.

Cleveland has been quietly building a network of book clubs, libraries, and empowerment groups "using literature to empower marginalized groups, foster economic dynamism, and bridge social divides." From workplace and veterans literature discussions led by community professors to youth writing initiatives, the city has uniquely woven literacy and social justice into its daily fabric. Journalist Christopher Johnston asks, could it be a model for other divided cities?

Shortly following the 2018 Midterm elections in the U.S. House of Representatives, a group of legislators known as the Problem Solvers Caucus used their numbers to change House rules easing the passage of bipartisan legislation. After working to build consensus on issues like health care, infrastructure, gun control, and immigration since 2013, the congressional membership organization noticed that their bipartisan bills often did not receive a fair chance due to the significant power that Speaker and committee chairs held in deciding which bills advanced. Their "Break the Gridlock" reforms changed that.

Caller-Times Saturday’s biannual Coastal Bend Social Forum hosted by Del Mar College gathered an array of experts to delve into the issues of domestic violence, labor rights, immigrant rights and homelessness, among other topics, to ignite a new tide of change in the Coastal Bend.

To assert their voice, community activists must move from behind the scenes to the front lines. Mobilizing the ethnic and immigrant community against Trump’s executive order of 2017 has led to the creation of the Yemeni American Merchant’s Association (YAMA). YAMA behaves like an umbrella organization, working to connect visa winners with humanitarian organizations, hosting legal training programs, becoming a plaintiff on behalf of Yemenis, and partnering with community leaders in cities across the United States.

The Nature Conservancy in New Mexico and the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps joined together to transform a dirt lot into a pop-up park, created and maintained by surrounding neighborhoods. Community members work together to build planters and green space to encourage community engagement and interaction in an otherwise vacant lot.

The Citizens Planning Institute has equipped 500 residents with the relationships and the know-how to make a difference at the local level in their communities. The institute is a seven-week course supported by a city’s Planning Commission, and these institutes now exist across the U.S. and even are spreading as far as Australia. By engaging with local civic leaders, ordinary citizens have a chance to learn and then make improvements that are meaningful to themselves and their neighborhoods.

Although achieving higher levels of voter turnout will require more comprehensive and long-term solutions, investments targeted at voter registration campaigns can still have tangible benefits in the short-term. NextGen America, a privately funded nonprofit organization, focuses on mobilizing young people at universities to vote. Their approach engages students who are otherwise unlikely to register or cast a vote with texts and even activities like petting zoos in addition to traditional canvassing.