Learning Life is working to raise $16,000 by December 31, 2025 to help support the DMV Democracy Learning Community. The Community strengthens democracy in the U.S. capital region by making it more inclusive and fun, connecting professionals, publics and policymakers via social events that nurture fun, learning, networking, collaboration and wider, deeper citizen participation.

The Community includes:

The Democracy Dinners (52 of them since the Dinners launched in 2019!) bring diverse people in the DC region together five times per year to share about their democracy-related activities, learn from presenting individuals and organizations, mingle to network, and enjoy good food.
The DMV Democracy Festival (DemFest), now in its second year in 2025, helps make democracy more social and fun with arts, games, discussions, a democracy market, and a culminating party. Look for the third DemFest in fall 2026, during the 250th anniversary year of the Declaration of Independence!
The Youth Summit on Youth Policymaking (YSYP), launched as part of DemFest 2025 on October 4, gathers diverse DC area 8th-12th graders to learn, deliberate and propose ways for youth 18 and under to have a voice in government policymaking that affects youth, with an eye to bridging (a) the gap between education and power, and (b) yawning socio-economic divides between youth in the same metro region. YSYP continues in 2025 and 2026 with public presentations about the 2025 Summit results, plus online discussions between policy professionals and students about policy making at school, city, county and state government levels in the DMV.

Please contribute $100, $250, $500, $1,000 or what you can to support the Democracy Learning Community's growth in the U.S. capital region! Donations are 100% tax deductible in the USA. Payments for participation in our Democracy Dinners, Youth Summit, or other activities that confer benefits are not tax deductible.

Individuals and organizations contributing $250 or more can get sponsor benefits instead of a tax deduction. Please contact Paul Lachelier at paul@learninglife.info if you wish to sponsor.

Thank you for your support of the DMV Democracy Learning Community!

Support the DMV Democracy Learning Community

By Learning Life

Support the DMV Democracy Learning Community

Team Members