Civic Engagement

Civic Engagement includes efforts to connect people and encourage them to become part of their community. There are many non-profit organizations in central Ohio including networking clubs such as young professional associations. Below are some organizations that are engaged in connecting the community and providing tools to allow for citizen engagement. The Columbus Foundation’s Power Philanthropy project is a place where non-profit organizations have registered and can connect with similar organizations on projects. However, there are also a large number of networking organizations that are focused around professions or specific advocacies that aren’t connected or documented. There is opportunity to create a registry for encouraging connectivity and collaboration between these organizations.  

Partners involved in Civic Engagement

• Central Ohio Regional Issues Forum
  This on-line tool allows citizens to engage in meaningful dialogue about their community and their world.  A joint effort between MORPC and The Ohio State University, this tool brings opportunity to your laptop to participate in a local discussion to identify relevant topics.
• The Columbus Foundation 
  PowerPhilanthropy is a new resource for comprehensive information about registered organizations’ missions, finances, management and programming. PowerPhilanthropy allows connections between hundreds of central Ohio organizations. The site includes “Portraits”, which are detailed reports created by local nonprofit leaders. Each month, ten new PowerPhilanthropy projects will be highlighted.
• First Link
  First Link connects people to community resources and maintains a subscriber based list of non-profit organizations. It is a valuable resource for connecting to volunteer opportunities.
• United Way
  United Way has offices in each county in Ohio. A core value of United Way is to partner with other agencies to provide services to people. Most offices offer mechanisms for people to get involved in civic volunteer opportunities, and are lynchpins in connecting with other human service organizations.  Links to each Ohio county are available through the Ohio United Way office website. A list of United Way offices and their websites are located here.