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Our
Strategy

Building regional civic muscle by cultivating the garden of democracy.

The city of Cleveland superimposed on a background of flowers

A collective vision for Cleveland.

Since our founding in 2014, we have worked with our partners to build a people-powered democracy in Greater Cleveland and beyond. This shared vision for civic renewal in the region is guided by the inclusivity of multiple intersections, that highlight race, culture, intergeneration, and other politicized identities.

How we’ll get there: Cultivating our democracy garden.

Like a garden, democracy requires constant care, experimentation, and collaboration. Here are the ways we care for our “garden”:

  1. Prepping the soil. Before we can plant, we must consider the soil. Different soils hold different histories (like our democracy). And because of inequality, some soils require more care than others. We sift out the rocks that make it harder to dig and plant seeds by listening to and engaging with our communities. 

  2. Planting the seeds. To achieve a thriving democracy garden, you must plant a variety of seeds. We invest in and work with many types of organizations because we need a thriving community to build civic muscle. Some of the seeds we plant are tangible (grantmaking, registering voters), while some are harder to measure but are equally important (generating new visions, spreading hope). We plant not always knowing exactly how things will grow, but we trust the process and invest in what matters.

  3. Watering + sunlight. Growth doesn’t happen without nourishment. In this democracy garden, water and sunlight represent education, resources, access, and trust. This is how we sustain movements + momentum and make sure all communities have what they need to thrive.

  4. Weeding. All gardens face threats, so you must be vigilant. Weeding is the ongoing work of identifying and removing what harms our civic health, whether it’s stopping the spread of misinformation, disrupting patterns of harm, challenging injustice, and/or holding systems accountable.

  5. Pollination. In democracy gardening, pollination happens when you give people opportunities  to work with one another and share stories and strategies. Providing space for our partners to collaborate with each other makes it more likely that our investments will grow.

  6. Harvest. To us, a successful harvest is more than just high voter turnout. It also looks like:​

The evolution of a yellow flower

  1. Creating the conditions for fair and equitable access to the ballot 

  2. Fostering an environment where participatory democracy is not only embraced, but celebrated

  3. Democratizing policies and practices that reflect the needs of the people 

  4. Cultivating an environment where community accountability and transparency are embraced in all aspects of civic life 

  5. Encouraging practices such as public comment and participatory engagement to foster authentic decision making 

  6. Developing multiple on-ramps and opportunities for community members to engage in civic life

  7. Respecting multiple lived experiences and embracing cross-sector collaboration 

  8. Supporting diverse pro-democracy media outlets

The progression of a plant from seedling to fully grown
Text on a background of succulents that says While we work towards this vision, we will celebrate every successful “smaller” harvest we achieve. Joy, like water and sunlight, is a necessary ingredient in a thriving democracy garden."

Our road map to a better democracy garden.

Want a more detailed breakdown of how we will achieve our vision of a more participatory and liberated future? You can read our four-year strategic plan here and our policy blueprint here.

A heart graphic with leaves growing out of it
The Cleveland VOTES team added collage-style to a photo of yellow flowers
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