The Democracy Communications Collaborative (DCC) is a funder-practitioner partnership that empowers pro-democracy forces across the ideological spectrum to build durable public support for liberal democracy through communications. Together, the DCC Leadership Group, Partner Table and Democracy Communications Fund engage funders, coordinate practitioners, and invest in urgent research, persuasion, and shared resources. These mutually reinforcing efforts are preparing the field for the next decade of work by increasing donor confidence and expertise, building practitioner capacity and capability, and developing infrastructure.

The DCC was created to address widely-shared concerns that the pro-democracy field has not reached beyond the choir to new persuadable audiences. Cooperation and coordination are rare, capacity and reach have been limited, and technical, novel, and expensive communications projects have challenged funders. Addressing these challenges is necessary to prepare the field for the decade of strategic investment that is required.

The DCC’s Shared Baseline Research Program provides top-tier public opinion research to a Partner Table of 80+ nonpartisan democracy organizations, cost-effectively ensuring that the democracy communications field has the data to identify, reach, and persuade their target audience. The program includes ongoing quantitative and qualitative research and a comprehensive democracy voter segmentation.

This session will help funders orient themselves to the public opinion landscape that democracy advocates face in 2024. We will share results from an initial survey and focus groups, review current understanding of the movable audience, and preview plans for our next round of research. Finally, we’ll discuss how this research can guide the funder community: What kind of election trust initiatives might merit investment based on what we have learned? And are there important outstanding questions that still need to be answered?

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Free speech, once seen as a core ideal of American democracy, has been under fire from all fronts in recent years. On the political right, politicians have taken to weaponizing governmental power to suppress protests and threaten and punish businesses that oppose their favored policies. Meanwhile, activists, students, and academics on the left have developed a reputation for wielding social and cultural power to mete out severe professional and personal repercussions for what they see as unacceptable speech.

These attacks are shrinking the space for robust debate, dialogue, and problem solving, but they also raise legitimate questions about the norms of free speech in the modern era. Meanwhile, the advent of new technologies has also raised thorny questions around the responsibilities of private companies in this area.

Join DFN to explore the role philanthropy and the pro-democracy movement can play in a principled defense of free speech. What are the most serious threats to free expression in America today? How can we support conceptions of free speech that appropriately balance free expression and preventing potential harms from dangerous speech? What parts of classical conceptions of free speech are still critical for our democracy to thrive, and what parts may need to be rethought in our current moment? How can we bring balance and nuance to an issue that is often seen as just one more battleground in a polarized political arena? And what are the risks if we don’t?

Featured Speakers:

• Monica Kim, Program Associate, Piper Fund

• Summer Lopez, Chief Program Officer - Free Expression, PEN America

• Jonathan Rauch, Senior Fellow - Governance Studies, The Brookings Institution and author of The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth

• Nabiha Syed, Chief Executive Officer, The Markup

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In a socially cohesive society, people can count on access to trusting social networks and a shared sense of solidarity, inclusion, and belonging. In America today, we don’t have that. We are dangerously polarized, but many are starting to see the imperative of building solidarity among Americans across lines of difference. What will it take to thrive as a democracy in which many different identities and belief systems are able to coexist?

There are myriad ways funders can help build a more socially cohesive democracy, but many are wrestling with fundamental questions. Is it possible to advance justice and social cohesion at the same time? What is the range of approaches needed to achieve social cohesion? And finally, what do we know about what actually works to do this (and do it well)?

Democracy Funders Network recently released a guide to help funders think through these and other questions and orient to an issue area that is critically important for the future of democracy. We hope you’ll join us in discussion with peers and experts in the field on this topic. This program is for funders who are interested in finding ways to build social cohesion, those who are unsure about how or whether to invest, and even those who are a bit skeptical of this work.

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Alice Rivlin was a trailblazer in the field of economic policy and a civil servant of unparalleled devotion. She was famous for her optimism, but toward the end of her life, she was alarmed at the state of American politics and policy. In response, she began to write “Divided We Fall: Why Consensus Matters,” which was completed after her death by her son and daughter-in-law Allan Rivlin and Sheri Rivlin. Although she did not live to see the unprecedented and violent turmoil following the 2020 presidential elections, these events underscore the importance of her long and detailed list of ways government insiders and concerned citizens can become involved in the defense of fair and trusted elections, effective policymaking, and truth-based, respectful civil discourse.

“Divided We Fall: Why Consensus Matters” is for Americans across the political spectrum who are agonizing over partisan warfare, incivility, and policy gridlock and looking for ways to get our democratic policy process back on a constructive track before it is too late.

An event on October 3 will launch this important book and feature opening remarks by Amy Liu, interim president of The Brookings Institution, followed by a conversation with Sheri Rivlin and Allan Rivlin and moderated by Cathy Minehan, Brookings Board of Trustees. A panel will then discuss today’s political polarization, the outlook for the future, and the urgent lessons for America the book contains.

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For our democratic system to work, our leaders, institutions (both public and private), and citizens need to value facts and truthfulness. In recent years, however, we have witnessed mass disagreements over what is true and how to separate fact from fiction. We’ve also learned the consequences can be deadly. The Levin Center is sponsoring a three-part series of panels to delve more deeply into how facts become established in the public mind and how truthfulness might be restored to our public discourse.

Our second panel, coming up on July 21st, will hear from three former Senators who led oversight investigations. They will discuss the unique role played by Congress in resolving factual issues confronting the country, how committees conduct factual investigations, how committee members attempt to reach consensus on the facts, what happens when they can’t reach consensus, and how investigative hearings and reports affect public perceptions of what is true.

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Years of pent-up frustrations have polarized discussions around race, ethnicity, religion, immigration, gender, and many other sources of difference in America’s increasingly diverse society. At a time when many Americans do not trust those with opposing political beliefs, community-building efforts are vital to reduce current divisions and promote a respectful civil society. How can religious leaders across the country bring their communities together and help guide America on a path toward healing?

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Political violence is rising in the United States, alarming citizens and leaders alike. How many Americans endorse partisan violence and other forms of extreme hostility? What are its deep social, political, historical, and psychological roots? What can be done about it? And what does it mean for democracy?

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A healthy democracy requires a healthy center-right. Harvard political scientist Daniel Ziblatt, in his groundbreaking book Conservative Parties and the Birth of Democracy, argues that as representatives of status quo interests, conservative parties have a major role to play in either accepting or thwarting the advance of democracy. The modern Republican Party appears to be doing the latter, abandoning many of the principles of liberal democracy in a bid for political power. This is particularly dangerous in a two-party system, in which both parties need to be able to agree on the rules of the road. To what extent do the Republican Party’s current politics represent a genuine desire for authoritarianism, and in what ways might we be misunderstanding what is happening on the right? What does this suggest about plausible futures for the GOP? And how might American democracy be impacted?

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Perhaps one of the few things that Americans can agree on is the fact that the nation is deeply polarized and divided. But like with so many other things, Americans differ on the importance and implications of this division — with some calling for concerted efforts for healing and coming together, and others believing we may be better off divided. What is philanthropy’s role in moving America forward? What approaches, if any, should foundations take towards working across lines of ideological difference? What perspective is most effective for funders making the change they hope to see in their respective communities and issue areas? Join us for this interactive discussion of effective next steps for the philanthropic sector to address the rifts in American civic life. This event is hosted in partnership with PACE (Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement).

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Gilder Lehrman Book Breaks features the most exciting history scholars in America discussing their books with host William Roka live, followed by a Q&A with home audiences.

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Join us for a special conversation with David French, author of Divided We Fall: America's Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation.

While the inauguration of a new administration has given us hope of democratic renewal for America, the insurrection of January 6 and other recent events make it clear that our country is still highly polarized and divided. What can the future of such a divided country be? Join DFN for a conversation with David French, author of Divided We Fall: America's Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation. In his most recent work, French examines the true dimensions and dangers of this widening ideological gap, and what could happen if we don't take steps toward bridging it - as well as what it would take to reestablish national unity.

David will be joining us for a special conversation by video on Tuesday, March 30 from 1-2pm ET / 10-11am PT. Join David and funders in conversation about the book and these important questions on the future of our divided nation. If you’d like to read the book before or after the discussion, you can order from Bookshop, your local bookstore, or your go-to book source.

This event is an exclusive opportunity for DFN members. Please email Carly Straus (carly@thirdplateau.com) to register.