During a Historic and Unprecedented Year, Donors Vote for Democracy with Their Dollars

Ringo Chiu/shutterstock

Democracy—what it means, how we should support it—is top of mind for donors as the past year’s historic events continue to reverberate through American life. From former President Donald Trump’s successful fundraising around his stolen election myth to corporate heads and now the DOJ stepping in to demand an end to restrictive voting laws, everyone has an opinion and the electorate remains deeply divided across the political spectrum. Whom do you trust? Where do you donate to get the greatest impact?

Appealing to many donors are organizations like Demos, a progressive nonprofit whose mission is to use research, litigation and partnerships with grassroots organizations to ensure a democracy and economy rooted in racial equity. (Editor’s note: Inside Philanthropy publisher David Callahan is a co-founder of Demos.)

“We are the think tank of the movement,” said David Alexander, director of development. Leading issues at Demos include same-day voter registration, the expansion of the Supreme Court to 13 members, political status for D.C. and the territories, and support for corporations challenging recent restrictive voter legislation in Georgia.

Alexander said the nonprofit saw a significant rise in donations due to a confluence of events in 2020—the pandemic, the presidential election and the controversy over voting rights in multiple states. “There was a real shift among donors and foundations,” he said, noting that many donors lifted restrictions on gifts, designating them as general support or pledging multi-year funding. Many new gifts were from first-time contributors or people not traditionally affiliated with Demos. 

The big question now for Alexander: Will that renewed interest and what he characterized as a “huge” spike in grants stick because the threat remains? Or will there be a pause as donors take time to assess and reflect? 

Alexander said Demos was well-situated for a move to remote work during COVID, since many staff were already working remotely. Thus, the organization was able to maintain productivity while giving employees flexibility. Going forward, he said, “there is a lot of talk about the new Jim Crow,” referring to recognized racial disparities in the criminal justice system and in voting rights in states that have made it more difficult to vote, particularly in Black and brown communities. 

Alexander also cited the need for “economic democracy” where decision-making becomes less hierarchical, for example, by recruiting community members to serve on a community board or bringing on employees to serve on corporate boards. He pointed to the need for nonprofits like the North Star Fund that can provide guidance to larger foundations on diversity and inclusion by bringing in people who are closer to recipient communities.

“A lot of heroes in this story”

Whether it’s expanding voter access, redistricting, money in politics, or fighting voter suppression, the League of Women Voters of the United States has also seen its issues headline news feeds over the past year. Its fundraising has also increased, according to Cecilia Calvo, chief development officer. The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization that educates the public, advocates for major policy issues, and encourages citizen participation in elections and government. 

Calvo attributes the organization’s success to a combination of factors, particularly the perceived fragility of democracy in the United States. “First the primaries, then COVID, the Capitol event, the Senate runoff in Georgia, the bad voting bills, it’s been some year,” Calvo said, noting that the nonprofit’s existing donors really dug deep and many new donors came on board. 

Fundraising hasn’t dropped off at all, Calvo said. With the introduction of 350 bills restricting voting rights in 47 states since November, donors are truly concerned about deliberate barriers to voting. “Insert a global pandemic into a series of remarkable events in the past year and it affected everything,” she said.

The league maintained the continuous support of its regular donors, and staff were delighted to see so many new donors—whose primary interest might be hunger, healthcare or the environment—come on board to protect the freedom to vote.

 “There are a lot of heroes in this story,” Calvo said, pointing out that foundations stepped up by eliminating some of the more time-consuming elements of grant application processes so organizations could get the money they urgently needed. Shortened proposals, phone interviews instead of in-person meetings, and timing flexibility represented a major shift in the way foundations do business, she said.

“There is no rest,” Calvo noted. The years between federal elections are usually quieter, but not this year. Priority issues right now include safe and accessible elections, possible litigation around voting restrictions and passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the For The People Act to protect the freedom of all citizens to vote across all 50 states. 

The league is known for providing accurate and up-to-date information on voting sites and hours. 2020 was the first year that voter information was available online in Spanish as well as English, with local chapters providing information in other languages where speakers were prevalent. “With 45,000 different races across the country, that is quite an undertaking,” Calvo said.

“We are so grateful to those donors who help us make voting safe and accessible to all so voters can pick their leaders, not leaders pick their voters.”

“Not just treasure, but time and talent”

Common Cause is another nonpartisan nonprofit whose mission focuses on a democracy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy or special interests. Founded in 1971 when it successfully lobbied for voting rights for 18-year-olds, Common Cause supports ethics and accountability in government and keeps a close watch on voting and elections, money and influence, and gerrymandering and representation.

“Fundraising was pretty much at a standstill from mid-March when the pandemic hit until mid-June,” said LaShanda Jackson, vice president of development. Jackson attributed the pause to the general uncertainty and economic repercussions of the virus, and to a feeling that it was inappropriate at the time to fundraise for anything other than health and human services.

Then, with the murder of George Floyd last summer and the civic unrest that followed, the whole world seemed to come out of its pandemic haze, and with that began a philanthropic wave of generosity, Jackson said. “Not just treasure, but time and talent,” she noted, pointing out the exponential growth in fundraising and volunteerism that followed those historic events.

Jackson said fundraising has remained steady since the presidential election and continues today at all giving levels.

According to Jackson, the spaces that seem to resonate most with donors include voting rights, election rights and redistricting. She also noted a rise in legacy giving, which she attributed to founding Common Cause members who grew up during the Vietnam War and the Nixon impeachment. “They see parallels to today and are inspired to do what they can to protect voting rights and elections,” Jackson said.

Fundraising has been strong, especially major and mid-level gifts, with 6,000 new members joining Common Cause in the last five months. Like other nonprofits, Common Cause has had to reimagine face-to-face events and replace them with virtual offerings. Jackson said she expects a hybrid version to take the organization forward. Foundation giving is also very strong, she added.

Going forward, hot-button issues at Common Cause include redistricting, voting restriction bills, voting rights, racial injustice associated with mass incarceration, and advocacy for a “national popular vote compact” in presidential contests, where states agree to align electoral votes with the popular vote. Pam Wilmot, vice president of state operations at Common Cause, said 15 states and the District of Columbia have already approved this measure, comprising 196 electoral votes out of the needed 270. “If approved, every state will be a battleground,” Wilmot said, because every vote will matter and voter participation is expected to increase.

The historic events of the past two years have alerted many donors to the need to protect democracy. Although the typical pattern of democracy funding that rises and falls with the election cycle will be hard to break, there have been some encouraging signs of steadier donor commitment. Now the question is how long this renewed focus will last, and what it will mean to voters.