History

CTC For Progress is an organization launched by leaders of Changing The Conversation Together, a PAC, that was founded in 2017 to use deep canvassing to stop Trumpist politics and help reconnect Americans with our democracy.

Through “deep canvassing”—a highly personal, highly effective method—we help people understand why voting matters, and how to overcome obstacles in getting their vote counted.

In 2018, CTC’s pilot deep canvassing program helped Democrats win a key congressional race in Staten Island in the only New York congressional district that had gone to Trump in 2016. That story went viral.

In 2020, our focus moved to building a deep canvassing program in Pennsylvania, a crucial battleground state during the presidential election. Our work, that year was profiled in The New York Times. After the campaign, it was found that the unlikely Philadelphia voters CTC canvassers spoke to voted at 10 percentage points higher than their comparable neighbors! SOURCE

In 2022, with a crucial gubernatorial and senate election on the line, CTC’s work in Philadelphia had an even bigger impact – the people we spoke with voted at a rate that was 15 percentage points higher than their neighbors!

In 2022, The Philadelphia Citizen highlighted our work in a front-page piece called “How to Really Turn Out Voters.” WURD Radio (“Pennsylvania’s only Black-owned radio station”) featured an in-depth conversation about CTC For Progress.

In 2024, we continued our work, holding thousands of conversations with Philadelphians, making it significantly more likely they would vote.

Our unusual campaigns, have been featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer, NY Times, The Nation, WNYC, The American Prospect, Politics Is For Power, The Philadelphia Citizen, and The Forge.

As we look forward, we know our country is at a critical turning point. The US faces a stark choice: stand up and fight for democracy or let autocratic rule take over. A small number of voters in a small number of areas regularly decide our future.

The good news is many voters are open to talking, many volunteers are seeking meaningful ways to get involved, and our deep canvassing campaigns work!