CIVESTOR™ — Investing in Democracy

The Vocabulary

A New Word for Active Citizenship

CIVESTOR

A civic investor activist — a citizen who actively invests time, energy, voice, and resources in the institutions that shape their life.

CIVEST

To engage in deliberate, sustained civic action as a form of democratic investment. The verb form of Civestor.

CIVESTMENT

The act or product of civic investment — the measurable contribution a civestor makes to democratic life over time.

The Idea

Citizenship, Reframed

CIVESTOR reframes citizenship as active investment rather than passive obligation — a lens developed by Long Island civic advocate Daniel P. Devine over more than two decades of hands-on civic work.

Trademarked Civic Terms

25+

Years in Civic Life

Points of Good Governance

Go Deeper · Recommended Viewing

What Do We Mean by “Democracy”?

Everyone invokes democracy, but people often mean very different things by it. This documentary by journalist Johnny Harris walks through six ideas of democracy — electoral, liberal, egalitarian, participatory, deliberative, and how they fit together. A Civestor’s work lives in the participatory and deliberative parts: showing up, speaking up, and reasoning together, not just voting.

Video by Johnny Harris, shared for educational purposes. Not affiliated with or endorsing Civestor. · Watch on YouTube →

The Book

CIVESTOR: Reclaiming Your Power as an Active Citizen

Civestor book cover — Civestors civest. Are you one? Be one!

Available Now

CIVESTOR traces one civic origin story — from a letter to former President Gerald Ford in 1978 to the machine politics of Long Island — into a practical framework any citizen can use: the 12 Points of Good Governance.

The Civic Origin Story
The Ford Letter
Bethpage & the Plume
The Mondello Machine
The 12 Points of Good Governance (opens Civest Sphere in a new tab)

Available now on Amazon as a Kindle ebook. The current edition closes every chapter with the same question the cover now asks: Are you one? Be one!

Find It on Amazon →

Typed letter dated March 14, 1978, from former President Gerald R. Ford to Dan Devine, encouraging him to get involved in politics, signed Jerry Ford — From the book · The Ford Letter
In 1978, a 10-year-old in Hicksville wrote to former President Gerald Ford. He wrote back.

That reply, urging him to get "some practical experience in working for candidates in an election year," is where the Civestor story begins: one citizen speaks up, and can be heard.

*Are you one? Be one!*

Civestor Advocacy

The Civestor Advocacy Agenda

Civestor Advocacy is the lobbying arm built to move specific bills through the New York State Legislature. Its mission: civic investment, spent where the votes are cast.

Ranked-Choice Voting, Statewide

Give every voter the ability to rank candidates by preference — in primaries and general elections alike — so no vote is wasted and no race is decided by vote-splitting.

Read the draft bill →

Dark Money Disclosure

Require political spending groups operating in New York to disclose their funding sources, so voters know who is paying for the messages reaching them.

Follow the money: NYS campaign finance dashboard →Common Cause on money in politics →

Free and Equal Debate Access

Push for clear, fair thresholds for candidate debate participation, set publicly rather than decided behind closed doors.

New York's statewide debate rules →NYC's mandatory debate program →

National Popular Vote Compact

Defend New York's participation in the compact and support its expansion to enough states to guarantee the presidency reflects the national popular vote.

Where the compact stands, state by state →How the compact works (Ballotpedia) →

Sensible Oversight of AI and Data Centers

Support state standards for artificial intelligence and the data centers that power it — covering energy and water use, grid impact, and baseline transparency and consumer safeguards.

Responsible Data Center Development Act (S10642) →New York's AI safety law (RAISE Act) →

Full Agenda at civestoradvocacy.org →

Beyond the Book

The Civic Ecosystem

CIVESTOR is one part of a larger, interconnected effort to strengthen civic participation.

Civest Sphere

A nonpartisan civic technology platform that equips citizens and communities to evaluate their government against the 12 Points of Good Governance.

civestsphere.com →

American Civic Power

The parent nonprofit behind the Civestor project, dedicated to engagement in American civics and strengthening participation in democracy.

americancivicpower.com →

Civestor Advocacy

The 501(c)(4) lobbying affiliate moving Civestor Advocacy's legislative agenda through the New York State Legislature.

civestoradvocacy.org →

Daniel P. Devine

Long Island civic advocate, organizer, and author of CIVESTOR — the personal civic origin story behind the movement.

danielpdevine.com →