This week's Democracy Notes
Hello, hello!
Okay, so, how was the first week back?
Quick update: to accommodate speakers’ schedules, the virtual launch event for Democracy Notes 2025 Trends is now January 28th at 1pm ET!
Join the 133 folks who have already registered! (Don’t worry, curious cats, we’ll release our findings soon.)
Do you have a mid-level development person on your team?
Let them know to apply for our peer-learning cohort!! (We’ve extended the application deadline by a bit!)
Democracy Notes 1/13
What’s happening in philanthropy:
($$$)
$5M grant opportunity from Allstate and the Aspen Institute’s Alliance for Social Trust!
Their new “Trust in Practice” grants will fund collaborations among nonprofit organizations to build trust in local communities.
There are three award levels, $100K, $500K, and $1M. 1/30 deadline!
On December 16th, the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation announced $75.8M in grants “advancing AI for public purpose,” including:
$500K - ACLU Foundation to advance civil rights through AI policy analysis and online discrimination testing.
$600K - American Journalism Project to scale AI fundraising tools for nonprofit newsrooms.
$350K - Factchequeado to launch FactDesafIA and develop AI literacy content for Latino communities and media outlets in the U.S.
$500K - Gigafact to update and scale Gigafact’s AI-powered fact-checking platform and validate paid adoption.
$500K - New_ Public to create a digital local community platform to facilitate civic participation, healthier online discourse, and public engagement with local journalism.
Per reporting in The Objective, the Knight Foundation removed the DEI section from its “About” page.
Campus Compact received $600K from the Henry Luce Foundation to expand their Campus Action Planning for Civic and Community Engagement initiative!
What to read:
(The big news)
Has anyone read the book Civic Solitude by Robert Talisse? I’m intrigued!
I also came across this in-person seminar with the author at George Mason University on 1/24.
From the Skoll Foundation, a deep dive into 2025 Skoll Award Winner Pacto pela Democracia.
Lots of great coalition-building lessons in there!
From Carnegie Corporation of New York and CivicPulse, the third installment of their survey of nearly 1,400 local government leaders! Some notable findings:
While nearly 9 in 10 local officials now say polarization is harming the country, only about 3 in 10 say it’s harming their own communities.
Very notable: local leaders strongly identify K-12 schools as the most important institution for fostering civic participation (83%).
What do Americans think are their “civic responsibilities” to each other? More in Common’s Beacon Project surveyed 5,000 Americans to find out!
Yesterday, Candid launched the application process for their 2026 Seals of Transparency — a great way to demonstrate transparency (and get a nifty badge on your website!).
What to watch/listen to/attend:
(Events, podcasts, and more)
We heard some rumblings about the need for a roundup of 2026 democracy conferences…
1/15 at 11am ET — DemocracyNext’s paper launch on “scaling catalysts” (like citizen assemblies) for ~the future~.
We love non-boring stuff about democracy!
1/22 at 2pm ET — “Making Democracy Interesting: Tips from TV, Podcasts, Science Fiction, and Online Creators” from Harvard’s Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation.
Business leaders!! Two events for you:
1/26 at 4-5:30 pm ET, virtual — an off-the-record workshop from PolicyLink, Third Side Strategies, and the Berkeley Center for Law & Business on responding to pressure without compromising organizational values.
1/20 at 12 pm ET, virtual — conversation on how “crony capitalism” distorts markets and erodes trust in democracy.
(Co-hosted by the Horizons Project, Principles First, Center for Political Accountability, and Integrity Matters!)
2/10 at 6pm ET — SNF Agora Institute and Public Agenda unpack new research understanding Republicans’ evolving attitudes toward democracy!
Where to work:
(Jobs, jobs, jobs!)
Future Caucus:
Director, Finance — DC, $88K-$102K
Coordinator, Policy Innovation Lab — DC, $59K-$62K
Bridging Divides Initiative (BDI) Chief Operating Officer (listed as Deputy Director in Princeton system) — remote, $138K-$154K
Governors Action Alliance (GovAct) Director of Legal & Policy Strategy — remote, $180K-$200K
Poder in Action Senior Director, Development and Operations/Director Sénior de Desarrollo y Operaciones — Phoenix, $110K-$130K
^ 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!
Internships!
Scripps Howard Fund and Institute for Nonprofit News Journalism Internships — 10-20 weeks, $15/hr
Ford Foundation 2026 Summer Internship — NYC, $38/hr
Knight Foundation 2026 Journalism Intern, Convenings & Audience Development — Miami, $20/hr
Wisconsin Conservation Voters Voting Rights Associate Director — Wisconsin, $82K-$94K
Democracy Forward:
Research Analyst — DC, $75K-$95K
Paralegal Case Manager — DC, $110K-$125K
US Chamber of Connection:
Director of Partnerships — Seattle, $120K
Chief of Staff — Seattle, $120K
Unify America Director of Deliberation — remote, $85K-$100K
OpenSecrets Senior Reporter — remote, $75K-$90K
Constructive Dialogue Institute Program Manager, Culture Change — remote, $75K-$85K
PEN America Director, Los Angeles — Los Angeles, $130K-$160K
Advancement Project Executive Director — DC (remote negotiable), $325K-$370K
Civic Nation Managing Director of Partnerships & Organizing — remote (DC candidates preferred), $125K-$135K
Harvard University Executive Director, Bloomberg City Leadership Initiative — Boston, $120K-$216K
University of Pittsburgh at Bradford Executive Director, Center for Rural Engagement — Bradford, PA, $64K-$86K
Engage Arkansas AmeriCorps Program Officer — Little Rock, $57K-$85K
University of Washington Center for an Informed Public Postdoctoral Scholar — Seattle, $80K-$90K
Common Ground USA Videographer (independent contractor - one month) — remote
Knight Foundation Journalism Technology Product Strategist — remote or Miami, no $ info :((
Fellowships!
Coding it Forward Summer 2026 Fellowship (6/8-8/14, full-time) — remote, $20-$25/hr
University of Notre Dame Institute for Ethics and the Common Good 2027 Love Ethic Social Innovator Fellowships — six one-month fellowships for projects focused on love of strangers!
$15K for the month in South Bend, + up to $50K for project implementation.
Eligible folks include faith leaders, nonprofit administrators, community organizers, and others outside the academy.
Transitions, transitions:
(Where the movers are moving and the shakers are shaking)
Steve Smith is now Director of Communications at Citizen University!
Kelli Herrick is now Associate Vice President, Organizational Effectiveness at Future Caucus! Congrats on the promotion!
Daniella Flores is now Senior Program Officer at Moxie Fund!
Rosarie Tucci is now Vice President of Citizen Engagement at Issue One!
Zeenat Rahman has joined the board of Interfaith America!
Submit your job transitions (or promotions!) here.
Can’t get enough of Democracy Notes? Join the Slack community!
See you soon,
Gabe
Thanks for the shoutout to our work, Gabe! https://civicprofile.us/ 🤩😎