Rural communities are home to nearly 20% of the people in the United States but receive only 7% of US foundation funding. While election year dynamics in particular tend to train many democracy donors’ attention to the states and cities where most Americans live (particularly swing districts), we can’t truly talk about a healthier democratic future without including America’s rural communities in the conversation.

Rural America is not a monolith. It is a deeply diverse community that represents many of America’s points of identity and success as a country. At the same time rural America has experienced a pervasive lack of investment that has led to high levels of distrust and low levels of civic infrastructure. The resulting impact is a rural America that is 25% more likely to live in poverty and actually face higher mortality and incarceration rates than their urban counterparts. Anti-democratic forces recognize these challenges and are capitalizing on rural disaffection to frame the enemy of the rural working class as immigrants, people of color, and coastal elites who are quick to discount “flyover country.” A study by the Voter Study Group found that the more rural a voter’s community was, the more likely a voter was to believe that Donald Trump won the 2020 election.

Against this backdrop, rural Americans maintain disproportionate political influence. By 2040, 70 percent of the Senate will be elected by just 30 percent of Americans. If we don’t authentically include rural revitalization in a democracy agenda, we are missing a key part of the equation and reinforcing the perception that national institutions and elites discount the lives and importance of rural communities. We must listen to the diverse perspectives of those on the ground in rural America to ensure a forward-looking democracy agenda is responsive to their needs.

In this program, participants will hear from leading rural funders and practitioners on why rural America is important to the future of American democracy, and why a philanthropic agenda for rural investment needs to extend far beyond building constituencies that can impact election results to improve the long-term civic health of rural communities.

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Hear from a panel of experts discuss a new report from More in Common and the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, Searching for a New Paradigm: Collective Settings. The report makes the case for reinvigorating civic infrastructure as a complement to existing institutional reform and bridge-building efforts. The panelists will discuss a wide range of scholarship to argue that healthy civic infrastructure – what the report refers to as “collective settings” - exhibits four key features: 1) They are designed with shared governance structures that engage participation across a wide group of stakeholders and make transparent power-sharing agreements; 2) They have institutionalized mechanisms for accountability so that all those affected have a chance to co-create solutions, 3) They feature public relationships that embrace difference; and, 4) They celebrate open-endedness and experimentation. The webinar will dive into the strengths and challenges of institutional reform, bridgebuilding, and collective settings work, to make the case that the democracy field will be better served by strategies that advance all three kinds of paradigms.

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Whether they are elected, appointed, or career civil servants, the people who make up our local-, state-, and federal-level institutions make a considerable impact on representation and trust in government. We entrust these individuals to make our government more effective, responsive, and accountable to the diverse constituencies they serve. Yet all too often these officials do not share the identities or lived experiences of the communities they represent. This includes gender, race, and ethnicity as much as it does education level, geography, and class. Political distrust is intertwined with failure of representation; people’s trust in government actors goes down when they perceive that those actors do not share their values and interests.

While the federal workforce as a whole is actually about as racially diverse as the U.S. population, people of color are underrepresented in senior-level positions in the federal government. Women are over 50% of the U.S. population yet only around 30% of local, state, and federal elected officials. In the U.S. Senate alone, there are three times more men named John than there are moms of minor children, and Diane Feinstein’s replacement Laphonza Butler will be only the third Black female Senator ever. Some identities are even less well represented in government, including individuals living with disabilities or who are LGBTQ, making up only 10% and .2% of elected officials at the local, state or federal level respectively.

Structural and institutional barriers perpetuate existing inequities and make it harder for underrepresented groups like women and people of color to get into and stay in government service, leaving decision-making tables devoid of their critical perspectives. What are philanthropy and civil society doing to impact representation in government at the state and federal levels? How can structural reforms that address everything from campaign funding rules to electoral systems make an impact on representation? How can philanthropy transcend the distractions of “identity politics” controversies, and instead reframe diversity in government as a nonpartisan democracy issue?

Featured Speakers:

• George Cheung, More Equitable Democracy

• Liuba Grechen Shirley, Vote Mama Foundation

• Larissa Martinez, Women’s Public Leadership Network

• Jenny Mattingley, Partnership for Public Service

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Liberal democracy relies on checks and balances to ensure that political majorities do not trample the rights of political minorities. The United States has the opposite challenge today, however: countermajoritarian institutions—some written into the Constitution and others developed by custom over time–-are preventing political majorities from being able to translate public will into public policy. The Electoral College means that a candidate winning millions more votes than their opponent will not necessarily be elected president. The small-state bias in the Senate leads voters in populous states to be underrepresented in that body, and the filibuster means that even being in the majority is no guarantee of being able to enact policy.

While many revere the wisdom of the Constitution and other countermajoritarian institutions, Daniel Ziblatt and Steven Levitsky point out that the U.S. is a global exception for how little and infrequently we have updated the “pre-democratic” elements of our founding document. Ziblatt and Levitsky, authors of the best-seller How Democracies Die and the new book, Tyranny of the Minority, will join us for a discussion about the minoritarian crisis that threatens American democracy and the imperative of reforming some of our most historically-revered institutions—including the Constitution itself.

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This program is co-hosted by Patriots & Pragmatists and Democracy Funders Network. Members of both networks are invited to attend. If you have any questions about your membership status or eligibility, please reach out to Hillary Hooke. Participants are requested to adhere to Chatham House Rule.

Over the last few years, the relationship between faith and democracy has been of growing interest to funders. While there has long been a robust debate in America about the proper relationship between government and religions, there is also a sustained and evolving relationship between faith and democracy. Plenty of headlines have spotlighted the ways they are influencing each other–both positively and negatively.

How are grantmakers to make sense of it all?

A newly released Funding Guide for Faith and Democracy aims to explore the role of faith communities in shaping and making American civic life, while providing a framework for funders to engage with faith communities as partners in advancing a stronger and more inclusive democracy. This guide is meant for funders who are focused on democracy and civic life and can increase their impact by engaging faith communities. It is also for funders who are already investing in faith-inspired organizations but who are seeking a deeper understanding of the unique role those organizations play in the health of democracy and civic life.

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Over the course of American history, the labels used to describe political ideologies have evolved as much as political parties have redefined their positions and membership. In some cases, these labels are even co-opted and begin to take on new meaning. The language we use to describe these developments don’t always keep up with reality; we are in one of those moments now.

In his latest book,  The Struggle for a Decent Politics, On “Liberal’ as an Adjective, political theorist Michael Walzer advocates for a renewed use of "liberal" as a modifier signifying an openness to pluralism and an element of self-restraint brought to one's various identities and views. He asks and answers: what do we gain by deploying "liberal" as an adjective rather than as a noun indicating a moral and political stance? What values does "liberal" imply, and why is it necessary that a broad community join together in defense of them?

Learn more about Michael Walzer here.

This program is co-hosted by Patriots & Pragmatists and Democracy Funders Network. Members of both networks are invited to attend. If you have any questions about your membership status or eligibility, please reach out to Hillary Hooke. Participants are requested to adhere to Chatham House Rule.

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While questions about the size and role of government are highly politicized, most Americans agree that our federal government should be effective and efficient. Yet our national governing institutions have been weakened by years of neglect and underinvestment, and public trust in these institutions is deeply eroded. As we reenter the familiar territory of divided government, the risk remains great that our national governing institutions will be mired in too many internal obstacles to govern efficiently and effectively.

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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Join DFN members in conversation with Rachel Kleinfeld on her new report, Five Strategies to Support U.S. Democracy.

The decline of American democracy is a complex challenge with numerous causes. Crafting philanthropic strategies to address this challenge is therefore an immensely difficult undertaking. This is especially true given the severity of near-term threats and the need to develop strategies that look beyond the next few election cycles to fundamentally change the trajectory of American democracy.

Rachel Kleinfeld, Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Senior Advisor to the Democracy Funders Network, has published a new paper, Five Strategies to Support U.S. Democracy, that offers one of the most comprehensive explorations of the kinds of strategies that can achieve our objective of revitalizing American democracy for the century to come. Even as we approach a critical mid-term election, we hope you’ll join Rachel in conversation with DFN members to discuss what we’ll need to do in the days, months, and years after this election to keep our democracy alive.

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The first two years of the Biden Administration have seen dramatic developments in U.S. humanitarian policy, from the historic commitment to admit 100,000 Ukrainians, to the resettlement of 80,000 Afghan refugees, to fights against the Title 42 executive order and mass deportation of Haitian asylum seekers.

But throughout U.S. history, humanitarian response has often been distorted by inequities including racism, Islamophobia, and militarist foreign policy. And initial commitments to refugees have faded over time and left communities on their own - underserved, under resourced, and marginalized. These patterns are playing out again and will only escalate over time due to climate migration and other crises.

Join advocates and funders for a timely conversation that asks: what would it take to achieve a truly inclusive and equitable humanitarian response? How can we uphold the current standard set for welcoming Ukrainian refugees as a new standard for humanitarian migrants, including those from the Global South? What role do programs like refugee resettlement, Temporary Protected Status, and asylum play? How can we support BIPOC immigrant and refugee communities to thrive, and empower them to lead a broader movement? And why is humanitarian migration important to the future of multiracial democracy? How are these issues inextricably linked to the ongoing struggles for democracy, racial justice, climate change and criminal legal reform and why is an intersectional lens necessary to answer the question of “Who gets to be an American”?

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Americans have always had their disagreements, but lately, our political tensions have reached a new level - one that Amanda Ripley refers to as high conflict, when discord distills into a good-versus-evil kind of feud, with an us and a them and those on both sides seeing every issue as existential. How can we move from seeing our political opponents as enemies back to seeing them as fellow citizens? What tools can we use to move from high conflict back to productive tension and debate? In her new book, entitled High Conflict, Amanda Ripley outlines five steps to break free of the vicious conflicts we're ensnared in.

Amanda will be joining us for a special conversation by video on Thursday, December 2 from 3-4pm ET / 12-1pm PT. Join Amanda and your fellow funders in conversation about the book and these important questions on the future of our 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.

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Please note this event is for DFN members only. If you haven't yet become a member, you can sign up here. If you have any questions, please email Carly Straus, carly@thirdplateau.com.

In the wake of the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6 as the 2020 election was being certified, and amid rapid demographic changes and persistent economic uncertainties, America seems more divided than ever—not just on specific issues but on fundamental democratic principles and even about American identity itself. Now, a new and extensive national survey of more than 2,500 Americans reveals a great deal about Americans’ attitudes about racial and religious pluralism, immigration, political parties, trust in institutions, the stories we tell about ourselves, and the history we teach our children.

On November 1, Governance Studies at Brookings and PRRI will host the release of PRRI’s 12th annual American Values Survey (AVS). A panel of experts will discuss the survey results and what they reveal about Americans’ attitudes toward a variety of issues that are dividing the nation and that will impact the 2022 midterm elections. The survey also highlights the impact of media consumption on attitudes, long-term trends in partisan and religious affiliation, and how these changes have produced starkly contrasting visions for what it means to be an American.

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Join the Persuasion community for a discussion with Persuasion advisor Steven Pinker on his new book Rationality, hosted by Moises Naim.

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As America grows increasingly polarized along many axes of division, race has emerged as a particularly salient and lasting one. How can the United States overcome racism to deliver on the American Promise enshrined in our Constitution that all men and women are inherently equal? What lessons for building national solidarity we learn from the exceptional citizenship long practiced in Black America? Join DFN for a conversation with Theodore R. Johnson, author of When the Stars Begin to Fall: Overcoming Racism and Renewing the Promise of America. In his new book, Ted weaves memories of his own and his family's multi-generational experiences with racism, alongside strands of history, to make a compelling argument for national solidarity as a key part of the solution to America's racial woes.

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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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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.