Category: Democracy

What role can philanthropy play to help keep democracy alive? 

Last notes from Women Funding Network’s Feminist Funded 2025. 

1. “You want impact?” Long-term, core, flexible funding. If we want to win, this is how it’s done. 

The Right does it and it works. The evidence is there.” -Happy Mwende Kinyili. Co-Executive Director, Mama Cash Fund. 

2. “A lot of transformational breakthroughs come from small organizations most people have never heard of. Fund them.” -Raquel Willis. Co-Founder, Gender Liberation Movement.

3. “Oppressive systems are coordinated. Our response has to be just as coordinated and more.” -Carmen Perez-Jordan. President and CEO, The Gathering for Justice. 

4. “Get off the sidelines. Move C3 and C4 dollars for the change you need. C4 funds help get a candidate elected; C3 dollars help them implement policies. When Progressives win, knives are out. They don’t have the resources and support to lead once they are elected.” -Amoretta Morris. President, Borealis Philanthropy. 

Bearing Witness Can’t be Left to Chance: Sharing The Outcomes of The January 6th Committee Hearings

There’s no time to be coy when confronting the attempted overthrow of a democracy. The January 6 Committee is doing the necessary work of investigating and stating the facts of what happened that day. Big “D” and little “d” democratic organizations have to take on the role of making the hearings known and communicating the findings. Most media has essentially abdicated their responsibility on this front. So far, finding out about the hearings seems to be more about luck than the results of a coordinated strategy. Other than the Twitter accounts of the January 6th Committee and its members, few Democratic Members of Congress prominently list the committee hearing dates and times.

These hearings are probably the most important in American history. They are about getting a full and accurate account of the attempted overthrow of the democratically elected government of the United State of America. Widespread shared understanding of the same baseline factual information is essential. When more people watch the hearings misinformation is easier to combat. If the people who participated in the attempted coup aren’t named and held to account, what would stop them or their allies from trying again?

So where’s the push to watch the hearings? If we don’t collectively bear witness again to the betrayal of January 6, justice isn’t likely. Republicans began downplaying the attempted coup hours after it happened. Maybe there’s a grand multifaceted communications strategy that will reveal itself tomorrow. If it comes, the goal must be to make sure there are real consequences for the perpetrators and accomplices. We can then as a nation begin the long overdue work of rejecting fascistic authoritarianism in American government. A just society is possible for all of us.