CNL chapters advocate for pragmatic change, foster communities that debate and discuss ideas and host educational events with civic and academic leaders. We’re delighted that you want to join the network.

If you are interested in starting a chapter, we ask that you review the information below, and set up an interview call, and can commit to at least 5 hours per week on chapter development business.

Be sure to check if there is a CNL chapter currently in your area. If there isn’t one, or your’s is inactive:

What our chapters do:

• Our chapters advocate for pragmatic, liberal change and values. They push the conversation towards solutions that will actually make a difference for the lives of people living in their community.

• Our chapters ingrain themselves into their communities by organizing, making their presence known, and working with elected officials, community leaders, and other activists.

• Our chapters train and grow the profile of its members to enable them to effectively make a positive impact on their communities.

• Our chapters host events to educate chapter members and members of the community of the issues they are impacted by and the solutions to solve them.

Our successful chapters often have the following in common: 

• Knowledge of local politics: Our most successful chapters are run by leads who have a desire to know their community’s most pressing issues, the stakeholders involved, and potential allies in their cause.

• Recognizing the value of local politics: All politics is local. Our most successful chapters recognize the value of local change, and how small investments in local issues can have high returns for the community.

• A core leadership group: Our most successful chapters grow to be led by a team of dedicated individuals. This ensures that if one person from the leadership team has to step down there will be others to take her place.

• A balance of socializing and activism: Our most successful chapters recognize that they serve a social function too – they are a place where people with shared values can become friends alongside their commitment to affecting change.

• Constant mentorship: Our most successful chapters are constantly educating newer members on the local issues and political landscape, and teach them how to effectively create change in their community.

There are a few things that you should have to be a successful chapter lead:

• Capacity: We’re not necessarily looking for someone with months or years of experience organizing for different groups, though experienced organizers are always welcome. We can teach you organizing skills, what matters most to us is that you have the desire and capacity to be a chapter lead. Especially in the first few months as your chapter launches, the capacity to nurture your chapter during this critical period is important. You can average expect a time commitment of 5 hours per week, but some weeks you will find yourself doing more than that while others you do less.

• Drive: Our chapter leads are driven by the desire to affect change in their communities our most successful leads take that drive and turn it into action by doing the heavy lifting of maintaining their chapter’s cohesion and growing their influence among the local political scene. They organize social events and political initiatives, communicate with local stakeholders and the media, and manage the chapter’s social media assets.

• Decision-Making Ability: As the local lead, you will have more insight into politics on the ground in your community than the national organization does. As such, we don’t want to dictate what sort of issues your chapter is taking actions on. We will present opportunities for your chapter, but at the end of the day it will be up to you as the chapter lead to make the decision as to what your chapter will do.