Hanauer Foundation

Civic Action is a progressive advocacy organization located in Seattle, Washington. Civic Action is dedicated to empowering and emboldening progressives across the country to take direct action on the most pressing issues facing America today. Civic Action develops and promotes bold policy ideas in four key areas: inclusive democracy, middle-out economics, climate change, and gun responsibility. By engaging with people on social media and through email, Civic Action communicates our outside-the-Beltway thinking, and encourages political troublemaking.

Civic Action maintains a unique voice in the progressive community through the following strategies:

1. We highlight issues and moments that require action, not reaction.
2. We don’t whine—we are constructive and solution-oriented.
3. We reject incrementalism. All of our policy ideas aim to be big and bold.
4. We create strategic models for winning that can be exported across the country.
5. We communicate directly with the change-makers—you—to instigate progress.

Frequently Asked Questions

When was Civic Action founded? Civic Action was founded in 2017 by Nick Hanauer and is a partner organization to Civic Ventures, a public policy incubator devoted to catalyzing significant social change.

Is Civic Action focused on policies that affect Seattle? Our focus is on policies that make a difference, no matter the scale. We've developed and encouraged policies on the city, state, and national level.

How can I follow Civic Action’s work? Join our email list at — and follow us on Facebook and Twitter: @CivicAction. And be sure to read our online publication, Civic Skunk Works, over on Medium.