This week's Democracy Notes
G’day!
Something fun: 450+ people have viewed Democracy Notes 2025 Trends so far. Woo!! (And we’ve had 750+ total visits!)
Over at Democracy Notes Perspectives, we published two pieces responding to the trends:
“Messy is good,” by Eli Lehrer, President of the R Street Institute. (On not mistaking legibility for strength.)
“Firefighting is not a theory of change,” by Scott Warren, fellow at the SNF Agora Institute.
Have thoughts on those pieces? Want to share your reaction to the Democracy Notes 2025 Trends? Check out our contributor guidelines and submit a pitch!
Out of curiosity…
Alright, on to the good stuff!
Democracy Notes 2/3
What’s happening in philanthropy:
($$$)
Big report alert! From the Center for Effective Philanthropy, “A sector in crisis: how U.S. nonprofits and foundations are responding to threats.”
We love hard data! This report has great survey data from nonprofit and foundation leaders.
Public Media Bridge Fund launched two emergency grant programs for public media stations:
The Disaster Recovery Program and the Emergency Restructuring Program (pro bono advisory services and limited financial assistance).
The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation has two new board members! They are:
Dr. Raphael Bostic, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
Michelle Nunn, President and CEO of CARE.
Nancy Lindborg, President and CEO of the Packard Foundation, wrote a piece for the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (PACS). In it she argues:
“A strong civil society is the foundation of democracy.”
Beyond program-based funding, philanthropy must support the capacity of civil society to function.
Packard does this by funding three types of hubs:
Security hubs (think: legal, crisis comms, physical and digital security),
Comprehensive hubs (training and coaching on ops, leadership, fundraising), and
Merger and partnership hubs (help orgs merge, wind down, and partner).
What to read:
(The big news)
Apply for the 2026-27 cycle of SNF Agora Visiting Fellows! This cycle’s focus area is “Democracy and the Media.” (Apps due 3/2.)
Shoutout to some great fellow curators:
How to support nonprofits’ resilience? Money!!!! (Says Vu Le in this vid which blew up on LinkedIn.)
“When identity becomes evidence, belonging becomes fragile,” writes john a. powell in “Belonging in a time of state violence” on the Othering & Belonging Institute’s blog.
Check out this piece by Aditi Juneja of Democracy 2076 in Nonprofit Quarterly, “The long-term futures work of building a better democracy.”
What to watch/listen to/attend:
(Events, podcasts, and more)
Maria Stephan was on Colbert!! Check out the ~6 minute interview here.
Funders! 5/12-5/15 in Philly— join the Funders' Committee for Civic Participation (FCCP) for their annual convening!
2/18 at 1pm ET — join Bard University’s Democracy Innovation Hub for the next iteration of their drop-in webinar series (focused on citizen assemblies + sortition).
3/5 in DC — attend “Beyond the Noise II,” a day-long gathering on building common infrastructure for information quality (ft. tech leaders, Fortune 500 C-suite execs, funders, and more)!
Hosted by University of Southern California Capital Campus, Trust in Media Cooperative, and the Institute for Human Studies at George Mason University.
$50 per ticket!
P.S. Here’s the link to our 2026 Democracy Events spreadsheet!
Where to work:
(Jobs, jobs, jobs!)
More in Common Senior Manager, Immigration — DC, $105K-$115K
Protect Democracy Accounting Associate — remote, $64K-$71K
FairVote Director of Major Gifts — Silver Spring, MD, $113K-$138K
PA Alliance Foundation Grants Manager — PA, $65K-$90K
Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs Deputy Director of Communications — NYC, $115K-$125K
Issue One:
Philanthropy Operations Manager — DC, $68K-$78K
National Campaigns Manager — DC, $70K-$80K
^ 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!
(!) Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Minnesota Local Legal Initiative Attorney — MN (Minneapolis preferred), $117K-$131K
Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) President & Chief Executive Officer — Montgomery or Atlanta (other well-connected Southern cities considered), $450K-$525K
Committee for the First Amendment, Director — LA, $150K-$180K
Moxie Fund Program Assistant — remote, $55K-$60K
Recoding America Fund Head of Finance — remote, $150K-$200K
Skyline Foundation Grants Associate — Palo Alto or SF, $106K
Institute for Responsive Government:
Civil Service Hiring Reform Consultant — remote, part time
Government Digital Service Consultant — remote, part time
Government Service Delivery Consultant — remote, part time
Permitting and Regulatory Reform Consultant — remote, part time
Senior Policy Advisor - Democracy That Delivers — remote, $145K-$160K
American Academy of Arts & Sciences Program Officer for American Institutions — Cambridge, MA, $90K-$100K
Center for Journalism & Democracy at Howard University Executive Director — DC, $145K-$170K
Foundation for American Innovation Program Manager, Governance — DC, $80K-$100K
iCivics State Policy Lead - Western US — Western US (CO preferred), $83K
Votebeat Senior National Reporter — remote, $92K-$136K
Proteus Fund President & CEO — NYC, $325K-$375K
Listen First Project Social Cohesion Impact Measure Partner Lead — remote, $40/hr, 10hrs/week
Committee of Seventy Documenters Program Manager — remote, $50K-$55K
Democracy Docket Director of Audience Growth — Jersey City (DC considered), $145K-$165K
Bill of Rights Institute Senior Manager, Student Programs — remote, no $ info :(
Transitions, transitions:
(Where the movers are moving and the shakers are shaking)
Freedom House has a new CEO! Congrats to Jamie Fly.
Liz Vogel has been named New Pluralists’ Executive Director!
Laina Levy is now Development & Operations Director at Nonprofit VOTE! Congrats!!
Pinay Jones has joined the Local Media Association as Project Manager of Technology! Congratulations!!
Rachel Hooper is now a Director at New Heights Communications!
Joe Schuman has joined the American Promise Advisory Council!
Submit your job transitions (or promotions!) here.
See you soon,
Gabe