This week's Democracy Notes
Greetings!
Okay, busy bees!!
What’s keeping you busy??
Election year? Non-work stuff? Hiring? Drop me a note to let me know at Gabe@Democracy-Notes.org!
Mind the (generation) gap! As Sophia Winner writes in today’s Democracy Notes Perspectives piece, new polling from the SNF Agora Institute shows just how much age matters in shaping our news consumption, our political attitudes, and behaviors.
Last but not least…it’d be really cool if you became a paid subscriber!! Help us curate all this great info!
Democracy Notes 5/12
What’s happening in philanthropy:
($$$)
The Trust for Civic Life goes digital! This year they piloted a small portfolio of Digital Civic Experiments.
This effort was informed by their learning brief, “Online for Offline: What local communities are telling us about digital tools, AI and novel civic tech.”
Courtesy of Carnegie Corporation of New York, there’s a new class of 24 Andrew Carnegie Fellows! Each will receive a $200K research stipend.
Neat projects they’re supporting include:
Measuring the psychological toll of apocalyptic fundraising messages on voters.
How online gaming communities shape the political identities of young men and reinforce extremism and partisanship.
How certain religious and political leaders use the fear of the devil to turn policy debates into battles between good and evil, driving voters apart.
Community foundation leaders are…not pleased…about Fidelity Charitable, Vanguard Charitable, and DAFGiving360 (Schwab) refusing to honor donor requests to give money to the Southern Poverty Law Center after the Trump DOJ announced an indictment.
Newsrooms + creators! $800K in grants from the Lenfest Institute for Journalism to support 10 news organizations in partnering with creators.
Funding comes from the Esther A. & Joseph Klingenstein Fund, the Google News Initiative, and Comcast NBCUniversal.
(More creator-related news below…)
$2K-$4K micro-grants from the Pulitzer Center for U.S. nonprofits to engage with Pulitzer Center-supported journalists and their reporting.
Overall civic engagement focus; topic areas are: fisheries/fishing communities, climate and labor, information and AI, and global health.
June 8th deadline!
What to read:
(The big news)
Okaaaay, a Webby for the democracy space! (Actually, two!)
Congratulations to OpenSecrets for winning best website at The Webby Awards in the Government & Associations category! (And winning the People’s Voice Award in the same category!)
Pardon my surprise, but this is OpenSecrets’ FIFTH Webby award!
(The Webby Awards honor excellence on the internet.)
Lotsss of announcements from News Creator Corps (NCC), including:
A Creator Safety Initiative focused on protests, demonstrations, emergencies, and crisis reporting,
A legal defense fund for creators facing legal threats,
A nationwide network of NCC trained, accredited, and accuracy-focused creators called The Collective, and
A new Rural Creator Fellowship focused on communities affected by local news collapse and news deserts. Damn!!
From Urban Rural Action, Conservative Leadership for a United America (CLUA), a national virtual cohort to “strengthen the Republic and prevent political violence ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.”
Community foundation peeps! Big report from CFLeads, the Rhode Island Foundation, the National Civic League: “Community Foundations for Civic Health: Learning & Action in 2025 and Directions for 2026.”
What to watch/listen to/attend:
(Events, podcasts, and more)
Really insightful reflections on last week’s Council on Foundations Building Together 2026 conference from the Horizons Project’s Jarvis Williams and Julia Roig!
Campus Compact President Bobbie Laur was interviewed on the “Partnership Work” podcast!
Local news folks! 5/14 at 1pm ET — join the American Press Institute for an “ask me anything” session on centering youth voices in news!
From Freedom Together Foundation and The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT, the in-person “Neuroscience of Democracy Symposium.”
5/19 in Cambridge, MA!
“AI for democracy, or democracy for AI?” 5/20 at 11am ET — Mozilla Foundation is convening a nifty panel with:
Angela Oduor Lungati, (Executive Director, Ushahidi),
Arnau Monterde (Director of Democratic Innovation, City of Barcelona),
Woodrow Hartzog (Professor of Law, Boston University), and
Claudia Chwalisz (Founder & CEO, DemocracyNext).
Where to work:
(Jobs, jobs, jobs!)
Protect Democracy:
Counsel (Early Career) — remote, $100K-$110K
Counsel — remote, $138K-$150K
American Futures Communications Director — remote (part-time), $10K/month, three months
Voting Rights Lab Senior Director, Individual Giving (Major Gifts) — remote, $135K-$170K
The Chamberlain Network Operations Associate — remote (Atlanta preferred), $65K-$80K
Whistleblower Aid Associate Counsel — DC, $95K-$110K
Issue One Strategic Communications Manager — DC, $70K-$80K
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) Litigation Counsel/Senior Litigation Counsel — DC, $145K-$190K
The Viewpoints Project Director of Strategic Partnerships — remote, $28K-$40K (part-time, ~20 hours/week)
OutVote Fellowship — Iowa, Michigan, and North Carolina, $1,500 + $500 resource fund
They’re looking to bring on ten Fellows + one State Organizer per district!
^ 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!
NAACP LDF Policy Fellow — Atlanta or DC, $122K-$150K
States United Democracy Center:
Senior Manager (Communications) — remote, $110K
Project Assistant (Communications) — remote, $64K
Walton Family Foundation Associate Program Officer - Home Region — Bentonville, AR, $111K-$139K
Partnership for Large Election Jurisdictions:
Senior Director of Communications and Digital Engagement — remote, $141K-$168K
Senior Director of Operations and Compliance — remote, $141K-$168K
Operations and Compliance Associate — remote, $60K-$72K
C-SPAN Chief Development Officer — DC, $220K-$240K
Brennan Center for Justice Program Associate, Democracy Initiatives — NYC, $56K-$70K
Institute for Strategic Dialogue:
Digital Research Analyst — DC, $55K-$90K
Foundation Partnerships Manager — DC, $65K-$85K
Threat Analyst — DC, $55K-$90K
ACLU Staff Writer — NYC, DC, or SF, $112K
ACLU of Texas Deputy Director of Development — TX, $125K
Open Society Foundations Advocacy Advisor, Domestic Policy — DC or NYC, $181K-$208K
ASU Knight Center for the Future of News:
Director of AI and Emerging Technology Innovation — Phoenix, $140K
Director of Collaboration and Learning — Phoenix, $120K
Professor of Practice, News Industry Growth Strategy — Phoenix, no $ info
Transitions, transitions:
(Where the movers are moving and the shakers are shaking)
Matthew Vanderwerff joined Weave: The Social Fabric Project at the Aspen Institute!
Terry Parris Jr. is now the Network Weaver at News Futures!
Courtney Otto is now People and Culture Manager at Issue One!
Cole Speidel is now Senior Program Manager at FIDE – North America! Congrats on the promotion!
Cam Watts is now Program Specialist with Change.org‘s new Civic Dialogues project
Rev. Jerad Morey transitioned from Director of Strategic Relationships to Director of the Office of Civic Dialogue at Minnesota Council of Churches!
Syd Abad is now Field Director at Next Up Oregon!
Ronald Gomez is now Talent Acquisition Specialist at Democracy Forward
Submit your job transitions (or promotions!) here.
See you soon,
Gabe