Generation Vote Education Fund Named 2025 Aicher Impact Award Winner

Generation Vote Education Fund has been named the 2025 Aicher Impact Award winner for its national, youth-led work to strengthen democracy through voting rights, public education, leadership development, and election protection. Presented by Everyday Democracy, the award honors organizations advancing inclusive, multiracial democracy at the local level and reflects founder Paul J. Aicher’s legacy of community-driven dialogue and engagement. This year’s highly participatory selection process highlighted the growing momentum behind Generation Vote’s intersectional approach, which centers young people and communities of color in reimagining civic participation and building accountable, justice-oriented democratic spaces.

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When young people lead with vision, accountability, and a commitment to justice, democracy strengthens from the ground up. That's the powerful truth embodied by the Generation Vote Education Fund, winner of the 2025 Aicher Impact Award.
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Presented annually by Everyday Democracy—a longtime member of the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation—the Aicher Impact Award recognizes organizations building inclusive, multiracial democracies at the local level. This year's $5,000 prize honors Generation Vote's national, intersectional, youth-led movement advancing voting rights and a more just democracy through public education, leadership development, and election protection.

Why This Work Matters

Generation Vote represents a critical shift in how democratic participation is being reimagined across the country. By centering young voices and building power across racial and cultural lines, the organization creates spaces where dialogue leads to action, where accountability builds trust, and where communities shape their own futures.
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These are the same values that drive the work of NCDD members nationwide—the recognition that lasting change happens through authentic relationship-building, equitable participation, and the courage to confront inequality directly. Generation Vote's approach to election protection and civic education demonstrates what becomes possible when communities invest in the leadership and perspectives of those most affected by democratic exclusion.

A Legacy of Local Democracy

The award honors the vision of Everyday Democracy founder Paul J. Aicher, whose work has helped more than 600 communities unlock the power of dialogue, community, and belonging. The 2025 selection process reflected extraordinary engagement, with 12 finalist organizations inspiring nearly 3,000 public votes and over 14,000 video views—making it the most participatory year in the award's history.

For practitioners of dialogue and deliberation, Generation Vote's recognition offers an important reminder: inclusive democracy isn't just about creating better processes—it's about ensuring those processes are led by and accountable to the communities they serve, particularly young people and communities of color who have historically been excluded from decision-making spaces.
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Learn more about the 2025 Aicher Impact Award and watch the announcement from Everyday Democracy President & CEO Merle McGee: https://www.everyday-democracy.org/news/generation-vote-education-fund-2025-aicher-impact-award-winner