This week's Democracy Notes
Greetings!
Vibe check!!!! How are we feeling?
Democracy Notes 3/5
What’s happening in philanthropy:
($$$)
Congratulations to the Kettering Foundation’s new fellows!
Senior Fellows: Ruth Ben-Ghiat, William Kristol, and Timothy Snyder.
Global Fellows: Clare Byarugaba (Uganda), Patrick Gathara (Kenya), Julia Neiva (Brazil), Urban Strandberg (Sweden), and Kristóf Szombati (Hungary).
There was a biiiig disconnect between foundation and nonprofit leaders in the Center for Effective Philanthropy’s “A Sector in Crisis” report.
What can philanthropy do to close that gap? Three things, writes Marguerite Casey Foundation President and CEO Carmen Rojas:
Leverage giving: unrestricted, frontloaded, and increased,
Engage your entire endowment: bring capital into lockstep with mission, and…
Clarity is kindness (including to foundation staff!).
What to read:
(The big news)
Merger alert!!! We love to see it!!
To better counter hate-fueled and political violence, Bedrock is now part of PERIL!
The results are in! Here’s what Americans think of civic-related vocab (courtesy of PACE and More in Common’s 2025 Civic Language Perceptions Project).
Are you a busy, busy staffer at a pro-democracy organization? Want a bootcamp on how to organize?
Look no further than Rising Organizers’ Spring 2026 Staff Fellowship program!
Want to collaborate across age divides in your civic work? Apply for CoGen Voices, CoGenerate’s latest fellowship opportunity!
What do Trump voters think about Minneapolis and immigration enforcement? More in Common recently did a focus group with them.
I have a professional crush on Fall of Freedom (which is organizing artists in defiance of authoritarianism).
Their Instagram page is very neat and their next activation is on May 1!
How do democracies come back?? Read Protect Democracy and Vox’s new series, “America After Trump.”
What to watch/listen to/attend:
(Events, podcasts, and more)
A new podcast on the block!
In the first episode of his new podcast, “The Art of Association,” Daniel Stid interviewed Charlie Brown of the Trust for Civic Life.
Upcoming guests include: Brian Hooks of Stand Together, Heather Gerken of the Ford Foundation, and co-authors of the “Invitation to a New Civic Future.”
3/10-3/12 — join RepresentWomen for their annual virtual Democracy Solutions Summit!
3/25 at 12 pm ET — Learn about working with creators! News Creator Corps is hosting a webinar for democracy/civil society orgs to learn more about partnering with online creators!
Propose a session for SRCCON!! (A peer-led conference from OpenNews for journalists.)
The conference is in Minneapolis July 8th and 9th.
Session proposal form is here. AND, if you submit your proposal before March 8 you can also apply for a travel stipend!
Where to work:
(Jobs, jobs, jobs!)
Campaign Legal Center Paralegal — DC, $65K-$88K
Rutgers Democracy Lab:
Senior Program Coordinator — New Brunswick, NJ, $68K-$80K
Public Relations Assistant — New Brunswick, NJ, $53K-$65K
Protect Democracy:
Engineering Manager (Tech & Democracy) — remote, $170K-$193K
Editorial Specialist — remote, $84K-$94K
State Impact Specialist (Wisconsin) — remote (WI-based), $84K-$94K
Issue One Legislative Manager-Strategic Partnerships — DC, $85K-$95K
Future Caucus Director, Finance — DC, $88K-$102K
Whistleblower Aid Administrative Assistant — DC, $55K-$70K
The Carter Center Program Associate, Democracy Program — Atlanta, $58K
^ 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!
Campus Compact Senior Director, Development — remote, $110K-$120K
States United Democracy Center Research Associate (Polling & Public Opinion) — remote, $100K
Open Society Foundations:
Associate Director, Rights and Economic Renewal in the U.S. — DC or NYC, $178K-$210K
Program Manager, Rights and Economic Renewal in the U.S. — DC or NYC, $137K-$157K
MacArthur Foundation Program Officer, Local News — remote, $121K
Civic Tech Field Guide Manager — remote, $50K-$75K
Allbritton Journalism Institute Director of Partnerships — Rosslyn, VA, $150K-$200K
Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation Program Officer — Winston-Salem, NC, $100K-$140K
State non-profit lobbyists! Public Citizen Protect Elections & Rule of Law Consultant — remote, hourly compensation commensurate with experience
Cohesion Strategy Senior Associate, Research & Communications (part-time) — remote, $26-$32/hr, 20-30 hrs/week
Democracy Forward Senior Litigation Paralegal (multiple positions) — DC, $93K-$98K
League of Women Voters Director, Direct Response and Digital — remote, $130K-$140K
Federation for Innovation in Democracy (FIDE) - North America Innovation Fellow (part time) — DC, $20/hr, eight hrs/week
Aspen Institute Director, Aspen Leadership Seminars — DC, $141K-$151K
Varieties of Democracy Fall 2026 Internships — Gothenburg, Sweden, unpaid
Transitions, transitions:
(Where the movers are moving and the shakers are shaking)
Michelle Shafer is now Executive Director of the Election Technology Education Fund!
Daniel Valdez is now the Deputy Director at Welcoming America!
Alex Goldstein is now Staff Attorney at Public Rights Project!
Shannon Lane is now Director of the Nancy A. Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work at the University of Connecticut!
Benjamin Yole is now a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University’s Center for Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law!
Aaron Mudd is now City Hall Reporter at CivicLex!
Adrián Carrasquillo Lecároz is now Citizen Engagement Associate at Issue One!
Submit your job transitions (or promotions!) here.
See you soon,
Gabe