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Democracy Northwest is a resource for philanthropists who might be motivated to devote more attention to strengthening democratic practices and institutions. At a time when our democracy is suffering from multiple afflictions, philanthropy has a unique opportunity to contribute to its revitalization.
As one contribution to that work, we have prepared this working menu of democracy-strengthening resources. We recognize how incomplete this catalogue is, and we welcome suggestions about how to make the document more comprehensive and more useful in your work.
A group of leaders have come together to create Democracy Northwest, a project to explore what philanthropy can do to strengthen democracy. Through an initial convening, two focus groups, sessions at the Philanthropy Northwest annual conference and other conversations, participants are broadening the conversation, sharing strategies to strengthen democracy and using democratic practices to strengthen philanthropy in turn. This discovery process generated a range of ideas to further explore and develop. In the action phase of the project, participants will identify the most promising ideas and support further inquiry, create programs, tools and participate in communities of practice to support them. This document summarizes the main ideas that emerged through the Discovery Phase.
No matter which candidates any of us favored, from the presidential race on down the ballot, this election has cast a harsh light on the wounds and weaknesses of our democracy. This deep (and fully bipartisan) unhappiness with our political and governing institutions was never going to be cured by a single election, regardless of the outcome. While elected officials of both parties must certainly play a role in healing the deep wounds in our body politic, it is clear that they cannot do it alone. We all have to do our part — and that must include the philanthropic sector. To that end, Philanthropy Northwest is redoubling its own commitment to this work, primarily through a new initiative we’re calling Democracy Northwest.
No matter how you voted last week, it’s clear that the election shined a light on deep divisions in our country among socioeconomic, racial, gender and generational lines, to name a few. This is a particularly troubling development for those of us working in the philanthropic sector, where our work is often focused on trying to bridge and heal divisions in our communities and reduce inequities. If there were ever a time for philanthropy to step up as a leader for our communities and our nation, the time is now. Let’s expend not just our financial capital, but also our trust capital, to come together to move our nation forward.
Police misconduct is a social justice issue that touches every community in this country. Our philanthropy sector has a role to play in supporting communities that are struggling to address and change police conduct to create more equitable and just communities. We must ensure our communities can thrive and all people can be successful in a society where all of us have the chance to live up to our full potential. As Philanthropy Northwest's conference co-chair, 2016 ambassador and Northwest Area Foundation board member, I was asked to speak about my work in Idaho, holding Boise police accountable and ensuring they treat everyone in our community equitably and respectfully.
In just a few more days, we can finally close the book on the 2016 election season. Needless to say, it’s been an interesting cycle fraught with anxiety and frustration. It would be easy to dismiss the vitriol of the current election as an episodic blip not worth understanding for the long-term work of philanthropy — but experience and common sense tell us that these emotions and currents won’t be put to rest easily after Election Day. This election season has illuminated how many Americans feel that full participation in our democracy is regulated to the privileged and powerful. We are convinced, however, that this climate has created an opening for productive dialogue, moving it further into the places where we continue to be divided as a nation. If anything, the messiness of this political environment has revealed the ways in which we are broken — creating an on-ramp to begin to think creatively and take action.