Think back to when you were young.

Can you remember a moment when an adult truly listened to you, took your opinion seriously, and made you feel like your voice mattered?

Many of us don’t have those memories—at least, not until much later in life. But for a child who hears, “You are an expert in your own life. Your voice matters,” the impact can be profound.

When young people are empowered early, they grow into engaged, informed adults who shape the world with confidence.

That’s exactly what UNICEF’s Child-Friendly Cities Initiative is working toward.

How do you measure the strength of the connections in a community—the trust, relationships, and bonds that hold people together. Social capital plays a powerful role in impacting everything from economic mobility to civic participation. But how do we actually quantify these unseen networks?

The Social Capital Atlas can answer that question, mapping out data across U.S. counties and zip codes to show where social capital is strong and where it is lacking.

Using sources like Facebook connections, census data, and voting records, the Atlas paints a picture of how connected communities really are.

As Election Day approaches, the importance of voting is at the forefront of many conversations.

However, a healthy democracy relies not just on ballots cast, but on active, connected, and informed communities—what we refer to as civic health.

Today, we’re taking a closer look at the concept of civic health and how data—from voting rates to social trust—can reveal a lot about the strengths and challenges our communities face.

We’ll also discuss how nonprofits can help promote civic health without stepping into partisan territory.