Welcome to
Open-Source Civics.
A nonpartisan guide to the people and groups already doing the work — and a civic assistant that points you to exactly the right one.
Our Mission
The Work is Ours.
Civic life isn't something that happens to you. It's something you build, alongside your neighbors, one small act at a time.
Why we exist
Most people aren't apathetic about democracy — they're exhausted by it. The process feels opaque, the information is fragmented, and the loudest voices are rarely the most useful ones. Our Civic Duty exists to lower the cost of participation: to make it easier to find the right trustworthy resource and act on it, without an account, an algorithm, or an agenda in the way.
Strictly nonpartisan
We do not endorse candidates, parties, or political positions. We do not rank campaigns. We do not run ads. Every external resource we link to — Vote411, Ballotpedia, the League of Women Voters, 5 Calls, ResistBot, Power the Polls, TurboVote, Vote.gov — is itself a vetted nonpartisan civic resource. If you ever find content on this platform that crosses that line, please tell us.
How it works
Four simple pieces, all transparent, free, and built around the people who use them.
- The Open Orgs directory — a curated, categorized collection of the nonpartisan organizations already doing the work: voter registration, money-in-politics watchdogs, government transparency tools, and more. Every card links straight to the source.
- Learn Our Civics— free, plain-language OpenStax textbooks browsable by chapter and topic; a Civics Glossary of civic-action vocabulary, where every term comes with a "Citizen Leverage" note on how to actually use it; and a Field Guide of step-by-step Action Sets for taking real civic action.
- The civic assistant— a chat that doesn't lecture you. Ask a question and it points you to the single best resource for it — the right organization, or the right chapter of a free civics textbook — with a quick note on why it fits. A concierge, not an oracle.
- The Local Wiki — community-written local civics pages. Any real user can add a page, edit it with full revision history, and flag disputed information for the community to sort out — a crowdsourced complement to the curated content everywhere else.
Get in touch
Questions, corrections, partnership ideas, or feedback? Email ourcivicduty.app@gmail.com or browse the Open Orgs directory.