In Defense of Democracy
Philanthropy Open Letter in Defense of Democracy
Philanthropy plays a critical role in our political infrastructure. Funding strategies for power-building, protecting free and fair elections, rapid response funds, and more continue to chip away at the systems harming our communities and uplift our people in the process. At the same time, philanthropy often undermines our own strategies and leaves organizers in the lurch by refusing to build authentic relationships with movement leaders, only funding organizations short-term, and pulling back investments in the moments when community needs them most.
Project 2025 is not just a fantasy for a white supremacist future where communities have rights to our bodies, our land, our resources, and our dignity stripped from us. This manifesto is a planning tool guiding the Right and the detestable strategies they are building up to and beyond the elections in November. We are in a battle for the heart and direction of this country. We are working in the philanthropic sector during the most significant socio-political climate of the last fifty years, with a potential outcome that would signal the most dramatic shift in the trajectory of our nearly 250-year-old democracy. We cannot allow hate rhetoric and fearmongering to convince us to abandon the very principles our sector is predicated upon. Philanthropy cannot afford to play it safe in this moment. We must define leadership in the field by committing funds to movement organizing work and providing cover for our communities.
Now is not the time to react from a place of fear. Now is the time to organize from our values. We are responsible for staying deeply rooted in our cause and avoiding distractions that intend to convince us to stand still. Recent attacks on organizations like the Fearless Fund are an attempt to encourage philanthropy to further restrict our own funding and abandon our communities. We need to show the opposition that this will not work. Our context is ever-changing, but our message is the same: the only way to win is through supporting movements organizing for and protecting Black, Brown, Indigenous and frontline communities in the South. Philanthropy is being called on by community to act in alignment with our values. The question is if we will be brave enough to listen and act
The need for consistent, long-term investments to support movement organizing year-round cannot be overstated. Organizing makes everything possible for us. Every win, every positive change, every moment of relief our communities have collectively felt has come from organizers listening to what people need and moving strategies around common goals. Persistent racism and other harms are impacting our communities daily, not just during grant cycles and election years. We find ourselves at a crossroads which is the direct result of the long-term, consistent funding of those in direct opposition to the core values and principles that philanthropy proposes to uphold. Yet, philanthropy continues to fund movement organizations as if change is made on a schedule.
The greatest threats to our communities are not extreme-ism, hatred, and far-right organizing. The greatest threat to our communities comes when philanthropy aids our opposition in our own harm by retreating in moments where movement needs us most. Funding free and fair elections, safety and security infrastructure, power-building efforts, and other strategies is an ongoing need. We urge funders to understand ourselves as actors and change agents in this fight. Funding movement organizing and racial justice cannot be a special interest area in our work, it must inform every decision we make and every action we take. Combatting these threats requires consistent, flexible funding that is responsive to the needs of community. Prioritizing responsive, long-term funding as part of your ongoing grantmaking strategies is in the best interest of our future as a self-determined democracy.
Earlier this year, Grantmakers for Southern Progress partnered with Solidaire Network by signing onto the All By April open letter to philanthropy urging funders to move money to organizations working to protect elections by early Spring. We also recently released “Propagating Power,” the latest issue in our As the South Grows report series. The report focuses on legacies of resistance and political organizing in the South and asks funders to consider their role in creating long-term strategies to build movement infrastructure and protect Black, Brown, Indigenous, and frontline communities in the region. We encourage you to use these resources to guide your work and help you plug into the movements happening on the ground. We urge you to contact your partners, organize other funders, and bring them along in this work. We can decide that today is the last day we will tolerate harm against our communities.
Signed,
Grantmakers for Southern Progress and Solidaire Network