Traction (organization)
Encyclopedia
Traction is a progressive
non-profit organization
promoting civic engagement
, based in the city of Durham, North Carolina
. Traction's goal is to inform, inspire and connect a growing social network of left-leaning
20- and 30-somethings. The organization focuses on raising awareness of progressive issues including civil rights
, health care
, the environment
, electoral fairness
, economic justice and education
. These topics are integrated into activities such as movies, dodgeball, art exhibitions, sushi-making workshops, potluck dinners and parties to create issue-based events which inform and mobilize the community for social action.
Traction was founded in 2005 by Lanya Shapiro
and became a project of the San Francisco-based Tides Center
in early 2007.
The group's funding sources include the Z. Smith Reynolds
Foundation, Jonathan and Peter Lewis, and the Open Society Institute
.
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
promoting civic engagement
Civic engagement
Civic engagement or civic participation has been defined as "Individual and collective actions designed to identify and address issues of public concern."-Forms:...
, based in the city of Durham, North Carolina
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
. Traction's goal is to inform, inspire and connect a growing social network of left-leaning
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
20- and 30-somethings. The organization focuses on raising awareness of progressive issues including civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
, health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
, the environment
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
, electoral fairness
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
, economic justice and education
Public education
State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
. These topics are integrated into activities such as movies, dodgeball, art exhibitions, sushi-making workshops, potluck dinners and parties to create issue-based events which inform and mobilize the community for social action.
Traction was founded in 2005 by Lanya Shapiro
and became a project of the San Francisco-based Tides Center
Tides Center
Tides Center is a non-profit organization in the United States which provides fiscal sponsorship for progressive groups. Tides Center is classified a 501 tax-exempt organization by the IRS...
in early 2007.
The group's funding sources include the Z. Smith Reynolds
Zachary Smith Reynolds
Zachary Smith Reynolds was an American amateur aviator and younger son of R. J. Reynolds.The Zachary Smith Reynolds story was the basis for two movies, Reckless, starring Jean Harlow, and the popular 1950s classic, Written on the Wind. The latter was loosely based on a novel by Robert Wilder...
Foundation, Jonathan and Peter Lewis, and the Open Society Institute
Open Society Institute
The Open Society Institute , renamed in 2011 to Open Society Foundations, is a private operating and grantmaking foundation started by George Soros, aimed to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform...
.