Civic Responsibility Project - Female Innovator of the Year
Company: Civic Responsibility Project, Washington, D.C.
Entry Submitted By: ROKK Solutions
Company Description: The Civic Responsibility Project 501(c)(3) is a nonpartisan incubator and accelerator that provides resources and support to nonprofits working with business leaders and brands to increase civic participation.
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Female Innovator of the Year – Government or Non-Profit –10 or Less Employees
Nomination Title: Ashley Spillane
Ashley Spillane, co-founder of the Civic Responsibility Project - a nonpartisan donor fund to increase voter participation - believes voting is a fundamental right in democracies. With government leaders consistently failing to provide us with the resources to exercise this right, Ashley has been at the forefront of bringing new leadership into the civic engagement fold: Corporate America. Her work advising organizations, recruiting companies, and promoting election integrity were instrumental to the historic voter turnout of the 2020 election.
With over a decade of experience developing organizational and campaign strategies, Ashley serves as a trusted advisor for Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits and civic coalitions. She also founded Impactual - a social impact agency helping organizations create meaningful civic change.
Previously, she served as president of Rock the Vote and as a Roy and Lila Ash Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Ash Center. In 2018, Ashley co-authored acase study for the Kennedy School focused on the programs of eight major companies working to increase voter participation. Ashley has penned many thought pieces on bringing businesses into civic engagement efforts.
Despite Ashley’s remarkable work in 2020, she’s already looking ahead, supporting voting rights businesses to keep the momentum going into 2022.
2020’s record voter turnout was due in no small part to Ashley’s work at CRP, recruiting many of America’s brands to support the work nonprofits are doing. Thanks to the relationships she forged, companies helped:
- Direct 230K+ phone calls to the 866-OUR-Vote election hotline to address any concerns people faced during the voting process;
- Recruit 700K+ poll workers to offset the decrease in sign-ups due to COVID-19;
- Deliver 2M units of food and PPE to polling places nationwide during early voting periods and Election Day;
- Educate millions of voters about important deadlines and processes on occasions like National Voter Registration Day and Vote Early Day
In the past year, she has worked tirelessly advising organizations, recruiting companies, and promoting election integrity across all government levels.
Ashley has been at the forefront of bringing businesses into the civic engagement fold since 2014. With every passing year, Ashley’s civic impact has been multiplying with no signs of slowing down. Beginning her journey as a civic engagement advocate as a Roy and Lila Ash Fellow in Democracy at the Harvard Kennedy School, Ashley has gone on to lead Rock the Vote - a non-profit dedicated to building the political power of young people - as its president; she’s founded two organizations, CRP and Impactual, aimed at building voter participation and civic engagement; forged collaborations leading to the birth of initiatives like Power to the Polls; and galvanized action to create measurable impact in the 2020 elections. Ashley’s commitment to strengthening democracy never ends. Despite her remarkable work in last year’s elections, she is already looking ahead, supporting voting rights advocates and businesses to keep the momentum going into 2022.
Reference any attachments of supporting materials:
Harvard Kennedy School Case Study - Co-authored by Ashley in partnership with Harvard University, the study shares academic backing of CRP’s goal of bringing businesses into the civic engagement fold.
Thought Leadership - establishes Ashley Spillane as an expert in her field.
Triple Pundit: Brands, Voter Engagement and What Comes Next for Corporate America
Fortune: Democracy is trending: How big consumer brands are boosting voter turnout in 2020
Harvard Business Review: Why and How Companies Invest in Get-Out-the-Vote Efforts
Boston Globe: Look to businesses to increase voter turnout
Fortune: How Companies Can Help Employees Vote in the Midterms
Media Hits - provide objective third party validators of Ashleys extensive, impactful work.
Forbes: Companies That Back Voting Rights Receive Broad Public Support In New Poll
BuzzFeed News: What To Do If You’re Stuck In A Line At Your Polling Place On Election Day
The Economist: Corporate America’s role on election day—and beyond
Business of Fashion: Why Fashion Brands Keep Telling You to Vote
Washington Post: How Corporate America is trying to drive 2020 voter turnout
Highsnobiety: Louis Vuitton’s Vote Jumper Was Good, But It Could Do More
Washington Post: How employers are trying to drive Election Day turnout