Generation Common Good Language Guide

How We Use Language

At Generation Common Good, many of the words we use have meanings that differ from how they are often used in electoral politics or everyday conversation. This glossary explains how we understand these concepts within our educational, organizing, and charitable mission. Unless otherwise noted, our use of these terms refers to nonpartisan civic participation, public education, leadership development, and democratic engagement—not support for or opposition to political candidates or parties.

Political

For Generation Common Good, political refers to the ways communities make collective decisions about the conditions that shape our daily lives. Politics is about who has access to safety, education, housing, healthcare, clean air, dignity, and opportunity.

Our use of the word does not refer to supporting or opposing political parties or candidates. Instead, it reflects our belief that democracy is strengthened when ordinary people participate in shaping the policies and institutions that affect their communities.

Political Home

A political home is a community where people can learn, build relationships, develop leadership, and take collective action around shared values over the long term.

A political home is not a political party. It is a place of belonging where people practice democracy together and organize around the common good.

Political Power

Political power is the collective ability of communities to influence the public decisions that affect their lives.

We understand political power as something built through relationships, civic participation, public education, organizing, storytelling, mutual aid, advocacy, coalition building, and democratic engagement—not through partisan electoral activity alone.

Political Will

Political will refers to the public commitment and collective resolve necessary for institutions and decision-makers to address important public challenges.

Building political will means helping communities understand issues, participate in civic life, and advocate for solutions that advance the common good.

Political Muscle

Political muscle describes the long-term capacity communities develop through organizing, leadership development, strategic relationships, and civic participation.

Like any muscle, it grows through practice, collaboration, and sustained engagement.

Campaign

A campaign is an organized effort to achieve a clearly defined public goal.

Campaigns may include public education, research, storytelling, community organizing, leadership development, advocacy, coalition building, and civic engagement.

Our campaigns are issue-focused and nonpartisan. They are not candidate campaigns or partisan electoral campaigns.

Advocacy

Advocacy means educating the public and decision-makers about issues that affect communities and encouraging policies that advance the common good.

Our advocacy is grounded in our charitable mission and complies with applicable laws governing nonprofit organizations.

Civic Engagement

Civic engagement is how people participate in strengthening their communities and democracy.

This can include attending public meetings, volunteering, organizing neighbors, participating in public comment processes, contacting elected officials, joining community organizations, voting, serving on boards or commissions, and helping solve shared problems.

Organizing

Organizing is the practice of bringing people together to build relationships, identify shared concerns, develop leaders, and take collective action.

For Generation Common Good, organizing centers democratic participation, community leadership, and shared responsibility for creating lasting change.

Base Building

Base building is the long-term work of developing a durable community of members, leaders, and supporters who share common values and are prepared to take sustained action together.

Unlike short-term mobilization, base building focuses on relationships, political education, leadership development, and community ownership.

Coalition

A coalition is a partnership among organizations, community groups, and leaders working together toward shared goals while maintaining their individual identities.

Responsive Coalition

A responsive coalition is a network of organizations and community leaders able to coordinate quickly around emerging public needs or opportunities while remaining rooted in long-term relationships and shared values.

Governance

Governance refers to the systems, structures, and public institutions through which communities make collective decisions and exercise accountability.

Our use of governance includes democratic participation at every level—from neighborhood associations and school boards to local, state, tribal, and national institutions.

Generative Governance

Generative governance describes democratic systems that actively create conditions for communities to thrive.

Rather than simply managing existing institutions, generative governance seeks to expand participation, strengthen accountability, foster belonging, and increase the public's capacity to solve shared problems.

Common Good

The common good is the idea that everyone deserves access to the conditions necessary to live with dignity and flourish.

This includes healthy communities, strong public institutions, equitable opportunity, democratic participation, environmental sustainability, and shared responsibility for one another.

Progressive

When Generation Common Good uses the word progressive, we are referring to traditions of social and civic progress that seek to expand democracy, opportunity, and human dignity.

The term describes an orientation toward improving public systems—not affiliation with any political party or candidate.

Democracy

For Generation Common Good, democracy is more than elections.

It is the ongoing practice of people collectively shaping the institutions, policies, and communities that affect their lives through participation, accountability, and shared responsibility.

Multiracial Democracy

A multiracial democracy is one in which people of every race and ethnicity have equitable opportunity to participate fully in civic life and influence public decision-making.

It reflects the principle that democratic institutions should serve all communities fairly and inclusively.

Key Battlegrounds

When we refer to key battlegrounds, we mean the public issues, policy debates, institutions, and community spaces where important decisions affecting the common good are being made.

This includes schools, local governments, higher education, public agencies, courts, community organizations, and public discourse.

The term does not refer to electoral battleground states or candidate elections.

Movement

A movement is a broad community of people and organizations working over time to create lasting social, cultural, and institutional change around shared values.

Generation Common Good contributes to movements by strengthening civic participation, leadership, collaboration, and democratic capacity.

Public Narrative

A public narrative is the collection of stories, values, and shared understandings that shape how communities interpret public issues and imagine possible solutions.

Building public narrative means helping people understand challenges, connect with one another, and envision a more just future through education, storytelling, and dialogue.