At NationBuilder, we believe that everyone has leadership potential. Usually, political organizations just focus on the people at the top with the most power. But every once in a while an organization understands that real change comes from the bottom up. 

We say kudos to the New American Leaders Project for doing just that. In their new report, RUN LOCAL: The New American Electorate and the 2013 Municipal Elections, NALP credits local elections for giving new voices a chance to influence American politics.

With more than 89,000 local governments in the U.S., there are a staggering number of elected positions at the town, county and municipal levels. These offices give new leaders - including underrepresented minority candidates - the opportunity to get into the political pipeline and gain the skills needed to run for higher offices. The graph above from the report shows the need for more diverse representation at higher levels of government. 

We're doing our part to enable this transformation. For a long time, only the wealthy and powerful had ready access to tools like clean voter data, blast emails, and websites that enable interactive online communities. Now, with NationBuilder, that entire package starts at $19 a month and we'll upload your voter data for free. Back when I was managing local elections, I would have loved to have this. 

So, if you're looking at a local race and thinking "geez I want to run but setting up the campaign seems so complex and expensive," then think again. Change from the ground up is the name of the game.