Announcing the Democracy Futures Project!

PACE is thrilled to announce the launch of the Democracy Futures Project, an initiative to expand the capacity of philanthropies to think longer-term about American democracy.

It is a collaborative effort to equip democracy funders with tools, resources, and skills to be more “future-ready.” It will entail workshops, learning sessions, and the development of resources to support philanthropy in building capacities for foresight thinking, scenario planning, visioning, and action-planning.

The Democracy Futures Project will expand the capacity of philanthropies to think longer-term about American democracy.

This project responds to several challenges PACE commonly hears from funders in the democracy field.

First, the scale of the challenges democracy faces – from authoritarian sentiments to disinformation to social isolation – can feel complex and abstract, especially at the rate they are evolving. This project will strengthen funders’ agency in democracy work and build confidence to identify durable strategies.

Second, PACE often hears a reluctance to fund democracy work because it appears “too political.” The conflation of democracy with partisan politics inherently limits our ability to advance a shared and inclusive vision of a multi-racial, religiously pluralistic society that serves all. This project will address that challenge by leaning into pragmatic planning to envision what can be possible.

“For several years, philanthropic efforts to support democracy have often, and necessarily, been responding to immediate threats to our system of government and governance,” said Kelly Born, Director of Democracy, Rights, and Governance at the The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. “This is essential work responding to real needs. And, it needs to be coupled with longer-term planning that invites us to imagine the future we’re working toward, and proactively prepare for realities ahead.”

Addressing immediate threats to our democracy is essential work. And it needs to be coupled with longer-term planning that invites us to imagine the future we're working toward.

Over the course of the project, funders will:

• Build capacities to plan for and navigate the future

• Build their agency and ability to create better futures

• Consider philanthropic actions that will move towards preferred visions

• Ensure strategies are robust against uncertainty

“We need a hope and a vision for democracy that is larger than our politics– and more robust than our political imaginations currently allow,” said Kristen Cambell, CEO of Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE). “There are many organizations working to make pro-democracy futures possible, and there is an effective and appropriate role for philanthropy to support them. But too often, funding flows in a boom-and-bust cycle focused myopically around elections without consideration of the work that happens every day, and outside of formal political systems.”

Too often, funding flows in a boom-and-bust cycle focused myopically around elections.

Workshops begin in October 2024 and the project will run through the end of 2025. Foundations, funders, and other philanthropic entities can learn more and express interest in participating at PACEfunders.org/futures.

Links:

Express Interest in Participating in the Project

Project One-Pager

Press Release