With the Trump administration underway, the state of our democracy is at a unique turning point for politics, governance and activism. Sweeping political change is not just occurring at the federal level, but there is potential for change at the local and state levels, too.

The 2016 Election cycle and the recent Women’s Marches around the world have reinvigorated conversations about economic equality, feminism, race and how we define social progress as part of the ongoing Democratic experiment that is American politics.

Change.org remains committed to empowering users to create change in all the ways they find appropriate.

It’s often said the news media functions as the fourth estate — an unofficial branch of democracy holding those with political power and social influence accountable — asking the tough questions and working on behalf of the larger public. And in a world where accurate and inaccurate information spreads in milliseconds, the role of journalism as seekers of the truth continues to be invaluable.

But one doesn’t have to be a journalist to seek truth or influence decision makers. At Change.org, we see every day how a global community of engaged citizens can turn a signature into a movement, one person’s plight into a victory for a multitude and elevate untold stories as the true narratives they are for cities, states and nations. In the 21st century, online organizing is the fifth estate, playing an instrumental role in furthering the cause of democracy in the United States and beyond.

That’s why we’ll be blogging weekly throughout Trump’s first 100 days to take a look at the priorities Trump highlighted before he took office to see what progress he has made on each issue. The priorities as he has laid them out include:

Renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement

Abandoning the Trans-Pacific Partnership

Rolling back federal energy rules and regulations

Moving forward on pipeline construction, including the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines

Immigration Reform that will include canceling federal funding to Sanctuary Cities

Repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act

Nominations for the Supreme Court

This year also marks a decade since Change.org launched, which started as a very different company a year before Barack Obama became President. During the last major transfer of power, Change.org was just getting started, mainly through blogging. Since then, we’ve grown to 170 million users in 196 countries, with dozens of victories for our petition starters each day. We’ve also added fundraising and memberships as options to accelerate people-powered change.

In a sense, taking the pulse of a nation during Trump’s first 100 days helps us go back to our roots. So in addition to writing about the many millions of users that have made a difference and inspired change since the election, we’ll continue to do so throughout the year, contextualizing the story of our victories over the course of the past decade — and what our plans are for the future.

We also will tell the stories of petition starters across the political spectrum to hear their thoughts on Trump since they started their petitions. To date, there are more than 6,200 petitions focused on the new administration.

We will talk to journalists about the challenges and opportunities presented during this unprecedented shift in power. And we will continue our work as a company to provide a space for open, civic dialogue about a president who represents so many different things to so many different people.

We encourage you to continue to visit our site, share your thoughts about stories you’d like to hear from Change.org and, as usual, if you see something that you want to change, start a petition or even sign up to support 170 million people around the world as they work for change for the next 100 days and beyond. 

Joshunda Sanders and A.J. Walton

North America Change.org Communications Team