The Community Engagement Center

The Community Engagement Center (CEC) is a civic-tech nonprofit founded to reimagine how everyday people interact with power, policy, and public life. We believe civic engagement should feel as natural and rewarding as scrolling your phone or buying your favorite snack and that community wealth begins with community participation.

We serve underrepresented locals, low-income communities, and civic newcomers; especially young people and digitally-native residents who have historically been left out of traditional public processes. By gamifying civic engagement, we turn passive habits into active change, giving users new tools to shape the places they call home.

At the center of our work is the Civic App, a digital platform that lets users earn points for everyday actions: voting, attending public meetings, supporting local businesses, and participating in community efforts. These points can translate into real-world rewards including meals for unhoused neighbors via our smart vending machines - creating a closed-loop system of community impact.

We focus on five core areas:

Civic Engagement – Redefining participation through intuitive tech and incentives.

Community Development – Building physical and digital infrastructure for neighborhood care.

Consumer Protection – Empowering people to shop locally and ethically.

Economic Development – Strengthening small businesses and circular economies.

Hunger & Food Security – Delivering meals and dignity through tech-enabled giving.

Our Values

• Dignity: We believe every person deserves to be seen, valued, and empowered regardless of income, background, or housing status.
• Access: Civic tools should be accessible to everyone, not just the tech-savvy or politically active.
• Transparency: Trust comes from openness. Our systems are designed to be auditable, ethical, and decentralized.
• Joy in Action: Change shouldn’t feel like a chore. We create platforms that reward participation and make local involvement feel meaningful and fun.

From the Founder

My name is Daisy Colvin, and I founded CEC because I wanted to bridge the gap between digital life and civic life. I’m a civic-tech developer, prompt engineer, and community organizer but most importantly, I’m someone who knows what it’s like to feel powerless in systems not designed for you.

CEC is the project I’ve been building since I was 19. From hand-drawn plans to functional prototypes and every piece is rooted in the belief that our communities thrive when we’re included in shaping them.

I created CEC for people like me - people who care deeply, but don’t always feel heard. If you’ve ever felt like city hall wasn’t built for you, this is your invitation to help us build something that is.