Ohio Citizen Action

Background

Ohio Citizen Action (OCA) is the premier grassroots mobilizing and organizing team in the Midwest. Ohio Citizen Action educates, organizes and mobilizes people to advocate for public interests. In person, by phone, and online, we engage people in actions that protect public health, improve environmental quality, and benefit consumers. Our campaigns connect Ohioans and build a movement to protect democracy and create a sustainable future. Ohio Citizen Action Education Fund (OCAEF) is the 501(c)(3) non-profit research and education affiliate of OCA. Both were founded in 1975.

We understand that informed and engaged citizens create the best possible hedge against abuses of government and corporate power, which lie at the heart of most injustice. Therefore, public education and engagement form the foundation of our success. For more than 45 years, we’ve developed our outreach model to integrate field canvassing and follow-up phone canvassing with online organizing. Through each of these methods, we educate people on a particular issue, urge them to take a specific action step, such as writing a letter to a decision maker, and contribute money to fund our campaigns. Ohio Citizen Action is 75% funded through individual gifts, mostly from field and phone canvassing. This keeps us accountable to our members.

Ohio Citizen Action’s Core Values

Leadership                                       Transparency                              Accountability

Self-determination                        Inspiration                                   Creative problem-solving

Honesty                                          Positive change                          People over profits

Diversity

Ohio Citizen Action/Ohio Citizen Action Education Fund has long recognized the benefits of a “strength-in-numbers” strategy, which activates diverse people and organizations with common cause to advocate for the public interest. We further recognize the inequitable distribution of environmental and consumer burdens and benefits and seek to improve the balance of power between decision-makers and people affected by their decisions. In order to more fully accomplish our mission, we have made a commitment to diversity and inclusion which is apparent in our organizational structure, policies, board of directors, staff, donors, goals, and vision. We welcome the participation of people from diverse races, ethnicities, religions, gender identities, political persuasions, sexual orientations, ages, physical abilities, socio-economic backgrounds and parental situations. Just as in nature, our organization, mission and movement all benefit from the greatest possible diversity, as it equips us to adapt to an ever-changing landscape of challenges and opportunities.