This week's Democracy Notes
Hey there!
Okay, it’s time for another vibe check:
However you vote, hopefully you’ll feel a bit better after reading our new segment…drumroll please…Who’s been courageous lately? Read on!
P.S. There was a TON of high-quality philanthropy news this week, including a really interesting poll of democracy funders.
We couldn’t fit everything that we wanted to (we always want to be choosy), so there’ll be a bunch of funder news in this week’s Democracy Notes Encore.
Democracy Notes 4/15
Emergency resources:
(Help! 🎵)
4/23 virtual career panel from Arena: Navigating Uncertainty: A Job Search Roadmap for Federal Workers.
Great list of funder commitments to fill gaps left by the dismantling of USAID.
Chronicle of Philanthropy compilation here.
Helpful roundup of job boards and events that have been added to the USAID resource hub.
What’s happening in philanthropy:
($$$)
Who woulda thought? Law firms and universities failed to unite in advance. But philanthropy is showing more courage.
175 foundations have signed on to a Council on Foundations statement affirming the “First Amendment right to give as an expression of our own distinct values.”
The presidents of the McKnight Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and Freedom Together Foundation announced the sign on campaign in an excellent piece in Nonprofit Quarterly.
A couple of heartening excerpts:
We’ve seen this before in American history and across the globe. Weaponized oversight. Intimidation dressed up as transparency. It is not new. But our response must be.
…complacency is complicity. Foundations must lead—not just with grants, but with guts.
78+ foundations have pledged to “meet the moment” with increased grantmaking.
The effort is led by the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project, in collaboration with Grantmakers for Effective Organizations and the National Center for Family Philanthropy.
The pledge also includes:
Non-monetary support like legal services, digital security, and audit preparation.
Funding non-c3 structures (c4s and LLCs are less-easily targeted by a hostile government), and more.
We love data!! Democracy Fund surveyed 151 foundations, donors, advisors, and funding intermediaries in the democracy field. (Summary here. Full results here.)
Okay, here’s the good news: among foundations and pooled funds, 26% say they’ll increase their giving relative to 2024. 42% say they’ll maintain funding levels.
(10% say their giving will decline and 21% are unsure.)
That said…89% of respondents are concerned about a significant decline in funding for democracy.
And donor advisors report that their donors are more likely to decrease funding levels than to increase them.
Alsooooo, strategies are going to shift.
44% say that efforts over the past decade to promote the health of democracy have been largely unsuccessful.
70% believe that philanthropy does not currently possess the strategies needed to significantly improve U.S. democracy. And…
58% say they’ll be revisiting their overall funding strategy.
What to read:
(The big news)
🚨 Introducing a new segment…drumroll please…Who’s been courageous lately?
This week, it’s lawyers!
676 law professors signed an amicus brief in support of Jenner & Block and WilmerHale.
As Spencer Overton writes, for law students considering where to work, there’s now a stark choice.
#MoveYourWork, a new public call to Chief Legal Officers, in house counsel, and CEOs to switch representation to firms standing up to the Trump Admin.
Alumni of Paul, Weiss wrote an open letter criticizing the firm’s surrender to the Administration.
Law Firm Partners United, a new LinkedIn group, launched to coordinate amicus briefs and more.
Okay, separately…
Any documentary filmmakers out there??
Apply for $30K to finish a film on fascism/authoritarianism, or submit a finished film. (4/21 deadline.)
Super cool initiative courtesy of Working Films, Democracy 2076, Political Research Associates, and Southern Vision Alliance.
How does Gen Z actually feel about democracy? New report from Protect Democracy and Tufts CIRCLE!
P.S. are you 18-23? Apply for Democracy House’s Young Leaders Summer Institute!
Also from Protect Democracy (and the Horizons Project), a series of toolkits for faith leaders on countering authoritarianism.
Wanna be an election admin expert? Check out this summer’s Certificate in Election Administration (CEA) Program at the University of Minnesota.
What to watch/listen to/attend:
(Events, podcasts, and more)
In San Antonio? Join the inaugural Local News in the Heart of Texas Summit on April 17, 9am-1pm!
PA peeps! 5/15-5/16: Join four Press Forward chapters and others in PA media for the Keystone News Summit.
4/21: Bridging and Advocating in Divided Times: Navigating the Tension for Stronger Civic Practice. Register here!
Webinar feat. the Horizons Project and the Center for Public Deliberation.
4/22: webinar on tackling social disconnection with the US Chamber for Social Connection, the Foundation for Social Connection, and the RSA USA.
Where to work:
(Jobs, jobs, jobs!)
Passionate about public spaces? Have legal, financial, PR, or fundraising skills?
Join the board of the Project for Public Spaces!
The Kettering Foundation Director of Program Administration & Evaluation — Dayton, OH, $120K-$150K
Partners In Democracy Operations & Finance Manager — MA, $84K
All Voting Is Local Senior Manager Data and Research — remote, $83K-$112K
Campaign Legal Center Director, Strategic Litigation — DC, $137K-$206K
Data & Society Research Institute Post-Doctoral Fellow, Trustworthy Infrastructures (4/18 deadline) — NY, $68K-$84K
New Jersey Institute for Social Justice Associate Counsel for Democracy & Justice — Newark, NJ, $95K-$105K
Integrity Institute Community Lead — remote, $95K
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service (NNS) Managing Editor — Milwaukee, $64K-$80K
Advancement Project Staff Attorney/Senior Staff Attorney, Power & Democracy — DC, $89K-$129K
FairVote Director of Federal Affairs and Voting Rights Programs — Silver Spring (MD), $135K-$154K
Pew Research Center Associate Director, U.S. Politics Research — DC, $155K
George Washington University Executive Director, the Institute for Data, Democracy, and Politics (IDDP) — DC, $104K-$152K
Free Press Civic Media Campaign Manager - Wisconsin — Madison, WI, $75K-$83K
Princeton University Bridging Divides Initiative Research Assistant (RA) Student Interns
Remote, 12-month paid internship, 10-15 hrs/week, $18.50/hr for undergrads, $25/hr for those with a degree.
SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University Senior Academic Program Coordinator — Baltimore, $21-$38/hr
Better Together America Civic Hub Learning Program Senior Manager — remote (some in-person commitments), $2K/month
Democracy Forward:
Senior Attorney, Democracy 2025 — DC, $145K-$160K
Program & Special Projects Coordinator — DC, $75K-$85K
Project Pericles Civic Impact and Communications Coordinator — remote, $60K-$75K
New_ Public:
Open Source Developer, Public Spaces Incubator — remote, $140K-$160K
Social Media Fellow — remote, $40/hr
ProPublica:
Graphics Editor — New York/remote, $100K-$125K
Reporter, National — New York/remote, $95K-$170K
Reporter, ProPublica-Texas Tribune Initiative — Austin, $90K-$130K
North Carolina Local News Lab Fund Associate Director of Funder Partnerships — Charlotte, $90K-$100K
Narrative Initiative Chief of Staff — remote, $168K-$195K
Westminster Foundation for Democracy Research Fellow — Birmingham (UK), £36,130- £45,413
National Association of Counties Senior Program Manager, Workforce Development — DC, $90K
Builders Executive Director — Austin, no $ details
Vanderbilt University Center for Effective Lawmaking Postdoctoral Fellow — Nashville, no $ info
Transitions, transitions:
(Where the movers are moving and the shakers are shaking)
Julio Mateo is now Program Associate, Democracy and Community at the Kettering Foundation. Congrats!!
Cheryl Thompson-Morton is heading back to the Lenfest Institute for Journalism!
She’ll be in the newly-created Head of Advisory Programs role providing strategic advice, learning programs, and services to news organizations in Philadelphia and across the United States.
Phillipe Cunningham has joined Urban Rural Action as their Senior Director of Pluralism in Democracy!
Phillipe was previously a Minneapolis City Councilmember and Obama Foundation Deputy Director.
Gilbert Orbea has joined Democracy Forward as a Legal Analyst! He was previously with WilmerHale.
Submit your job transitions (or promotions!) here.
Can’t get enough of Democracy Notes? Join the Slack community!
Take care,
Gabe
You made it to the ~secret poll~!