RSS Amplifier

Democracy Notes · Jun 3, 2026

This week's Democracy Notes

Read inOriginalenesdefrptjaittr
0
Sign in to vote or save

Gabriel Lerner · Democracy Notes

I guess the vibes are a bit funky…

For you, what’s driving the vibes?

Are you a general counsel? In HR? We’re exploring creating a peer-learning cohort for you!

(If you’re not in those roles but someone on your team is, send this their way!)

Over at Democracy Notes Perspectives, we published “To protect democracy, pay attention to gender,” by Miriam Juan-Torres Gonzalez, Saskia Brechenmacher, and Laura Livingston. Check it out!!

And, writers! Some good news:

  • MIT Press has agreed to publish an anthology tied to The Protopian Prize short fiction contest, which we’re very proud to sponsor!

  • The two prize winners (one for the governance/democracy track, one for the AI track) will not only win $5K but get their stories published in the book, alongside a dozen or so well-known science fiction writers.

Big thanks to Gideon Lichfield and Ruthanna Emrys for making this happen! (And extra thanks to Gideon for his language describing the anthology.)

($$$)

  • According to Democracy Fund, $268M in 501(c)3 support has already been moved via All by April to strengthen nonpartisan election work!

  • The Fred and Barbara Erb Family Foundation (a Michigan foundation in spend-down mode) announced $2.75M in democracy-focused grants, including:

    • $500K — Voters Not Politicians Education Fund (to support the My City Votes and Detroit Votes programs)

    • $750K (over 3 years) — Michigan Voices

    • $750K (over 3 years) — Mothering Justice

    • $500K (over 2 years) — Promote the Vote Fund

    • $250K — Wayne State University’s Law School (to support the Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy)

  • Congratulations to Cierra Brown Hinton, the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund’s next director! (And huge congrats to founding director Lizzy Hazeltine!)

  • Microsoft is funding three journalist roles to expand local reporting capacity in North Central Washington ($500K over two years).

    • They’re supporting a partnership between the Washington State University Murrow Fellows and Report for Washington.

  • Very, very cool fellowship for folks in philanthropy, courtesy of Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy!

    • Visiting and in-residence fellowship options, budget of up to $50K per project, deadline = 6/30!

(Things you shared!)

Help us amplify your neat stuff! (Events, announcements, and more!) If you’d like us to include something in ~the classifieds~ our pricing is here.

  • Network leaders!!! Apply to join a free, 2.5-month Network Leaders Learning Cohort, facilitated by Third Plateau, in partnership with Contina Impact.

    • This is for professionals in the social impact sector (not just the democracy space!!) who lead, manage, convene, or facilitate networks — whether formally or informally.

    • Through six every-other-week learning sessions — and small group follow up in between — participants will connect in an intimate setting with peers to:

      • Deepen their network leadership skills,

      • Process real-time challenges, and

      • Build lasting relationships.

    • Nominate a colleague by June 8 or apply by June 12!

(The big news)

  • Today’s political parties “have become hollow, campaign-driven organizations.”

    • What’s the alternative? Associational party-building!

    • A new report from New America’s Tabatha Abu El-Haj unpacks how New York’s Working Families Party offers a model for how parties might rebuild organizational capacity.

  • “One birthday, two party planners: Freedom 250 vs. America250, explained.”

    • In short:

      • Freedom 250 = Trump admin,

      • America250 is the nonprofit supporting the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, which was established 10 years ago through an act of Congress.

    • There’s been controversy about both, for different reasons.

      • The Semiquincentennial Commission controversy is very well explained on its Wikipedia page.

      • Freedom 250 had almost all of its musical acts drop out over the past few days.

    • P.S. There’s a nonprofit planning “FreedomFest,” a musical celebration of a pro-democracy, pluralist vision of America’s future.

      • Drop me a line if you’d like to learn more!

  • What’s the purpose of public education? And what’s its connection to democracy?

  • How can 501(c)(3) public charities engage in ballot initiative campaigns while staying within legal guidelines?

  • Helpful data from a new(ish) kid on the block, Equal Futures, on how the U.S. compares to other OECD countries on voting rights!

(Events, podcasts, and more)

  • Are you a reporter at a nonprofit trying to figure out the legal bounds of election coverage?

  • 6/9 at 1:30pm ET — join NationSwell for “Restoring Social Connection in America: Common Purpose through Service and Community Engagement.”

    • Featuring: Jennifer Hoos Rothberg (Executive Director, Einhorn Collaborative), Aneesh Sohoni (CEO of Teach for America), Greg Weatherford II (The Allstate Foundation), and more!

  • 6/18, 8:45-10:45am ET in person in DC — join Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress (CSPC) for “America at 250: History, Innovation, and the Next Chapter.”

    • Featuring: Chris Sununu, Glenn Nye, Michelle Jaconi, and more!

  • 6/18 at 1pm ET — join the National Civic League for a webinar, “Democracy and the Economy: Rethinking Civic Participation.”

    • Ft. City University of New York (Professor Celina Su), CFLeads (Leonard Brock), and Democracy Collaborative (Joe Guinan).

(Jobs, jobs, jobs!)

^ These orgs really want to reach great candidates in the Democracy Notes community! If you’d like to promote a role with us, our options are here!

(Where the movers are moving and the shakers are shaking)

  • Avery Davis-Roberts is now Director of the Democracy Program at The Carter Center!

  • Natalie Montelongo joined the Marguerite Casey Foundation as Director in the Office of the President.

  • Tom Baker IV founded Ground Truth NC, departing from Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University.

  • Morgan Marler joined Young Futures Org as Director of Partnerships!

  • Jacques Hebert is now Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs at McKnight Foundation!

  • Adam LeClair joined the Board of Directors at Healthy Democracy!

  • Reddgo Long is now Program Manager at ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge!

  • Helene Khan joined the partnerships team at the Maryland Department of Service and Civic Innovation!

Submit your job transitions (or promotions!) here.

See you soon,

Gabe

Read the original on democracynotes.substack.com ↗

Comments

Nothing yet. Say the first thing.

    Sign in to join the conversation.