Thousands of American Indian voters in N.D. getting free IDs

In China, rampant sales tax fraud was addressed with a unique solution. In an attempt to increase transparent sales and receipt use, the government implemented a scratch lottery system on receipts. This solution, using lottery systems to increase turnout and engagement, is being used across the globe, even in the United States to help increase voter turnout.

In a rapidly gentrifying Mexico City neighborhood, two artists refurbished an icon and set up an altar for Santa Mari La Juaricua, a saint to protect residents from eviction. The saint raises awareness and acts as a reminder about housing issues and the icon has been taken up by the residents and has been used in processions and protests.

Jane Cavarozzi, an entrepreneur and activist, started Dirty Girl coffee to “support economic development and women’s advancement in the small, depressed villages around Appalachian Ohio.” She lives in the town of Glouster and is respected for living local and working local, as opposed to being an outsider problem-solver. Though her coffee company is just one small step forward, she works closely with community groups to move economic development initiatives for the region forward.

Getting away from daily publishing helps local newspapers focus on serving their audience. The Quoddy Tides, a family-owned newspaper in Eastport, Maine, publishes only twice monthly. Publishing less frequently allows the newspaper to include more local stories, which are of interest to their community of readers, many of whom either live in, or have ties to the community. By avoiding the 24-hour news cycle, the newspaper can focus on local discourse and civic engagement.

The Women’s Collective is a nonprofit that works with more than 10,000 subsistence farmers in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu to promote food security using millets, a crop resilient to drought and climate change. For Pavitra, one of those farmers, she began cultivating the ancient grains in 2015 and now has more than enough food to feed her family year-round. However, there’s a lack of public investment in millet production and machinery. And there’s no unified effort to create demand for millets: Some state governments lead the charge and in other states, it’s led by grassroots organizations.

A newly established PAC in Washington state aims to increase the likelihood of Black women being elected to Washington State Legislature by eliminating the financial barrier that often impedes candidates from running their campaigns on an equal playing field. Although it is yet to be seen how the elections will turn out, the PAC has already succeeded in fundraising over $200,000 and distributing those funds to various campaigns.

To mark the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, in which a white mob killed hundreds of Black residents and destroyed the thriving neighborhood of Greenwood, the Centennial Commission supported a number of initiatives to learn from the past and build a better future. At the base of an ancient elm tree that witnessed the massacre, Up With Trees distributed 100 elm seedlings to children to plant around Tulsa. The commission convinced state education officials to develop a new curriculum on the massacre for K-12 students.

A New York-based nonprofit called Students for a Free Tibet is training Tibetans in "how to stage nonviolent protests." This effort, in conjunction with other Tibetan NGOs, has helped activists in Dharamsala, India to become "more organized, media savvy and technologically sophisticated," which in turn has increased the number of people who have come together to participate in the nonviolent protests.

Volunteer citizen seismologists in Haiti are collecting data on earthquakes and aftershocks with equipment provided by researchers to better understand seismic hazards and fault locations in the country.

The Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team (APAIT) works to positively impact the quality of life for medically underserved communities — particularly people of color within the LGBTQ+ community. APAIT’s primary focus is helping those with behavioral health challenges, housing insecurity, and who are at risk for HIV/AIDS, but has recently expanded its services to include helping those who are victims of sex trafficking.