Mission

The Democracy Funders Network (DFN) is a cross-ideological learning and action community for donors concerned about the health of American democracy. Our mission is to ensure that the United States is a robust liberal democracy a century from now.

Overview

American democracy faces unprecedented challenges, among them: rising authoritarianism, political violence, election denialism, toxic polarization, fractured civic culture, ineffective governing institutions, and a fragmented information environment.

Despite these challenges, we believe U.S. democracy is resilient and capable of delivering on the promise of liberty and justice for all. This requires not only defending against immediate threats but also addressing root causes, reforming outdated systems, and building an enduring democracy for future generations.

Our approach

We are a network for funders who want to learn together, build and strengthen relationships, and ultimately identify opportunities for coordination and collaboration. As a learning community, we convene funders and leaders across disparate corners of the field, develop virtual and in-person learning opportunities, and leverage original research to develop tools and resources for the field. But we don't stop at learning. As an action community, we advise donors in our network and move to fill critical funding gaps in the space.

Core principles

The following principles shape DFN’s work:

Democracy is not about our preferred political or policy outcomes.

  • Many funders conflate democracy with political victories or policy preferences being enacted. When funding aims solely at partisan victories, we're funding politics, not democracy. Creating a truly democratic agenda requires building systems that all Americans can support, regardless of political, religious, racial, or ethnic backgrounds.

Democracy is more than voting. 

  • While voting is fundamental, democracy relies on a broader ecosystem of norms and institutions: rule of law, separation of powers, independent judiciary, and free press. These foundational elements deserve greater philanthropic attention. A comprehensive democracy agenda must address this full spectrum.

There is no silver bullet to save democracy.

  • Democracy's challenges have multiple causes requiring diverse interventions: structural reform, voting rights expansion, social cohesion building, local journalism support, norm protection, and civic education advancement. Helping funders place their specific interests within this broader landscape enhances overall effectiveness.

Our work

Conducting Research and Generating Knowledge

  • Regular online programs on key democracy topics

  • U.S. Democracy Hub data platform in partnership with Impala

  • Development of tools, resources, and reports for donors

  • Political Violence Working Group for funders

Network Weaving

  • Member Directory to promote connection and collaboration

  • Annual Democracy Funders Strategy Summit

  • Regional Democracy Over Dinner series

Leveraging Strategic Funding

  • Philanthropic advising for members

  • Development of donor strategy tools

  • Field leadership through convenings and coordination

Field-Building

  • Strengthening underinvested areas of democracy work

  • Acting as venture capacity to incubate critical projects

  • Supporting new funds and collaborative initiatives

 
 

DFN DEMOCRACY TAXONOMY

HELPING FUNDERS NAVIGATE THE DEMOCRACY FIELD

In 2024, DFN, in partnership with Impala, developed the U.S. Democracy Hub—a comprehensive and user-friendly platform offering valuable insights into democracy funding. Alongside our development of the Hub, we recognized a need for a structured framework to understand and categorize the various efforts in the democracy field. To address that need, DFN worked with dozens of field leaders to develop an intellectually rigorous, outcomes-based taxonomy that considers the democracy field holistically. The Hub brings this framework to life by organizing organizational data through its nine core ecosystems, laid out below, and over seventy sub-ecosystems. Recognizing the dynamic nature of democracy work, this taxonomy is designed to evolve as the field does.

 

Empowered Electorate

These organizations work to ensure that voting and electoral systems are transparent, fair, and accessible, and that every eligible voter — regardless of background — has the tools and knowledge to meaningfully participate in the electoral process.

Quality Leaders

These organizations work to identify, recruit, and develop leaders deeply committed to democracy.

Good Governance

These organizations work to ensure that governments represent the governed and that institutions are effective, efficient, inclusive, and representative of the diverse communities they serve.

Counter-Authoritarianism

These organizations work to counter the threat of authoritarianism in its many forms and to address authoritarian impulses at both the individual and institutional level throughout society.

Informed Public

These organizations produce knowledge or influence how the public engages with information.

Beloved Communities

These organizations work to strengthen community bonds and foster a shared sense of belonging while holding space for creative tensions.

Democratic IMagination

These organizations harness the power of arts, entertainment, and foresight to foster imagination, enabling people to explore new perspectives on democracy, discover joy in its promises, and actively engage in shaping a just and vibrant future.

Just society

These organizations pursue a more just and equitable society through advocacy, movement building, and collective action.

Stronger Fields

These organizations focus on backbone efforts that support and sustain the democracy field.

The Democracy Innovation Project:

We live in complex, uncertain, and rapidly changing times. Democracy in the United States is being buffeted and challenged by this disruptive context. Yet disruption poses opportunities as well as challenges, and American civil society has begun to understand the insufficiency of a mainly defensive strategy when it comes to democracy.

How can we build momentum to develop an aspiring affirmative vision of what American democracy's next chapter could be, and then how can we coalesce a broad constituency to bring those better futures into being?

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