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Every year, Action Builder launches dozens of updates, improvements, and fixes — and if you’re an organizer juggling meetings, conversations, events, and data cleanup, you probably don’t have time to comb through release notes.
As someone involved in grassroots work, I know how small improvements can lead to big benefits: better data, smarter outreach, and more powerful stories of transformative change. That’s why I want to spotlight six features (and a bonus one!) from this year’s Action Builder releases that I think every organizer should know about.
#6: Create a Task from the Wall Chart
What changed: You can now kick off a task directly from the Wall Chart: run a query to select the people or entities you care about, then use Bulk Edit → Add to Task to open your task creation workflow.
Why it matters: It streamlines the ask-to-action pipeline. Instead of switching tabs from Wall Chart to Tasks, you can turn insights (on who needs to be contacted) directly into action — faster.
Learn more about creating a task from the Wall Chart →
#5: Add Connections When Creating a New Entity
What changed: Now, when adding someone new into Action Builder, you don’t have to make extra clicks to link them to their network. You can add their connections right in the same form.
Imagine meeting someone at a canvassing event: you can immediately register them, and note their affiliations (e.g. a worksite, an org, a family member) — all in one go.
Why it matters: Saves steps, reduces data gaps, and preserves context. Strong relationships are built on networks. This helps you capture them from the start.
Learn more about customizing the create new entity form →
#4: Multiple Spoken Languages
What changed: You can now record more than one spoken language for an entity. This is powerful for campaigns rooted in multilingual communities. For example, if someone speaks both Spanish and English, you can reflect that in their profile — which helps you plan outreach in the most effective, respectful way.
Why it matters: It’s not just about data hygiene. It’s about relationship building. This helps you indicate how to communicate with people in their language(s) — literally.
Learn more about adding multiple spoken languages →
#3: Wall Chart Trend View
What changed: This is one of my personal favorites: the Trend View on the Wall Chart. Instead of just seeing a static snapshot of assessments (“where things stand now”), you can visualize how assessment levels have changed over time — weekly, monthly, or across custom date ranges. You can also view running totals or just the new assessments in each period.
Why it matters: Real organizing is about change. Trend View lets you track momentum, spot where you’re gaining or losing ground, and make smarter decisions about where to focus your campaign’s efforts.
#2: Design Refresh
What changed: This year, Action Builder got a serious usability update. The main navigation moved to the left side of the screen, giving you more space up top and reducing unnecessary scrolling. Colors, fonts, and layouts were refined to feel cleaner and more cohesive. The result? A more intuitive, accessible platform that feels smoother to use.
Why it matters: Less time hunting for features means more time organizing. And when your tools feel polished, your focus stays on people, not pixels.
Read more about Action Builder’s Design Refresh →
#1: Universal Fields
What changed: Arguably one of the most strategic upgrades: universal fields. These are shared fields across campaigns, built in a “universal section” (under Administration > Info).
You can use them to track persistent info — like demographics, issues someone cares about, or volunteer availability — that stays consistent across campaigns. Changes made in one campaign reflect across all campaigns that use that field.
Why it matters: Less duplication, better consistency, and more coherence across your organizing infrastructure. Whether you’re running a local campaign or part of a broader network, this ensures that critical information stays with entities so everyone has shared context and information.
Learn more about Sections, Fields, and Responses →
Bonus! SQL Mirror Documentation
Okay, technically this makes it “seven” — but I couldn’t leave this out. For the tech-savvy among you (or your data team), there’s now public, up-to-date documentation for the SQL Mirror. If your organization uses the SQL Mirror to sync your data into your other systems, this documentation is a huge help: it guides you in setting up access, structuring queries, and maintaining data integrity.
Why it matters: Better transparency, better data management, and more opportunities to leverage your data infrastructure. With good documentation, your developers or analysts can do more, faster — meaning your organizing data can get more strategic and actionable.
See the SQL Mirror Documentation →
Putting It All Together
These six (plus one) features may seem small in isolation, but together they reflect our efforts toward more comprehensive, strategic, and powerful organizing. Whether you’re a seasoned organizer managing a campaign or a data lead building the backbone of your organization’s infrastructure, these tools are here to help you work more efficiently and more meaningfully.