Resourcing Democracy
What if everyone in our democracy had the voice, choice, and power to shape the decisions that impact their lives?
A healthy democracy is so much more than a system of government.
It’s the foundation that supports everything we care about as a society.
Regardless of our politics, identity, or ZIP code, we all want safe communities, economic opportunities, ethical leadership, and a bright future for our children. Those are the promises of a healthy democracy.
But achieving and protecting these ideals requires investment, intention, and action to build power with more people and ensure they have a say in the decisions that shape their lives. Our Resourcing Democracy portfolio supports state-level partnerships designed to ensure our democracy works for everyday people.
In 2025, we awarded our first set of Resourcing Democracy grants to organizations in three states and national partners working to shape a fairer future for everyday people in America.
Core strategies for a healthy democracy:
Building capacity
Ensuring local organizations have the skills, tools, and resources to achieve their goals
Developing leaders
Supporting and training everyday people to drive solutions for their communities
Fostering relationships
Growing trust and collaboration across sectors and communities
Creating shared vision
Bringing people together to set long-term goals and including those too often left out
Organizing across divides
Connecting people across race, income, experience, and geography to act collectively around shared experiences and hopes
Investing in the long term
Moving beyond short-term grants to investments for generational change
62% of Americans
We need to be honest about the fact that we don’t all agree on every single issue, but we can work together to make progress on the things we do agree on. It’s exciting to see how people are thinking more about that and how they can come together to create change in their city or their county. That helps them see a path toward change at the state and even national level.
Beyond Elections
How can we bring people together across political and geographic divides to support democracy and build an economy that works for everyone?
We know that voting is just one way to make our democracy work. Building a healthy democracy requires investing in the people, relationships, and organizations that keep communities engaged long after votes are counted.
We’re investing in collaborative efforts to do this in three states, and we’re excited about the momentum we’re seeing. In each case, trusted community organizations with strong local leadership are building alliances to create meaningful change in their state.
We’re investing in work across three states
North Carolina
Three organizations are leading the development of a strategic alignment table that will be crucial in growing community-driven governing power in a politically divided state.
Michigan
The Michigan Alignment Table includes seven organizations with a 10-year agenda focused on building the community infrastructure to expand power for communities historically excluded from decision making.
Washington
Washington’s Power Building Table includes seven organizations who are organizing low-income and working-class communities to ensure everyone in the state can thrive.
Spotlight
Roxana Norouzi
Executive Director, OneAmerica
OneAmerica trains and organizes immigrant and refugee leaders in Washington State to mobilize civic engagement, advocate for fair policies, and build a truly representative democracy. OneAmerica is part of Washington’s Power Building Table, a coalition of seven community organizations working to build leadership and collective power within low-income and working-class communities.
We’ve been honored and proud to be on a learning journey with the Raikes Foundation at a time when we need more philanthropic leadership around strengthening our democracy. Together, our organizations have made a deep commitment to how we are going to move together to shift power in our state and deliver real wins to a broad base of working-class people.
Roxana Norouzi
Measuring Progress
How can we measure the success of something as abstract as “strengthening democracy”?
The wide range of experiences, priorities, and challenges among voters in America can make democracy feel messy. But it’s also what makes it work.
When more people have a voice in shaping the policies and systems that impact their lives, more people get a fair chance to learn, work, and thrive.
We know our work in advancing a healthy democracy is long-term, complex, and bigger than any single election, policy, or candidate.
Conditions for a healthy democracy:
Growing trust and collaboration
We’ll see more organizations coming together to build and deepen alliances focused on shared values and visions.
Broader partnerships across race, class, and geography
There will be greater capacity for leadership development and training, equipping a range of community-focused leaders to drive action.
A new narrative
Public conversations will increasingly reflect a shared belief that democracy can and does deliver for everyday people.
Lasting civic infrastructure
Stronger networks and new supports will make it easier for our partners to adapt quickly when conditions shift.
Our focus in 2026 and beyond
- Supporting long-term power-building efforts and strategic alignment to deliver for everyday people
- Advancing a new narrative that centers the value of a democracy that is shaped by many voices and creates access to opportunity and prosperity for all
- Investing in the infrastructure required to create strong, strategic, and resilient ecosystems that will last
- Expanding relationships with other funders to deepen investment in strategic alignment and the broader organizing ecosystem
- Learning how new developments like AI can be integrated into the strategic work of strengthening our democracy
