What is Ragtag?
Ragtag is a group of community and civic activists. We’re working together online and in our communities to build technology for social good. We're over 400 volunteers strong and growing. Meet our leadership team here.
Who is Ragtag for?
Ragtag is for anyone who wants to become more involved in their community, and who wants to help others do the same. Ragtag is for people who have never been particularly active in their community before, or who have been active online, but haven’t made the jump to in-person community involvement.
What does Ragtag do?
We do a lot of different things. Ragtag is a community itself, and we work together to gain a better understanding of the issues facing the communities in which we live and work, and learn together how to help out in effective and sensitive ways.
As a tech-generation community, we leverage our experience and expertise in technology to boost and facilitate offline community building. When it makes sense, we use or build tech tools to enable our community and civic activism. We help others get to know and understand different technologies, so that they can use them in their communities.
Some projects we’ll be working on include:
User studies on organizing and activism software used by volunteers.
Chrome extensions to improve or enhance the user experience of standard organizing tools.
Open source tools for organizations to manage their memberships and get out their message.
How-to’s and guides for best practices to protect your privacy and maintain security for yourself and your organization online.
Providing direct online and in-person tech support for community groups and field offices nationwide.
What do you mean by “tech generation”?
“Tech generation” is meant to encompass anyone who is comfortable with and immersed in modern digital technology. This may be because you are a “digital native”, or because you’ve learned about computers over time, or maybe even because you invented the internet. The term “tech generation” is not meant to be exclusive, it’s meant to give a general idea of who we are and where we’re coming from.
Who should join Ragtag?
If you consider yourself a “tech person” or a member of the “tech generation” and you want to become more socially and civically active in your community, or you want to help others do so, please sign up!
What sort of organizations do you support?
We support all sorts of progressive organizations. One of the things we are working on first is solidifying a policy to determine what types of organizations we are going to work with, and which types we will not.
Are you affiliated with any organizations?
We are not. Some of our members have worked in political and governmental organizations in the past, but Ragtag is not affiliated with any organization.