Donors who are about fostering democracy need to avoid making the “false choice” between supporting political candidates and grassroots civic engagement, NCRP President and CEO Aaron Dorfman noted in his latest column for Forbes.
Dorfman wrote,
“Many donors are giving directly to candidates, which is important. However, supporting great candidates won’t matter if funders don’t also support voter protection and engagement. We won’t truly have a robust election if potential voters are disengaged and voters who want to cast ballots are denied their right to do so.”
Fortunately, donors have good examples of grassroots civic engagement funding to turn to.
A national 12-organization litigation collaborative, supported by NEO Philanthropy and 17 other foundations and several individual donors, helped strike down Kansas’s proof-of-citizen law for voter registration and the redraw districts in North Carolina that were found to be unconstitutionally gerrymandered.
And Marguerite Casey Foundation, which received a 2019 NCRP Impact Award, plans to invest $5 million in integrated voter engagement this year.
To learn more, check out the entire column.
Leave a Reply