Why This Democracy Donor Collective, Formed Amid 2020 Election Fears, Is Still Going Strong

Last we wrote about One for Democracy, Donald Trump was still in the White House and that fateful January 6 siege on the Capitol was still unimaginable for many. With the future of the republic uniquely vulnerable, a group of donors formed the philanthropic collaborative as a way to shore up voter protection and engagement. One for Democracy challenges individuals and foundations to contribute at least 1% of their net worth toward the protection and improvement of our democracy.

Back then, it was a time-sensitive challenge, asking donors to move the money during 2020. And yet, as we all know, American democracy remains on thin ice in 2022, and One for Democracy is still going strong. The collective has pulled in more than 120 donors committed to moving at least $350 million through 2024 to safeguard and strengthen democracy. That’s up from the 70 donors and foundations that signed on in 2020.

Notably, former presidential candidate Andrew Yang just took the One for Democracy Pledge, joining the likes of other donors and foundations including the Novogratzes, the Quadrivium Foundation (James and Kathryn Murdoch), and Craig Newmark—whose stalwart philanthropy in the democracy space I have covered at length. Pledgers support a range of organizations, including the Tom Steyer-founded NextGen America, the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, End Citizens United, and Unite America.

For a while now, we’ve been asking to what extent philanthropy can and should be working to support our democratic institutions, particularly as they’ve come under unprecedented threat. We’re not the only ones posing the question. One for Democracy’s peer funders in this fight include the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and Jacob and Valeria Langeloth Foundation.

As more philanthropists get involved, and as 2022 midterms approach, we thought this would be a good time to circle back with the organization and find out how it has continued to pull in support. We also spoke to a few One for Democracy donors to find out what drew them to the effort, and the overall state of democracy funding.

Informed by the grassroots

Steven Choi, One for Democracy’s executive director, comes to the organization from the grassroots movement space. The Stanford and Harvard Law graduate spent more than eight years at the New York Immigration Coalition. “Being in the field of immigrant rights and social justice, I started to realize that none of that stuff is going to happen unless we have a strong and functioning democracy,” Choi told me.

That refrain spurred the creation of One for Democracy. Among its first pledgers were Mike and Sukey Novogratz, a Wall Street couple known for their interest in the criminal justice space. Galaxy Gives, the couple’s philanthropic vehicle, aims to take down the barriers imposed by structural poverty, oppression and racism. Other, less prominent donors include financier Andrew Tobias, who has been a Democratic superdelegate and blogs about democracy on his website.

Overall, Choi is encouraged that One for Democracy has pulled in a range of pledgers in its short time, allowing them to build a sustained effort to strengthen democracy. “We have been able to attract an incredible diversity of folks who are willing to throw down for democracy and want to be public about it in a way that is having a much broader and cumulative impact,” he said.

Choi believes one reason the organization has been so attractive is because it doesn’t just convince donors of this pivotal moment, but also give them the tools needed to move the needle. In the complicated field of American politics, One for Democracy aims to demystify the process for new donors by introducing them to a vetted portfolio of organizations. Pledgers also get access to updated, expert funding recommendations and advice from leading political strategists through the One for Democracy Democracy Investment Committee.

“It can be a very daunting task to try to figure out the American democracy movement. You’ve got national, state and local. There’s structural policy reform efforts. There’s straight up voter mobilization. Efforts to combat misinformation. There’s policy legislation. There are so many different things to consider, but we’ve found ways to cut through all that and give them the recommendations they need,” Choi says.

Two donor stories

Janak Ramakrishnan, ONE for democracy Pledger

One such pledger is Janak Ramakrishnan, a Google software engineer who hails from what he describes as a progressive Indian family. Some of his giving focuses on India and international organizations like Oxfam. He’s involved with a small organization called the SINGH Foundation, started by his father in memory of a prominent researcher who had an interest in civil liberties and other progressive causes in India. Meanwhile, in his New York City backyard, Ramakrishnan has focused on racial and economic justice.

Ramakrishnan tells me that he was already part of a giving circle whose members pledged at least 1% of their income, and 0.1% of their wealth to philanthropic causes. Someone in that circle introduced him to One for Democracy, where he was moved by their pitch, also believing that American democracy was under serious threat.

So far, Ramakrishnan’s work with One for Democracy has focused on the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, aimed at restoring and strengthening parts of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and other core electoral issues.

“I think it’s important that we are clear-eyed about where the threats are coming from and just how important it is to resist them. So that means giving strategically, but also forming a broad alliance to work with everyone who is aware of these threats,” Ramakrishnan told me.

Barbara meyer, one for democracy pledger

Barbara Meyer’s commitment to One for Democracy stems from her long-standing work in the rural South. In 1984, with the UPS stock she inherited from her father, Meyer launched the Bert and Mary Meyer Foundation, which focused on rural community organizing in 14 southern states. A decade later, the family foundation turned over its entire $7.5 million endowment to create Southern Partners Fund (SPF), a regional community foundation in Atlanta. SPF supports grassroots POC-led organizations in the rural South seeking racial, economic and environmental justice. Followers of MacKenzie Scott’s prolific grantmaking might recognize SPF by name; they received a $10 million gift from Scott in 2020.

“Twenty-five years later, people of color from all over the rural South are still governing that foundation. I don't know whether this is totally unique. But I haven’t heard of any other situation where a family foundation chose to turn all of its assets to a fund like this. I’m really proud,” Meyer says.

Meyer came to learn about One for Democracy from a close friend in another network who recommended she connect with the organization. She liked the idea of a 1% pledge. “I had been giving away a large percentage of my income going all the way back to my family foundation. But I never thought about assets. It took One for Democracy to get me to start thinking about that,” Meyer says.

She also liked that One for Democracy encouraged her to continue to dig into her work in Georgia and beyond. The rural South has been her bread and butter, but she says that this region has been particularly underfunded in philanthropy, especially in the last few decades. One for Democracy hosted a meeting in Atlanta where Meyer got to connect with others in the space. She has also been involved with Georgia Alliance for Progress, which she says does similar work.

“It’s all just really natural. And in alignment with my values,” Meyer tells me.

For Executive Director Steve Choi, there’s real urgency to their democracy work now and going forward. For better or worse, January 6 changed the game. “This must be a movement, it cannot just be a moment.”

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