This is the first in a series of opinion pieces Joe Goldmam will write about the steps philanthropy can take to bolster democracy.
Last week’s opening of an impeachment inquiry into the president of the United States underscores the depth of the threats facing our political system and reminds us that defending the institutions and norms of our democracy must be mission critical for philanthropy.
The Chronicle is providing continuing coverage of efforts to strengthen America’s democracy by nonprofits and foundations.
While in many ways our country has never been closer to achieving the promise of a just, inclusive democracy, deep fissures in our society threaten to undermine the very foundation of our republic. It’s a clear indication that our country is in real trouble when partisan differences prevent political leaders from fulfilling their institutional obligations to uphold the rule of law and unequivocally stand against acts to enlist foreign powers to undermine our democracy. The vulnerability of our democracy threatens everything that we care about as philanthropists — we can’t sit on the sideline and risk its further deterioration.
During the past few years, it has been gratifying to see so many philanthropic leaders commit to strengthening our democracy in recognition of the unique importance of this moment. The future will require a still greater level of philanthropic energy and intensity to meet the pressing needs of our country, particularly as we look to repair political norms that have been severely damaged.
Over the next several months I hope to use this regular column in the Chronicle to share the kinds of things that philanthropy can do to stand up in this moment and take steps to foster a healthy, responsive democracy that meets the needs of our country. Now more than ever Americans need to understand that there is a path forward and there are things we can do to put our democracy on surer footing.
How to Take Action
Our most pressing challenge today is to ensure that the 2020 election lives up to the highest ideals of our democracy. As the American people turn their attention to the election, it is clear that the stakes are higher than they have been for any election in recent memory. A year out, more Americans already say they are “very enthusiastic” about voting in 2020 than is normally the case in the final weeks of an election.
Philanthropy must set three priorities for the 2020 election cycle, and we need to take action on those priorities immediately. Grant makers must ensure that:
The 2020 electorate is representative of our nation’s diversity.
An election that will determine the future of our nation must reflect what our nation has become. The voices of young people and historically disenfranchised groups must be well represented at the ballot box.
If we act now, philanthropy can play a vital role in supporting critical civic engagement among these groups, while combating attempts at voter suppression through the support of litigation and advocacy. Organizations like Alliance for Youth Action and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice need to make decisions now about their election-year hiring and strategies. Now is the time to show them our support.
Our system of election administration is not compromised.
Every indication suggests that 2020 will see historic levels of voter turnout. While this is great news, we need to ensure that our system can handle it. At the same time, we already know that foreign actors are targeting our election system — raising disturbing questions about whether we can trust the outcomes.
There is no doubt that government is the most important actor in ensuring the integrity of our elections, but civic organizations can play many roles as well. For example, philanthropy can support important work by groups like Defending Digital Democracy and the Center for Technology and Civic Life, which are working with local officials to protect our votes, while funding organizations like Democracy Works to ensure that administrators have the tools they need. Philanthropy needs to support the work of groups like these to guarantee that our system will meet the demands placed on it.
Misinformation and fearmongering do not sway voters.
We have every reason to believe that the tactics used to sow division in the 2016 election will be repeated and spread — indeed we have already seen significant evidence of this. Perhaps most troubling among these tactics are those that foment fear and hatred and compromise our democracy’s foundational value of pluralism. Philanthropy needs to support watchdogs like the members of the Change the Terms coalition to put pressure on social-media companies to do more to ensure their systems won’t be gamed again in 2020.
The election also comes at a moment of crisis for local journalism. There never has been a more important time for philanthropy to support local reporting, investigative journalism, and fact checking. The NewsMatch campaign represents a compelling opportunity for philanthropy to support the critical work of local nonprofit newsrooms, while nurturing their sustainability for the longer term.
While we invest in these three priorities, philanthropy also needs to recognize that the next year is likely to take many unexpected turns that will require our response. We need the foresight to plan for different scenarios and have the flexibility to respond to those developments that we have not anticipated.
The Democracy Fund is committed to doing our part at this difficult time to help ensure that American democracy is well-functioning. No one wants to wake up in November 2020 and regret that we could have done more. Let’s make sure we won’t.
Joe Goldman is president of the Democracy Fund.
