This week's Democracy Notes
Sup, y’all!
Before we get to the good stuff (Oscar prediction results, of course)…
We hit 4,000 subscribers to our LinkedIn newsletter, Democracy Notes Encore! (Written by Jake Gómez.) Check it out!
A brief poll…
The Oscars and “The Noties”
From the desk of the Democracy Notes Oscar Correspondent, Reed Howard.
Some stats:
We got a total of 14 responses.
Out of 1,100 possible points, the average score was 452. (Stick to your day jobs folks.)
Lowest score: 225. Highest score: 825.
Our winners:
The "big six" awards refer to the acting categories, best director, and best picture.
Only one contestant got them all right. Congratulations to Zoe Cretini!
She's our Hollywood Whisperer.
First place: Anonymous voter with 825 points. (Hmm, mysterious -Gabe)
Second place: Lauren O'Neil with 775 points.
Third place: Brendan Kane with 645 points.
Fourth place: Zoe Cretini with 570 points.
Fifth place: Kelsey with 560 points.
And who won "The Noties" — the Democracy Notes’ community’s own Oscar for Best Picture?
Just like they do it in the Academy, we determined the winner by ranked-choice vote.
We went through 8 rounds of balloting with ties decided in chronological order.
The final tally: Conclave won with 8 votes and The Brutalist came in second with 5 votes. Here are the results from each round:
P.S. I am the anonymous voter :) - Reed Howard
Democracy Notes 3/6
Emergency resources:
(Help! 🎵)
Lawyer friends!
Federal workers need your help. Volunteer via We The Action’s new Public Service Legal Response Center.
Get up to speed on civil rights law! Join the American Bar Association’s virtual bootcamp on 3/7 and 3/14.
Are you a former federal employee/job searcher?
Flirting with a sabbatical? Check out this list of national + international fellowships.
Translate your int’l dev skills to the private sector. (E.g., Anti-Corruption Initiatives → Corporate Ethics & Compliance Programs.)
Connect with hiring managers in local government via Civic Match’s live event ~today~ at 1pm ET!
Stellar collection of job boards + events here! Resources compiled by the Partnership for Public Service here. Another job board here.
Reporters!
Here’s a compilation of safety and legal resources (courtesy of Sue Cross).
What’s happening in philanthropy:
($$$)
Congrats to democracy superstars Hannah Fried (All Voting is Local) and Yordanos Eyoel (Keseb) for being named 2025 Elevate Prize winners!
Each will receive $300K — $250K for their organizations and $50K to invest in their personal resilience and wellbeing.
Last week, we talked about the MacArthur Foundation raising its disbursement from 5% to 6%. This critique of that level of giving has been making the rounds on LinkedIn.
There’s a lively conversation among foundation presidents, current and former, (and other funders) playing out in public right now.
The debate — about diversification of nonprofit revenue streams — began with an Inside Philanthropy piece by Gara LaMarche, who ran US grantmaking at Open Society Institute and the Atlantic Philanthropies for many years.
His biggest regret?
“That we did not do more to strengthen the capacity of the groups we supported to build a broader, more democratic funding base.”
Think: the ACLU, AARP, and Planned Parenthood.
He calls out foundations’ “not invented here syndrome” — their embrace of differentiation over collaboration — and praises funders who match small donor gifts, helping nonprofits to build a grassroots funding base.
(E.g., your gift will be doubled thanks to xyz foundation.)
On LinkedIn, MacArthur Foundation president John Palfrey penned a thoughtful response.
Palfrey notes the “positive spirit of collaboration” embodied by Press Forward (88 funders) and its 36 Press Forward Locals (national philanthropy catalyzing community foundation investments).
He cites a Bridgespan report which finds that funder collaboratives are on the rise (though the rate of increase has slowed in recent years).
Josh Stearns, Senior Director of Democracy Fund’s Public Square Program, chimed in to highlight NewsMatch and the Democratizing Philanthropy Project (helping frontline orgs build their donor base).
The DPP and others were cited in this great report on diversifying revenue.
👀 All this got me thinking…are any Democracy Notes readers trying new things to diversify revenue? Send me a note if so!
What to read:
(The big news)
I found the storytelling of this piece by Gideon Lichfield imagining our democracy 20 years from now incredibly compelling.
Harvard’s Nonviolent Action Lab launched a new project on AI and Democracy Movements!
Post by Prof. Erica Chenoweth here.
Democracy Funders Network and New America just released a funder’s guide on citizens’ assemblies.
Local news, for the people!
“What would a local media system that prioritizes working and middle classes over corporate profits and the interests of billionaires look like?”
Check out the Media Power Collective’s new policy framework. Great coverage here.
Do we need to be teaching engineers about ethics, social justice, and democratic responsibility? (Duhhhh.)
New piece on “civic virtue among engineers” from SNF Agora Visiting Fellow Dr. Erhardt Graeff.
What to watch/listen to/attend:
(Events, podcasts, and more)
Today!!! (1pm ET) New_ Public + All Tech is Human webinar on how to transition from the public sector to a role in responsible tech.
For folks attending SXSW:
3/8: Panel on Gen Z and the need for intergenerational collaboration for the sake of democracy.
3/8-9: Pop into The Belmont hotel for some amazing programming from The Tech We Want folks on reimagining inclusive tech.
3/10: DemocracyNext Senior Advisor Josh Burgess will be speaking on citizens’ assemblies, and their particular success in Deschutes County.
Democracy conferences! Help us crowdsource more events via this spreadsheet.
Across the pond…
The University of Cambridge is hosting its disinformation summit April 23-25.
And from May 13-14, the Copenhagen Democracy Summit! (Invite only.)
Where to work:
(Jobs, jobs, jobs!)
Every role this week has a salary range. Proud of y’all, hiring managers!
Vot-ER Executive Director (reports to CEO) — remote, $155K-$170K
Educating for American Democracy Executive Director — Quincy, MA (remote considered), $150K
22nd Century Initiative Organizing Manager — remote, $90K
Democracy Forward Legal Director, Appellate — DC, $235K-$245K
Democracy 2076 Program Director — remote, $120K-$180K
Results for America Director, Operations & Planning, What Works Cities — remote (DC preferred), $147K-$191K
American Press Institute Director of Community Engagement — remote, $115K-$140K
Interfaith America Senior Director of Civic Strategies — Chicago, $125K-$135K
American Journalism Project Head of Strategic Partnerships — remote, $157K-$173K
Proteus Fund Capacity Building Officer, RISE Together Fund — remote, $107K-$130K
Committee to Protect Journalists Regional Director, Americas — NY, $127K-$149K
Brennan Center for Justice Research Associate, Elections and Government Program — NY, $65K-$70K
Emerson Collective Summer Intern, Media — Los Angeles, $25/hour
USC Annenberg Innovation Lab 2025/26 Civic Media Fellowship Application — remote, $2K/month
Media Impact Funders Executive Director — remote, $225K-$300K
Harvard Kennedy School Director of IOP Initiatives — Cambridge, $87K-$151K
New_ Public Senior Product Manager, Public Spaces Incubator — remote, $140K-$160K
Trust for Public Land Senior Speechwriter — remote, $90K-$100K
Montana Free Press Editor-in-Chief — Helena (MT), $85K
Transitions, transitions:
(Where the movers are moving and the shakers are shaking)
Ruba Asfahani is DemocracyNext’s new Communications Lead!
Adam Phillips has been named Interfaith America’s CEO! He will serve alongside Eboo Patel (president).
Lots happening at Over Zero!
After 10 years at the helm, Founder and Executive Director Rachel Brown will be departing at the end of June.
In April, Samantha Owens, Over Zero’s Director of Programs, will also be transitioning out of her role after seven years.
She’ll remain a part-time Senior Advisor.
Evelyn Thornton has joined Over Zero as Interim Managing Director!
Submit your job transitions here.
Can’t get enough of Democracy Notes? Join the Slack community!
Take care,
Gabe
The ~secret poll~ is BACK.