Catalysts for a New Democracy
Why This Work Matters
Localism bridges political divides as it starts with the well-being, self-determination, and leadership of frontline communities and leads to inclusive democracy and systems change.
"How did you find us?”
It is a question you might expect from people pulled out from under the rubble of a disaster or rescued after weeks lost at sea. It is not a question you expect from taxpaying families living a short drive from a major American city. And yet our organizers have heard it again and again, on porches and in church basements in rural Black communities the rest of the country has long since stopped looking for.
Communities whose ancestors’ enslaved labor built this country’s infrastructure now live without nutritious food, safe housing, or reliable power. Towns sited generations ago in flood plains are inundated again and again; with some disasters unearthing the caskets of residents’ relatives. These are the places inundated with air, water, and soil pollution. They lack disaster-resilient infrastructure while disasters multiply. At the same time, these communities have defied the odds and continue to fight against systemic barriers.
But after being ignored (at best) and in many cases extracted from, it is little wonder that residents of these communities have lost faith that any election will change their circumstances. Whoever holds local, state, or federal office, the conditions on the ground stay the same, so the incentive to participate quietly disappears. As the social safety net has frayed further and critical infrastructure funding is withdrawn, the ground beneath these communities grew less stable still.
The work of redesigning systems must be connected to the work of deepening democracy. When a broken political system and an extractive economy fail to deliver even the basics, faith in democracy erodes, and that erosion is precisely what authoritarianism feeds on. Building that faith begins at the kitchen table, with whether there is clean water from the tap and food on the plate.
Catalysts for a New Democracy
Launched in July 2025, Catalysts for a New Democracy (CND) mobilizes and trains hundreds of volunteers from across the country to work directly with frontline communities, facilitating visioning and strategy development so those communities can access the technical and financial resources they need. CND is designed to be the folding chair of access to the table for 300+ disenfranchised communities.
This initiative builds on years of patient, foundational work. TCLP has mapped over 600 communities across 32 states, home to roughly 1.5 million people. Over 200 communities have told us they are ready to begin the journey from vision to self-reliance.
Reaching communities at this depth, and at this scale, is more than any one organization can do alone, especially one running multiple initiatives with about 20 full-time staff and a rotating roster of organizers. CND is how we extend our reach without thinning the care: by walking alongside communities together with a growing ecosystem of partners including National and State Anchor Institutions (NAI and SAI), Technical Assistance Providers (TAP), and movement colleagues, each lending their own relationships and expertise to the work.
Methodology
At full scale, this is the engine for resourcing the self-determination of 1,000+ communities per year nationwide, combining mapping and outreach, visioning and capacity building, political education, cross-community connection, policy and governance change, narrative strategy, and core movement infrastructure. Catalysts for a New Democracy is the near-term vehicle for putting that engine into motion with our first 300+ communities.