This week's Democracy Notes
Howdy!
Welcome to a rare ~Friday edition~ of Democracy Notes. Since you’re getting this on an unusual day…
Our event, “What’s on funders’ minds?” got a record 462 registrants — in just two days!! Join the party next Wednesday at noon ET!
We’ll hear survey results from Democracy Fund and PACE…and get to inform future surveys!
Missed our last event? Here’s the vid! It was a lively discussion of Voting Rights Lab and Democracy Notes’ recent listening tour reports.
(And a tragically brief discussion of Randy’s side hustle as a DJ.)
Last but not least, a huge thank you to everyone who shared their org principles, values, and norms with me! We’ll create a Google Drive folder to share them back with y’all shortly.
Democracy Notes 3/27
What’s happening in philanthropy:
($$$)
Individuals of integrity! The deadline for the Robert G. Wilmers Integrity Prize ($300K) is March 31st.
“The award consists of three unrestricted $100,000 awards, which can be used at the winner’s discretion.”
This week, Independent Sector announced that it is convening an “expert panel” on sector independence.
The group will meet regularly and release its policy and operational best practice recommendations in Fall 2026.
The 23-member group is co-chaired by:
Tonya Allen, President at McKnight Foundation, and
John Tyler, General Counsel, Secretary, and Chief Ethics Officer at Ewing at Marion Kauffman Foundation.
Independent Sector is a national membership organization for nonprofits and philanthropies.
The current Chairman and CEO of Stand Together, the philanthropic network founded by Charles Koch, is Brian Hooks.
This week, Daniel Stid interviewed him on his new podcast — here’s his Substack post and a link to the episode.
What to read:
(The big news)
~~~rare~~~ hard evidence of a democracy nonprofit’s effectiveness!
State legislators who are members of Future Caucus are 24% more effective as lawmakers than non-Future Caucus members.
How do we know? The Center for Effective Lawmaking analyzed the Legislative Effectiveness Scores of Future Caucus members, in comparison to all other state lawmakers.
The result? That 24% number. And, the result was statistically significant (p < 0.05, one-tailed test). Neat!
Excellent roundup of civic ed news and happenings (including Civic Learning Week) by The Renovator’s Joanna Kenty!
New report from Protect Democracy!
“Executive Override: How the Trump administration plans to interfere with the 2026 elections, and what you can do about it.”
I found this Connective Tissue Q&A with writer Phil Klay very moving.
High school folks! Wesleyan University is offering a new course for high school students —“Civics, Citizenship, and the American Imagination” — in partnership with National Education Opportunity Network (NEON).
What to watch/listen to/attend:
(Events, podcasts, and more)
No Kings is on Saturday! Find a protest near you!
3/31 is apparently a BIG day for democracy events:
3/31 at 1pm ET — Lawyers! Check out “Ready to Act: A Lawyer’s Roadmap for Protecting the Rule of Law.”
Alsooooo, check out this “Legal AF” podcast episode on the new “Rule of Lawyers” toolkit (with Daniel Miller and Steve Silverman of the Democracy Rising Collaborative and Court Accountability Action’s Alex Aronson).
3/31 at 1pm ET — join Protect Democracy and All Voting is Local for a conversation on federal threats to election integrity in 2026.
(Tied to this new report!)
3/31 at 7pm ET — “We Hold These Truths,” a virtual conversation on the Declaration of Independence with Dr. Jane Kamensky (CEO & President of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello) and Liz Joyner (The Village Square Founder + President).
Where to work:
(Jobs, jobs, jobs!)
Center for Tech and Civic Life:
Executive Assistant — remote, $80K,$86K
Development Director — remote, $116K-$141K
Protect Democracy Community Relations Coordinators (Contract) — multiple counties, $30-$50/hr
Counties include: Kenosha County, WI, Erie County, PA, Nash County, NC, Macon-Bibb County, GA, or Mecklenburg County, NC
Issue One:
Policy Manager — DC, $68K-$78K
Digital Content Manager — DC, $70K-$80K
Director of Major Gifts — DC, $100K-$115K
Future Caucus Request for Proposal - 2026 On the Rise Report (Mar.-Aug.) — remote, $15K
^ These orgs really want to reach great candidates in the Democracy Notes community! If you’d like to promote a role with us, our options are here!
Youth Civic Accelerator Digital Organizing & Social Media Strategist RFP (six months) — remote, $6K-$7K/month, 15-25hrs/week
Rutgers Democracy Lab Associate Director — Camden, NJ, $94K-$145K
All Voting is Local Director of Policy — DC, $135K-$185K
American Promise Strategic Communications Specialist — remote, $95K-$105K
International Center for Not-for-Profit Law Legal Advisor U.S. Program — DC, $108K-$126K
The Rippel Foundation Deputy Director, Communications — remote, $125K-$135K
Carnegie Corporation of New York Senior Content Editor and Writer — NYC, $125K-$135K
LION Publishers Salesforce Manager — remote, $95K
Partnership for Public Service:
Manager, Public Service Leadership Institute — DC, $70K-$95K
Associate Manager, Programs Communications & Marketing — DC, $62K-$66K
The Lenfest Institute for Journalism Communications Contractor — remote, $45-$55/hr, 40hrs/month
Constructive Dialogue VP of Leadership Programs — remote, $180K-$200K
Rebuild Local News Director of Government Affairs & Partnerships — remote, $125K-$150K
Bipartisan Policy Center:
Senior Project Manager, Elections Project — DC, $80K-$85K
Senior Policy Analyst, Elections Project — DC, $70K-$95K
More in Common Summer 2026 Development Intern — remote, $26/hr
Foundation for Individual R1ights and Expression Program Counsel, Public Advocacy (Attorney) — Philly, no $ info
Transitions, transitions:
(Where the movers are moving and the shakers are shaking)
Some new faces at American Oversight!
Andy Carvin is now Director of Investigations and Jacquetta Van Zandt is now Director of Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives!
Joanna Trotter is now Vice President of Programs at Paul M. Angell Family Foundation!
More in Common’s Board of Directors has confirmed Tim Dixon as their next Chief Executive Officer!
Doug Keller joins Tiny News Collective as their first development director!
Alyssa Canty is now the Executive Director at Deeds Not Words!
Matthew Victor is now a Director at Partners In Democracy!
He’s also now a fellow with Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University and the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation at the Harvard Kennedy School!
Submit your job transitions (or promotions!) here.
See you soon,
Gabe