Individuals Act.
Activate. Connect. Take Action. Learn. Volunteer. Support. Organize. Lead. Run.
Local change startswith people.
Membership is free.
The 500 Project is a national network connecting principled people, county directors, independent organizations and partners, giving them a focused way to turn shared principles into local action.
The people are already there. The organizations are already there. So are the experience, passion and willingness to lead. The 500 Project connects them.
It Starts With I
I am the difference.
I learn. I train. I volunteer. I recruit. I support. I organize. I lead. I run.
I bring what I have. I find where I fit.
And when one becomes 500, what we can do together grows.
I AM 500
One Network
We connect. We act.
People care about different issues. Organizations pursue different missions. We don't have to agree on everything to act together where we do.
We believe
We believe local government should be accountable to the people it serves, parents and citizens should have a meaningful voice in their schools, individual freedom should be respected, and local leaders should reflect and respond to their communities.
Where our major principles overlap, we work together.
Individuals keep their interests. Organizations keep their identity, mission, relationships and independence. Our principles connect us. Action makes us stronger.
WE ARE 500
Find Your Place
Bring what you have. Find where you fit.
County Core.
Confirm. Observe. Recruit. Engage. Know your county. Know your districts. Build the network.
Organizations Rise.
Recruit. Invest. Strengthen. Engage. Bring what you do best. Strengthen the network.
Partners Scale.
Fund the infrastructure and capacity that power SCALE and move the network forward.
Our Common Focus
Schools unite us.
We care about different issues. We bring different experience, interests and missions. But here, our major principles meet.
Parents should have a meaningful voice. Local government should be accountable. Individual freedom should be respected. Local leaders should reflect and respond to the people they serve.
Schools give us common ground and one place to put those principles into action together.
The majority of school board races are won or lost by 500 votes.
SCHOOLS ARE WHERE WE START.
LOCAL LEADERSHIP IS WHAT WE BUILD.
Campaign Support
Leaders step up. We back them up.
When a principled person is ready to run, we bring the training, strategy, tools, relationships and professional support to help turn that decision into a campaign ready to move.
StrategyTrainingConsultingLogoMessagingVotersWebsiteVolunteersListsTreasurerConnections
The Growth Engine
We scale.
- Finding people isn't enough.
- Connecting them isn't enough.
- Winning one election isn't enough.
We build something that keeps moving.
01
Source
Find people and opportunities.
02
Connect
Bring them into the network.
03
Activate
Turn connections into action.
04
Lead
Equip people to lead.
05
Expand
Take what works farther.
Then we do it again.
Partners power SCALE.
Partners provide the resources and capacity that keep the flywheel moving and allow what works to grow.
Built From Experience
“The 500 Project wasn't dreamed up in a boardroom.”
It grew from decades of local work and from seeing too many good people, relationships and organizations disconnected after the election or issue that brought them together was over. We're building the network that keeps them connected.
First, Oregon
Built in Oregon. Designed to scale.
Oregon 500 is the first complete statewide implementation of The 500 Project, bringing individuals, county directors, organizations, candidates, volunteers, supporters and partners into one statewide network.
We build it. We learn. We improve. Then we scale what works.