Today we’d like to introduce you to sara Gifford.
Hi Sara, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
We founded ActiVote with the mission to empower voters to feel confident to vote in every election. We wanted this app to be a space only for voters, not for candidates, not for officials, not for the media. Only for voters. The goal of ActiVote’s #DailyDemocracy is to flip the script and put power back in the hands of voters where it belongs. Instead of being inundated with calls, texts, and mail every few years, we provide a brief 2-minute civic action each day where you can learn about your government, public policy, legislation, and the people working on your behalf. After successful careers in tech, the ActiVote founders wanted to apply their skills to something good. And what better than helping ensure a safe, secure and accessible democracy?
After 3 years, we cover all elections, officials, and legislation nationwide and serve voters in nearly all districts from Senate to School Board.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
A saying is that “it takes years and years of hard work to be an overnight success.” I can confirm we are still in the challenging work phase. ActiVote is nonpartisan, and part of our mission is not to sway anyone’s beliefs but rather for people to feel empowered and confident in their own beliefs. That hasn’t always been easy. With unprecedented political polarization in the US, we still are working hard to ensure the best balance.
In addition to that, we’ve gone through countless iterations to try to make “government” and “policy” and “laws” as consumable as possible; making something as complex as our US democracy something you can participate in 2-minutes per day has been a bumpy road.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Throughout my career, I’ve always been one of the only women in the software industry dominated by men. Being promoted as a female manager, then as a female in senior leadership, and then to the C-suite, I’ve needed to learn how to present myself, my ideas, and, more importantly, ensure that everyone around me always felt that I heard their ideas and input. Over time, the “superpower” I developed was to get everyone who worked with me to excel and create teams far greater than the sum of their parts.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
I couldn’t live without LastPass. In this age of security and everything being online, it is a truly amazing tool for keeping all my accounts safe. Personal & Professional. Privately, during COVID, I fell in love with Marco Polo’s app. Sending asynchronous messages between friends and family kept me connected to the world at a time when we all felt a bit disconnected.
Pricing:
- $0
- Everything is free!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://acti.vote/Voyage
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/activoteus/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ActiVoteUS
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ActiVoteUS
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwd3TOP7yXurqUYF6dcSBKQ
- Other: https://www.activote.net/
