OVERVIEW: Democracy Alliance is an influential network of progressive donors that coordinates support for progressive policy, media, and civic engagement in the United States. The Democracy Alliance operates as an intermediary organization, a donor community, and hosts or incubates pooled funds.
IP TAKE: The Democracy Alliance is one of the original progressive donor networks, with strategies that have evolved since its founding in 2005. In a recent profile of the organization, Inside Philanthropy reporter Philip Rojc characterized the DA as “a gathering point for many of the nation’s top liberal funders that has long occupied a crucial space at the nexus of politics and philanthropy. The DA has been called many things (some of them unflattering), but at its core, it’s pretty much the original donor organizing hub for progressive funders this side of the millennium, officially unaffiliated with the Democratic Party but deeply invested in the party’s fortunes.” As we have reported extensively at Inside Philanthropy, many have critiqued the DA for being an insider’s club of elite donors that didn’t invest enough in diverse grassroots movement building and long-term culture change. Yet others have praised the DA for evolving in response to these concerns. In recent years, the DA has invested more in state-based organizing, grassroots coalition building, and diverse leadership development.
The Democracy Alliance played a central role in incubating several progressive mainstays, including the Center for American Progress, Media Matters, and America Votes. More recent DA-supported projects include movement-connected think/action tanks like Demos, the Roosevelt Institute, and the Economic Policy Institute, along with dynamic progressive organizations like Color of Change, Faith in Action, the Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund, and the Building for Democracy Education Fund.
This funder is known for being relatively opaque about its investments. It does not publish annual reports or provide detailed accountings of which organizations its donors support. The DA does not have an open application process, but it welcomes inquiries from groups seeking funding. Note that Democracy Alliance does not generally conduct its own grantmaking, but primarily serves to connect liberal donors with progressive nonprofits, along with its other networking and philanthropy-serving roles.
PROFILE: Democracy Alliance was established in 2005 by a small group of liberal donors, including George Soros, Peter B. Lewis, Tim Gill, and the late Rob Stein, who is credited with inspiring the group’s formation with his PowerPoint presentation, “The Conservative Message Machine Money Matrix.” This presentation highlighted progressive philanthropy’s weaknesses compared to the long-term cultural vision and political strategies of conservative philanthropy. This presentation caught the attention of billionaire philanthropist George Soros, who played a critical role in the Democracy Alliance’s early years.
The group has since grown into one of the nation’s largest network of liberal political donors, working to “advance progressive values by building community and collaboration within the movement.” Its overall goals are to “build and support a fair democracy, an inclusive economy, a safe and sustainable planet, and an equitable and just nation.” The network’s Strategic Framework outlines a progressive agenda that invests in people power. The Democracy Alliance’s strategy revolves around its role as a multi-sector convener, bringing wealthy donors in collaboration with foundations, labor unions, movement leaders, and elected officials.
As exclusively reported at Inside Philanthropy, the DA’s strategies have evolved since 2016, when the progressive donor class was blindsided by Trump’s unexpected electoral college victory. In response, the Democracy Alliance began to sharpen its focus on state-based grassroots organizing and movement building. It also began to directly handle donor money, rather than serving only as a donor organizer, via several pooled funds that typically launch at the DA before becoming independent. These have included the New American Majority Fund, the Strategic Victory Fund, and the Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund.
Grants for Media, Civic Engagement and Democracy
Democracy Alliance’s main feature is its Investment Portfolio of “high-impact, progressive organizations that generate bold policy ideas, drive progressive messages, organize key constituencies, and support the next generation of leaders.” The portfolio consists of organizations working across a range of causes, such as voting rights, voter engagement, economic opportunity, financial reform, criminal justice reform, government transparency, government accountability, civil rights, civil liberties, free press, and truth in media.
One of the Democracy Alliance’s most recent initiative is Defending Democracy, which supports “resistance organizations,” defined as those that are “working on the front lines to defend democratic values, institutions, and norms from the assaults and transform an organic grassroots movement into an electoral force.”
Important Grant Details:
Democracy Alliance does not accept requests for funding, but grantseekers interested in joining its investment portfolio may submit a Letter of Inquiry through its online contact form. The organization may be contacted at staff@democracyalliance.org.
PEOPLE:
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