What Is CivLead?

An introduction to our community app for changemakers

Welcome to the CivLead Medium publication! We’re a mobile app, campaign, and a community of changemakers who want to grow into leaders.

CivLead stands for “civic leadership” or “civic leader.” It describes both the mindset we want to encourage, and the group of people we want to serve.

By “civic leader,” we mean someone who cares for their own and collective wellbeing and doesn’t see them as mutually exclusive. They’re a “practical idealist” — aware of constraints, but motivated to play their part in the Great Turning (phrase coined by Joanna Macy).

If you’re a volunteer, community worker, or another kind of changemaker, CivLead is for you. We want to help you maximize your impact in a way that nourishes and supports you. And, we don’t want you to wait until you feel “ready” or “have all the answers.”

We believe you can step into civic leadership now.

Hopefully, this gives you an idea of who CivLead is for. But what exactly can it do for you?

The bigger vision behind CivLead app

In 2023, it’s hard to make a mobile app that stands out. And yet, we believe we have something here that’s not been made before.

We all use multiple apps. And if you’re someone who wants to make a difference… You may use them even more.

You want to stay on top of your meditation practice, exercise, productivity, health, learning, social networking, news — and maybe a few other things. How many applications are you currently using for all of that?

I don’t know your answer but I can share some statistics. According to Zippia, an average US smartphone owner uses 9–10 apps daily, and 30 monthly. 85% of the daily average of 5 hours phone time (!) is spent in mobile apps.

Again, I don’t know if these exact numbers apply to you. But I think the bottom line might.

We’re spending more time on our phones than on real action that drives change. At CivLead, we want to free this time up by integrating several functions in one place:

• Tracking self-care, exercise, and inner work practices. You can commit to the habits that matter to you, log in the time and notes, and see your progress over time.
• Discovering volunteering and service opportunities. We will help you connect with our other non-profits and community organizations to get involved in their cause.
• Learning resources. We’ve built (and constantly expanding) a collection of best self-care, leadership, and social change resources on the web. You can discover articles, podcasts, and books that are genuinely useful — instead of wasting lots of time in Google search.

At the moment, you’d probably go to a few different apps for all the above. We want to offer them in one place, so you spend as little time as possible on your phone — and as much as possible doing what matters!

Are you on board? I hope so! :) If you’re willing to stick around for two more minutes, next up is:

How to use CivLead for the benefit of all?

You can download CivLead here. The app is still in development but at the same time — very ready to use!

We’re relying on early adopters like you to give feedback and help us make necessary improvements fast. We want to turn CivLead into a movement to support those making a difference in the world.

At the moment, the app’s most developed sections are “Self-care” and “Learn.” They contain activities and resources which you can add to your Favorites. You’ll see your list of Favorites on your home screen.

This is where you can go to create your Daily Commitment.

Daily Commitment

Daily Commitments are the core idea of CivLead. It keeps you from overindulging in checking the app too often. At the same time, it empowers you to tailor your self-care, learn, and service commitments to your lifestyle.

You can create a new Daily Commitment each day — because each day is different. Every morning, you’ll be prompted to open the app and take a moment to check in with yourself.

Ask yourself questions like:

What do I want to commit to today?

What will I need in terms of self-care, and what do I want to learn?

How much time do I have for these things?

What is realistic and also — what is useful for me today?

This moment of reflection allows your to set your intention for the day. Do you want to meditate, run, or take a hot bath? Or maybe this is the day to take some time for an uninterrupted 30-min reading session?

Once you’ve decided what you want to do, add activities from your Favorites to your Daily Commitment. Then, click “I’m ready for my day!” — and trust that your commitment will support you to follow through.

Logging activities

As you move through your day, go to the home screen to log and complete your commitments. You’ll find a “…” icon next to each activity. Click on it to add time spent and an optional note.

As you click “save,” the activity will move from your Daily Commitment page to your Timeline (top right corner). Click there to review your progress and see patterns in your activities.

Book a call with us!

That’s about it for the basic use of CivLead. I hope it supports your growth into a civic leader as someone who knows how to take care of themselves and others.

New exciting CivLead features are in development. We’re planning to add a way to network and connect with others, see your peers’ activities, a better timeline, and a lot more.

What we build next will be very dependent on the feedback of our early adopters — which includes you! If you’d like to contribute your opinion or ask any questions, you can book a call with me here.

To stay in the loop, follow us on Facebook or Instagram. You can download the app here.

I hope to speak to you soon!

CivLead was founded in 2022 in Washington, DC by Thomas Pollak and is run by community members from different parts of the US and Europe. It’s one of the main initiatives under the umbrella of the Civic Leadership Project. Civic Leadership Project is the “mother organization” behind Form 990 Online (IRS-authorized tool for non-profits to prepare and file tax returns), DC Tutoring & Mentoring Initiative, and a few other projects.