This collection of blog posts shares perspectives on philanthropic engagement with U.S. democracy, and many draw on grants in the data tool to illustrate funding for particular issues and strategies. While the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Candid (formerly Foundation Center), these posts were originally published on Candid blogs, including GrantCraft, GrantSpace, PhilanTopic, and Transparency Talk.
Part of GlassPockets’ Democracy Funding blog series, this article highlights new research on how Americans recognize news as factual or opinion, and why knowledge like this is important to produce.
Risk is back in philanthropy. As populist rage and technological omnipotence sweep the globe, seven American foundations have stepped up in a way that only private philanthropy can.
Charities have created little opportunity for themselves to be heard on the tax bill, and it's unlikely their collective voice could affect anything but the proposed repeal of the Johnson Amendment — an action that, if not dropped from the final bill, would turn tax-exempt organizations into partisan political action groups.
Today, almost half of undergraduates in the United States are enrolled in community colleges. Compared to students at the nation's four-year colleges and universities, community college students are significantly more diverse. By mobilizing students to become active in their communities (and society more broadly), we ensure that government and other institutions are more accountable to everybody — not just the privileged (or loudest) few.
Concerns about U.S. democracy are on the minds of America's philanthropic institutions. We know, of course, about the "dark money" that is being pumped into the electoral process in an attempt to influence the outcomes of U.S. elections. But what about the efforts of U.S. foundations who see the task of improving U.S. democracy as an important part of their philanthropic missions?
In the months since the 2016 presidential election, philanthropy has begun to respond energetically to real and perceived threats to longstanding American principles of justice, equality, and fairness. Yet more is needed to counter policies and actions that undermine democratic norms, roll back essential safety-net protections, and shrink or destroy government programs essential to the health of the nation and the planet.
A new conversation about civic engagement is emerging. Against the backdrop of rapidly changing social and political upheaval, Americans are feeling a call to take a more active role in their democracy. This swelling interest and urgency has been increasingly felt among the constellation of organizations devoted to the public good. And at Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE), a network of funders committed to civic engagement and democracy, we’ve felt this shift firsthand.
Yes, foundations are allowed to support policy and advocacy. Yet, many still balk. Even in funder collaboratives that are doing advocacy work, there are sometimes members who feel like they’re “not allowed to do this,” even though they are.
Legislatures, at the federal, state and local levels, are where elected officials write the laws and pass the bills that establish the rules by which we live, work, and play. They are to democracy what the heart is to the human body, the beating, messy source of its vitality and dynamism. At the same time, they are, as Tocqueville noted, the American political institution "most easily swayed by the will of the majority," subject, by design, "not only to the general convictions, but even to the daily passions, of their constituents.
With the quid-pro-quo nature of politics more evident than ever and public trust in government at close to all-time lows, organizations like the Brennan Center for Justice, with the support of foundations across the country, are working to advance reforms that would reduce the influence of corporations and individual mega-donors in our politics and give "ordinary voters a far louder voice."