This week's Democracy Notes
Howdy!
Please enjoy another of my pro-library propaganda memes™:
Have I seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer? No. Have I seen most movies and shows? Also no. It’s a problem.
Also…you’re BIG library people (per our poll when I last included a library meme).
For the library lovers among us, Shamichael Hallman (author of Meet Me at the Library), wrote about a Walmart Foundation-funded initiative that we’ve collaborated on for the past couple of years.
It’s all about libraries and civic health. Check it out!
Alright, new poll:
Democracy Notes 6/19
What’s happening in philanthropy:
($$$)
First up, funding opportunities and grant announcements:
Let’s get this bread!
North Carolina folks! Applications are open for the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation’s State-Level Systemic Change grants.
One of their four issue areas is “Strengthening Democracy,” which includes:
(1) Free and fair elections/voting rights, (2) informing people about government, (3) access to accurate news/information, and (4) making government more inclusive and accessible.
Most grants are multi-year general operating support and generally range from $30K to $100K per year.
Libraries! Baby grant opportunity ($750) to host screenings, talks, and civic events around Ken Burns’s new PBS series “The American Revolution.”
Speaking of ~libraries~ (apparently the theme of today’s newsletter):
Carnegie Corporation of New York announced $5M in grants to 11 public library systems (~$500K each). We love to see it!
This comes after $4M in grants to New York’s three public library systems, all part of Carnegie’s Libraries as Pillars of Education and Democracy effort.
This week, Press Forward announced $3.45M in public policy-focused grants to seven organizations:
Five state-level grantees: The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, Colorado Media Project, Kansas Newspaper Association, New Mexico Local News Fund, and North Carolina Local News Lab Fund; and
Two national orgs: Rebuild Local News and Free Press (to support state-level efforts).
As a reminder, Press Forward’s strategy has four pillars: public policy, infrastructure, equity, and sustainability.
On public policy, their policy-focused working group established four principles for investments, as published in Democracy Notes Perspectives last November.
Also, shoutout to Rebuild Local News whose grants announced yesterday totaled $5.25M over three years (from Press Forward, Knight, and MacArthur).
Alright, what are funders thinking and writing about?
Should dollars go to national, structural, Trump-focused efforts…or local, community-centric civic health initiatives?
In The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s “The Commons,” Drew Lindsay describes notable investments in the latter. They include:
Funder collabs like the Trust for Civic Life and Reimagining the Civic Commons and direct investments, including the Lilly Endowment’s a $22.4M grant to Weave (at the Aspen Institute).
Interestingly, New Pluralists is hearing from new types of donors, those who “[want] to apply pluralistic approaches to build bigger coalitions for their cause-specific work.” (Beyond their initial pluralism-first funders.)
The piece also highlights local efforts, including those led by CivicLex, Warm Cookies of the Revolution, Urban Rural Action, and Village Square.
My favorite quote is from Richard Young of CivicLex:
“The trend of the past decade has been building national movements and national efforts and national things. And I can’t think of anything that meets this moment less.”
How should philanthropy respond to the US government’s sharp cuts to social spending and threats against civil society?
There’s a new series from MacArthur and the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) on that topic. And LOTS of fancy funder writers joined in.
“We are no longer free. But we can win our freedom back,” writes Freedom Together Foundation President Deepak Bhargava in The Guardian.
How do we do that? Bhargava writes:
Engage in nonviolent disruption, at a scale large enough to create a moral and economic crisis that forces change;
Delegitimize, or drive down public support for, authoritarian policies through mass organizing that engages people who will be moved by issues that hit close to home rather than abstract principles like the rule of law; and
Draw defectors — build a big, diverse tent that recruits people and institutions who may disagree about many things into a broad, pro-democracy coalition.
Have thoughts on these pieces? Pitch us a piece for Democracy Notes Perspectives!
What to read:
(The big news)
It’s Sammies season! (The Oscars of public service.)
Congratulations to Partnership for Public Service’s 2025 Service to America Medals honorees!
From across the pond: the UK’s Democracy Network is looking for a new host organization!
There’s a new campaign to make sure that AmeriCorps survives (and thrives) via the FY26 budget. It’s called Stand With Service.
Colorado became the 9th state to enact a state voting rights act! (I’m a lil late on this…)
Looking to launch or improve a participatory democracy program? People Powered has three (!!) accelerator programs for you. (7/1 deadline!)
What if we threw out the left-right binary (and terms like “nonpartisan” and “bipartisan”) and instead came up with a new spectrum, better reflective of our moment?
In her (18K subscriber!) newsletter, Ctrl Alt-Right Delete, Melissa Ryan wrote a piece: “The End of Partisan Politics.”
She lays out a new political spectrum: from “Open Carry MAGA” and “Flirting with Fascism” to “The Courage to Fight.”
This pairs well with Scot Nakagawa’s piece this week, “There Is A Right Side And A Wrong Side In This Fight.”
Subtitle: “How ‘Both Sides’ Analysis Benefits Authoritarianism.”
What to watch/listen to/attend:
(Events, podcasts, and more)
Who’s gonna be at the 22CI conference in Atlanta this week? How about at Tufts for the Frontiers of Democracy conference?
Feel free to arrange meet ups in the Democracy Notes Slack! (Just added a spot on the #07-events channel to coordinate.)
Democracy women in DC! Join the Women Who Do Democracy July Happy Hour.
7/23, 5:30-7:30 pm at The Admiral (Dupont Circle).
Lawyers! 6/25 webinar from Protect Democracy and Checks & Balances on how you can get involved to defend the rule of law.
Today at 5 pm CT, join DemocracyNext for the launch webinar for their paper "Five dimensions of scaling democratic deliberation: With and beyond AI."
Curious about prosocial design, digital peacebuilding, deliberative tech, and prosocial tech policy?
Then two hybrid events on 6/26 are for you!
(Hosted by the Council on Tech and Social Cohesion, Alliance for Peacebuilding, and Dignity in Difference.)
Podcasts!
Okurrr, More Equitable Democracy!! Their seven-episode podcast series won a bunch of awards. It’s on Northern Ireland's history and electoral system and its implications for US electoral reform.
They won an AVA Award, the NY Festival Radio Award, and the Communicator Award. Damn!
Harvard Kennedy School’s Erica Chenoweth was on Pod Save America. It’s an incredible convo.
Where to work:
(Jobs, jobs, jobs!)
Governors Safeguarding Democracy Policy Counsel — remote, $150K-$170K
Issue One:
Strategic Engagement Manager — DC, $60K-$80K
Director, The Council for American Democracy (TCAD) — DC, $110K-$130K
The Carter Center Associate Director, Media Relations, Communications — Atlanta, $85K-$90K
States United Democracy Center Senior Vice President of Communications — remote, $250K+
^ These orgs really want to reach great candidates in the Democracy Notes community! They’re sponsored postings and you’ll see them again next week!
The Institute for Nonprofit News is looking for a Contract Media Booker to help elevate the work of rural journalists nationwide.
$12K over a 12-month term.
Internships!!!
Brennan Center for Justice 15 fall internships— DC/NYC, $20/hr
NPR 17 fall/winter internships — DC/NYC/remote, $20/hr
Protect Democracy Finance Manager — remote, $112K-$125K
Freedom Together Foundation:
Strategic Partnerships Manager — NY, $145K-$165K
Relationship Manager — NY, $120K-$140K
Civics and History Inquiry Partnership (CHIP) Operations and Evaluation Manager — MA, $85K (due tomorrow!)
Resetting the Table Program Associate — remote, $45K-$57K
Fort Ticonderoga Director of Digital Education — Ticonderoga (NY), $55K-$70K
New_ Public:
Community Engagement Associate, Local — remote, $70K-$77K
AI Fellow — remote, $40/hr, 20-25 hrs/week
ProPublica:
Local Reporting Network Fellow — remote, up to $75K
Social Video Producer — NY, $90K-$105K
Lawfare Senior Editor — DC, $75K-$150K
Fundamental Philanthropy Program Associate, President’s Office — Culver City (CA), $85K-$100K
Institute for Nonprofit News Research Director — remote, $125K-$135K
National Conference of State Legislatures Policy Specialist, Legislative Staff Services — Denver, $72K
National Council of Nonprofits: (help defend the sector!)
Research and Evaluation Manager — DC, $100K-$125K
Public Policy Associate — DC, $68K-$85K
Campaign Associate — DC, $68K-$85K
Fund Development Specialist — DC, $68K-$85K
Network Engagement and Research Specialist — DC, $68K-$85K
Flatwater Free Press Investigative Editor — Lincoln or Omaha (remote possible), $72K-$85K
Open Society Foundations Leadership in Government Fellowship — remote, $115K-$160K stipend
Murmuration Senior Vice President — remote, $212K-$300K
NextGen America Chief Executive Officer — remote, $212K-$220K
Team Democracy Program Manager, Civics Credentialing System (CCS) — remote, $30-$40/hr
Welcoming America Finance and Operations Specialist — Atlanta, $47K-$58K
Penn Center for Media, Technology, Democracy Engagement and Policy Manager — Philadelphia, $55K-$72K
Alta Futures Chief of Staff — Chicago, $200K-$220K
ActiVote and the National Civic League Program Assistant — DC, $15K-$20K (3 months)
Campaign Legal Center Public Interest Fellow — DC, $1K stipend
Interactivity Foundation:
Director of Communications — remote, $95K-$120K
Operations Manager — remote, $85K-$95K
Tufts University Associate Center Director, Center for Expanding Viewpoints in Higher Education — Medford (MA), $104K-$156K
George Washington University Law School Associate Dean for Public Service and Public Interest — DC, $125K-$262K
Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) U.S. Investigative Editor — remote, no $ info
(Sounds like someone needs to ~investigate~ the salary range…or they could just tell us.)
Knight Foundation Vice President, Journalism — Miami, no $ info
Okay, not including a salary range feels egregious as a foundation…
Foundation for Social Connection Ambassador Program — US, no $ info
Knight Center for the Future of News Executive Director — Phoenix, no $ info
Transitions, transitions:
(Where the movers are moving and the shakers are shaking)
Coolest thing ever:
After seeing the role in Democracy Notes last fall, Kathryn Peters has joined New Profit as their Partner, Democracy. Congrats!!
Congrats to Campaign Legal Center’s 2025 class of summer interns!
Josh Lerner, Co-Executive Director of People Powered, joined Thrive Philanthropy’s Board of Directors!
Marika Lynch has joined Press Forward full time as Communications Lead!
Carrie Levine is now the editor-in-chief of Votebeat! Congratulations!
Three new faces at The Foundation for Social Connection! Woo!
Yuri Strobosch is now Director of Operations at Keseb!
Jenny Ma is now Public Rights Project’s inaugural Civil Rights Hub Director!
Submit your job transitions (or promotions!) here.
Welcome to the end. Not of our democracy, just of this week’s newsletter.
You made it this far…why not become a paid subscriber?
Can’t get enough of Democracy Notes? Join the Slack community!
See you next week,
Gabe
Wow! What a gold mine of resources and updates! Thanks!