LANSING, Mich., July 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — America turns 250 this year. But being an engaged citizen has never felt more overwhelming.
Social media is loaded with misinformation. Online discussions are often angry and exhausting. Government decisions affect people’s rights, families, businesses, and communities, but understanding what happened, who represents you, and what to do next can feel impossible. Many people are left with two bad options: doom-scroll until they’re frustrated, or tune out completely.
Zivic, a new nonpartisan civic engagement app launching July 4, is designed to offer something different. The ad-free app includes free and paid tiers to help users get informed, stay engaged, and make their voices heard in just five minutes a day.
“Civic engagement shouldn’t feel like a homework assignment or a shouting match,” said John K. Addis, founder of the Zivic project. “Most people care about what is happening around them. They just need a better way to understand it. Zivic was built to make citizenship feel less overwhelming, more personal, and even fun.”
Guided by Vic, a friendly bee mascot, Zivic gamifies civics into a daily habit with quizzes, challenges, streaks, badges, pollen, fun facts, and news. Users can build civic knowledge, follow issues that matter to them, learn about and interact with their elected officials, and take small actions that help them participate more confidently. New voters may be immersed in civic literacy for the first time, while older voters can benefit from civic refreshers powered by modern tools.
Zivic was developed by a small internal innovation team at Addis Enterprises, a national-award-winning design and development firm based in Lansing, Michigan. The initial concept was pitched by Addis’ longtime Senior Engineer Anthony Hathaway, who proposed an app that could track civic participation, such as voting, attending council meetings, contacting representatives, and other forms of engagement, then summarize a citizen’s progress at the end of the year.
Over the next twelve months, John K. Addis worked with Hathaway, Online Learning Director Dom Ari, Programmer Aashish Shrestha, and Project Manager Alicia Dowd to expand the concept into a full-fledged product for iOS and Android mobile devices.
At launch, Zivic’s core free features include Daily Nectar, a bite-sized civic goodie of the day; ZivIQ, a five-question quiz that helps users build civic and news fluency; Federal Buzz, a plain-language summary of major national civic and government developments; glossaries and flashcards that let users test their own knowledge; one-click contacting of state and local representatives; voting information and alerts; and gamified progress tools including points, streaks, and badges that reward users for learning, taking action, and staying engaged.
“For most people, the problem is not a lack of information,” Addis said. “It is that the information is scattered everywhere and rarely answers the real questions: what does this mean for me, my interests, my community, and the people who represent me?”
Unlike traditional news apps or government websites, Zivic is tailored to each user. Paid users gain access to additional features, including State Buzz and Local Buzz, alongside deeper insight into how specific news items, legislation, and government actions may affect their personal interests. Through Ask Vic, the app’s AI-powered civic assistant, users can get additional answers about bills, public issues, elections, representatives, and current events designed around their unique location, interests, and context. And, just as Hathaway envisioned, each December the Zivic Wrapped feature will help users share that year’s civic engagement milestones with friends.
The patent-pending app is nonpartisan and does not tell users what to think or how to vote. Zivic uses credible sources, automated workflows, and internal review systems designed to support neutrality, accuracy, and plain-language understanding. Its mission is to help users understand what is happening, why it matters, who is involved, and how they can participate when they choose.
“Democracy has always required engagement,” Addis said. “Zivic just makes it playable.”
As the country celebrates 250 years of American history, Zivic is focused on helping people participate in what comes next. With a variety of planned Phase 2 features on the horizon, including expanded social media integration and leaderboards, Addis’ team is just getting started.
About Zivic
Zivic is an ad-free, nonpartisan civic engagement app designed to make democracy doable. Through personalized local, state, and federal civic updates, ultra-local representative lookup, AI-powered answers, Daily Nectar, ZivIQ, Federal Buzz, quizzes, challenges, streaks, badges, pollen, and a friendly bee mascot named Vic, Zivic helps users get informed, stay engaged, and make their voices heard in just five minutes a day. Zivic launches July 4, 2026, on America’s 250th anniversary.
Members of the media may request interviews, screenshots, product demos, and additional background materials.
Allison Pazera | Office: (517) 489-2830 | [email protected]
Addis Enterprises | 908 E Mount Hope Ave | Lansing, MI 48910 | aenow.com
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