OCP Champion organizations and other civic leaders offered reflections on 2025 and predictions for the new year:

• Pearce Godwin, Senior Director, Urban Rural Action: “America’s destiny will be determined by the actions of individuals. That includes nonprofit leaders who must lead by example by fighting division and dysfunction.” 

• Palma Joy Strand, Co-Founder, Civity: “I can’t help but see the sweep of the orchestrated chaos of this past year as a kind of wildfire. But wildfires also stimulate new growth. All over the country, seeds are sprouting and new shoots of growth are appearing.” 

• David Daley, Senior Fellow, FairVote: “Despite very real challenges – from the courts to the politicians driving this year’s unprecedented mid-decade redistricting – I've never felt more confident that the change we so desperately need is on the horizon. 

OCP Champion Service Year Alliance published its 2025 Year in Review. In the report, CEO Kristen Bennett shares her biggest takeaway from the year: "In the face of significant disruption, confusion, and uncertainty, our community – including service year alums, corps members, champions, advocates and funders – responded with determination and resilience to protect, restore, and sustain service years for current and future generations of Americans."

On December 3, OCP Champions Healthy Democracy and Participatory Budgeting Project hosted Bright Spots in American Democracy, a webinar that showcased recent success stories with civic assemblies and participatory budgeting. You can access slides from the event and resources shared by attendees here. 

Steve Dubb, Senior Editor, Economic Justice at Nonprofit Quarterly, sat down with author Celina Su to discuss her new book Budget Justice: On Building Grassroots Politics and Solidarities. The conversation, part of Nonprofit Quarterly’s “Truth to Power” series, focused on the role of participatory budgeting in stimulating local democratic renewal.

According to survey results released by Carnegie Corporation of New York and CivicPulse, 89 percent of local officials say polarization is negatively affecting the United States, the highest figure since data collection began in August 2024. In contrast, 30 percent of the same officials say polarization is hurting their local community, a figure unchanged during the past year, suggesting that community life remains resilient despite national strife.

A new quantitative analysis of U.S. higher education institutions released by OCP Champion Public Agenda reveals key areas in which higher education leaders can intervene to drive positive economic outcomes for students from low-income households.

OCP Champion Future Caucus awarded Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) the Jacob K. Javitz Prize for Bipartisan Leadership. The award honors Senator Murkowski and Representative Perez for championing effective, collaborative governance that centers the needs of constituents. Future Caucus also honored Gen Z and millennial state lawmakers who are transcending political polarization and advancing bipartisan policies.

Writing in Big Think, Aaron Hurst, founder and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Connection, a Seattle-based civic organization founded in 2024, offers five key insights to help organizations, communities, and civic leaders rebuild connection. 

Citing the Academy’s report on Enlarging the House of Representatives, The Boston Globe Editorial Board endorsed increasing the size of the House of Representatives.

Representatives Jamie Raskin (MD-08) and Don Beyer (VA-08) and Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) introduced The Ranked Choice Voting Act, bicameral legislation which would require RCV for all primary and general congressional races beginning in 2030.