This week's Democracy Notes
Hey y’all!
HUGE shoutout to Kristen Campbell at PACE and Suzette Brooks Masters at DFN for becoming impromptu panelists during our Monday event.
And a big thank you to Kelly Born at Packard and Gideon Lichfield of Futurepolis for their presentations!
If you missed it, here’s the recording! And here’s a video of Gideon’s narrative scenario about our democracy in 2040. And here are all our faces:
Hope you enjoyed our Zoom beauty.
Speaking of which…
In less fun news, I saw on LinkedIn (here and here) that RepresentUs recently did layoffs. If you have context or info to share, drop me a line.
Democracy Notes 7/3
What’s happening in philanthropy:
($$$)
The Ford Foundation has a new president! And she cares about democracy!
Congratulations to Heather Gerken, current dean of Yale Law School.
Back in our tax day (4/15) edition, we covered Democracy Fund’s February/March survey of 151 democracy funders.
Recently, Lauren Hill, senior director of partnerships at Democracy Fund, unpacked that same survey data in a piece for Candid’s blog, “How BIPOC-led philanthropy is rising to the challenge.” Some key findings:
83% of respondents from BIPOC-led philanthropy said they “strongly agree” that “racial inequality is a critical issue facing American democracy,” compared with 46% of respondents from non-BIPOC-led philanthropy.
BIPOC-led philanthropy was more likely to say their own organization was “somewhat” or “very” prepared to act quickly and support needs around emerging democracy issues (82% vs 66%).
Two ~funder-only~ Democracy Funders Network events for your radar:
The second webinar in their Democracy Innovation Series is on 7/15.
September 17-19 is their annual Democracy Funders Strategy Summit.
What to read:
(The big news)
Nonprofit workers affected by federal cuts! You’re now eligible for Civic Match.
They help match federal workers (9,500 and counting!) to state/local government jobs.
Is your org looking to hire from Georgetown? The McCourt School of Public Policy is hosting a careers expo in October!
Very cogent analysis in Just Security (even for us non-lawyers) of the Supreme Court’s ruling curtailing nationwide injunctions.
Student journalists! Common Ground USA’s Fall 2025 Journalism Cohort is now accepting applications.
Independent journalists! Project C is sending ten standout creators to ONA25 with free passes, $1K in travel support, 1:1 coaching, and more. Apply by 7/18.
Local news win in NJ!
New Jersey’s 2026 budget includes $2.5M for the NJ Civic Information Consortium, restoring funding that was initially zeroed out.
(Since 2021, the consortium has invested over $9M in local journalism, especially in underserved communities.)
What to watch/listen to/attend:
(Events, podcasts, and more)
Reid Hoffman! He’s giving $10M through Lever for Change’s Trust in American Institutions Challenge. (As we covered in our 12/20 edition.)
Check out this Chronicle of Philanthropy “Commons in Conversation” podcast episode with him and Lever for Change CEO Cecilia Conrad.
Curious about trust and safety professionals? (They’re the folks who [try] to keep the internet safe.)
Check out All Tech is Human’s recent panel!
Speaking of which…interested in making the internet a better place?
Join an unstructured (virtual) career chat with New_ Public’s co-director Deepti Doshi! 7/8 at 4pm ET.
7/10 at 6pm ET in DC (at the National Press Club) — join Principles First and Protect Democracy for an evening of discussion about threats to the rule of law, the independent judiciary, and the legal profession.
7/15 at 4pm ET — virtual conversation with grassroots leaders on re-imagining civic spaces! (From Everyday Democracy and the Urban Libraries Council.)
Where to work:
(Jobs, jobs, jobs!)
Democracy Works Corporate Engagement Manager — Houston or elsewhere in TX preferred (remote in US possible), $71K-$79K
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) Digital Fundraising Coordinator — DC, $55K-$65K
SNF Agora Institute Managing Director — Baltimore, $200K-$275K
^ 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!
American Journalism Project Development Lead, Specialized Support Team — remote, $170K-$188K
Protect Democracy North Carolina State Policy Advocate — remote (within NC), $112K-$132K
New Voters Program Manager — remote, $56K-$62K (deadline 7/6!)
VoteRiders Bilingual Houston Organizer — Houston, $53K-$63K
You Can Vote (Durham, NC):
Director of Communications — $72K-79K
Organizing Director — $75-$85K
Issue One Office Administrator — DC, $25-$26.44/hr (full time, 40hrs/week)
22nd Century Initiative Deputy Director — remote, $120K-$125K
All Voting is Local Compliance Counsel — remote, $135K-$166K
Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) Engineering Manager, SecureDrop — remote, $155K-$165K
Knight Foundation Program Associate, Information & Society team — Miami, no $ info :(((((((((((
Transitions, transitions:
(Where the movers are moving and the shakers are shaking)
Congratulations to Annika Jensen, Organizing Manager, and Deysi Gutierrez, Community Organizer, on joining Partners in Democracy!
Democracy Forward’s team is growing again!
Kirsten Halker-Kratz joined The Lenfest Institute for Journalism as Head of Development and Donor Relations!
Rebuild Local News has added FOUR to its team! Wow!
Susan Patterson Plank, former Executive Director of the Iowa Newspaper Association, is now Director of Campaigns and Partnerships.
Matt Pearce, former President of Media Guild of the West, is now Director of Policy.
Irma Fernandez, former Major Gifts Manager at The Associated Press, is now Director of Development.
Gene Perry, former Manager of Government Relations at Cherokee Nation Businesses, is now a Senior Policy Manager.
Submit your job transitions (or promotions!) here.
Can’t get enough of Democracy Notes? Join the Slack community!
See you soon,
Gabe