Do you remember how you felt on election night in 2020 — one of the most consequential elections in history — anxiously listening to election returns, knowing the results would soon predict the fate of our nation? In the days and weeks following election night, as Americans waited eagerly for all the ballots to be counted, organizations on the front lines of voter engagement — backed by donors — were confident that change was coming. And it came: Together, we passed dozens of people-led ballot measures and mobilized millions of voters — especially voters of color — so they could make their important voices heard at the ballot box.
This November, we are once again going to come face-to-face with renewed threats to our democracy and our fundamental human rights. The stakes could not be any higher; however, the level of donor support for these causes and the organizations that champion them has significantly declined. This pull-back of funding is a 180-degree shift from the moment of clarity that many donors had in 2020, but in order to ensure more victories in 2024, that funding is needed year-round.
Nonprofit, nonpartisan organizations play a critical role in our democracy by helping ensure that our elections are free, fair and representative. But after every election cycle, we hear the same thing from grantees: The money came too late. This is particularly true for smaller, grassroots organizations and for groups led by and based in communities of color. Every day that we struggle with funding has a dire impact on our capacity to deliver results for the American people.
The landscape for pro-democracy organizations has changed significantly. As we enter into yet another contentious election cycle, nearly all of the organizations that delivered for democracy in the past have experienced staggering budget shortfalls, leading donors on both sides of the aisle to pull back significantly. At a time when we should be maintaining talent and building momentum on the ground, we are, instead, having to downshift with layoffs and cutbacks. This puts at risk all the investments we have made over the last decade that helped us win both nationally and statewide, putting the progressive ecosystem in a chokehold.
Many realized that conventional electoral organizations lacked the will and skill to engage an increasingly youthful and multiracial electorate and were losing badly — never more spectacularly than when Trump was elected. They pivoted, giving community-rooted organizations just enough money to take the wheel. With those investments, we began to steer our country in the right direction by raising youth and BIPOC voter turnout and accomplishing legislative wins, judicial appointments and winning ballot measures. We did this with leadership that was intergenerational and more diverse, using strategies like deep canvassing, year-round voter engagement and grassroots organizing that had been routinely dismissed as marginal and ineffective. And we didn’t stop there — after the election, we went on to help pass the $2 trillion Inflation Reduction Act, push for successful confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, and win every ballot measure fight to expand abortion care, among other victories.
There are many reasons for the current retraction of funding. Firstly, there is growing concern about inflation and the market, despite the fact that endowments and donor-advised funds are still sitting on billions being slowly dispensed and could easily be expanded. Secondly, the backlash to our country’s racial reckoning has rattled and derailed much of philanthropy. We’d argue that not only should this backlash be expected, it should be taken as a strong indicator of progress, and a sign to stay the course. Lastly, there is also unfounded anxiety about funding work explicitly led by or focused on people of color, following the Supreme Court’s decision to gut affirmative action in higher education, even though this decision has yet to be successfully applied outside of university settings.
Despite these concerns, the threat of not acting remains high.
A growing number of experts warn that the U.S. is steadily ticking off the authoritarian checklist: increased wealth inequality, erasure of history, erosion of the free press, voter suppression, stacking of the courts, capture of the federal bench, rise in religious fundamentalism, and a spike in attacks on women and LGBTQ people. In states like Florida and Texas, authoritarianism is being road-tested openly. It has taken years for the U.S. to come this close to the brink, and it will take years to put authoritarianism in the rear-view of American history. If funding isn’t re-energized, those who seek to erode our democracy will have a full year’s head start in shaping participation, setting the policy debate, and spreading misinformation. The longer we wait, the less impactful these dollars become, and we have no time to spare.
This year, the philanthropic community must come together to do something about this chronic funding problem by making grant commitments sooner and moving money earlier — and we’re calling on peers and donors to join us. It is incumbent on donors to show their support now more than ever to the BIPOC organizations on the front lines to continue creating progress in the years to come. Our movement is driving toward a true multiracial democracy with a sustainable planet, safety, abundance and belonging in our communities. This vision is achievable and philanthropy must play a consistent part.
Alexis Anderson-Reed is the CEO of State Voices, a nationwide network of state affiliates working to build a multiracial democracy, and member of the Strategic Resilience Network.
Karundi Williams is the Executive Director of re:power, a national progressive training and capacity building organization and member of the Strategic Resilience Network.
