Dinners for Democracy and Coffees for Change are designed to create space and opportunity for people across the country to build community and engage in the work to protect and advance our democracy and the rights of people. Gather friends, neighbors, or co-workers for an in-person or virtual coffee or dinner. It can be something at your home, at a park, at a restaurant, or at your favorite meet-up spot.
Get Started
We offer three options to enhance your event and help make it a successful, productive, and fun experience.
How to Host a Dinner or Coffee
1
Get the Resource Kit
Start by downloading the free resource kit for hosts or purchasing one of the kits above. You’ll get conversation starters and practical tips to guide your gathering — including help answering the big question: “What can I do to make a difference?”
2
Choose Your Setting
Pick a time and place to gather friends — your kitchen table, a local café, or a neighborhood restaurant. Aim for 5–10 guests to keep the conversation engaging and intimate, but you’re welcome to invite more!
3
Invite & Prepare
Send out your invites and review the materials in the toolkit. Think about what issues matter most to your community and how you want to guide the discussion. No need to be an expert — just come ready to listen, learn, and connect.
4
Host the Conversation
Welcome your guests and dive into meaningful conversation using the prompts and resources provided. Create space for everyone to share their thoughts, ask questions, and consider how they can take action.
You can play pro-democracy music during your dinner with our Spotify playlist, created in partnership with the literary magazine The Bitter Southerner, to help set the mood.
5
Follow Up & Keep it Going
After your gathering, share photos or videos from your event on social media and tag Democracy Forward! You can also send our resource information to your guests and encourage them to stay involved. Keep the momentum going by reaching out to your networks, sharing what you learned, and taking steps — big or small — to advance democracy together.
Questions?
Contact us at dinnersfordemocracy@democracyforward.org.
About the Initiative
Community also creates the conditions for courage—courage to advocate for ourselves and for each other, courage not to give into attempts to divide us. To help meet that need, Democracy Forward launched Together for Democracy to create space and opportunity for people across the country to build community and engage in the work to protect and advance our democracy and the rights of people.
Through Together for Democracy, Democracy Forward created Dinners for Democracy, Coffees for Change, and Campus Coffees for Change to create space and opportunity for people across the country to build community and engage in the work to protect and advance our democracy and the rights of people.
Since we launched this effort in May 2025, nearly 1,600 people in all 50 states and the District of Columbia have signed up to host an event. From donuts in a condominium clubhouse in Houston to a backyard fish fry in rural Wisconsin to lattes in a dining hall in Virginia, we know these events are taking multiple forms, reaching folks in every corner of our nation. Dinners for Democracy and Coffees for Change are designed to create space and opportunity for people across the country to build community and engage in the work to protect and advance our democracy and the rights of people.
Know a college student? Campus Coffees for Change offer a simple, powerful way for students to build community and take action to protect and advance our democracy.
Hosts in Action
More Ways to Get Involved
Your commitment makes us stronger as we work to bring the voices of people and communities into the most important fights in courts.