Why Philanthropists Need to Make Meaningful Investments in ...

Partisan bickering and legislative stalemate have become the norm in the United States and compromise has become a dirty word. Clearly, the democratic structures upon which we depend are not working as they should. And this needs to be a concern for philanthropists beyond those with long histories of supporting civic participation and democracy in the United States. In order to make headway on key domestic issues important to them, philanthropists must also commit to reinvigorating American democracy. Without a functional government that has the faith of its citizens, challenging issues such as poverty reduction, improving education, and combating climate change cannot be successfully addressed. In our current state, philanthropists? investments in policy reform on their key issues will fall short not because the effort is inherently flawed, but because the system through which they are trying to effect change is deadlocked. For this reason, breaking the deadlock must be a philanthropic priority.

Many philanthropists rely on legislation as a tool for making the change they seek. If that tool is not working, their overall efforts are going to waste. For example, if a philanthropist dedicated to early childhood education focuses a portion of her effort on advocating that Congress allocate federal funding to states for preschool, she is relying on a functional legislative system. But currently, Congress has struggled to pass even the least controversial legislation. Therefore, well-designed though her strategy may be, this philanthropist is unlikely to see legislative gains for early childhood education.

Philanthropists who want to have a significant impact on social issues at home must invest in clearing the blockage that has developed in our system of government. They can approach reinvigorating democracy from many different angles. Investments in the following areas are just some ways donors can help refresh our system of government and make headway on other pressing issues.

Money in politics.?Money clearly influences politics?a record $6 billion was spent on the 2012 elections following the game-changing Citizens United Supreme Court ruling?but we don?t always know how. Many feel that because of the lack of transparency about where the money comes from and how it gets spent, our current campaign finance system is damaging officials? ability to campaign and govern fairly. Philanthropists can fund solutions to increase transparency and equity. As my colleagues Eric Kessler and Lee Bodner have written on this blog, philanthropists can and should play politics. In this case, they can fund research into the effects of our current system, the development of policies that would create alternate structures such as universal public financing of campaigns, and advocacy for such alternatives.

Alternate models of journalism. Democracy is dependent upon a well-informed public.?Good journalism keeps politicians honest, exposes them when they are not, and educates the public about pressing issues that may be misunderstood or veiled from people?s daily lives. With the explosion of digital media and the shift to TV journalism as ?infotainment,? traditional media outlets have struggled to find their place and survive. But maintaining well-sourced, well-researched outlets for information is as essential as it ever was; the key is finding mechanisms to do so in the new environment. Donors have a role to play here, whether by supporting respected nonprofit models of journalism or encouraging innovative models for collecting and delivering news.

Electoral reform.?Many people theorize that in addition to money and biased information, our electoral system itself is part of today?s problems. In many states, gerrymandering is the norm because of redistricting rules. This has created an unprecedented number of safe seats in Congress, lessening incentives for dialogue and hardening policy positions. Others point to structural problems in state primary systems as perverting the general will of the majority. But there are other electoral options, and philanthropists can support them by funding researchers who explore those options and the organizations that promote them.

Some donors are already investing in these issues to reinvigorate democracy. The Knight Foundation uses its Knight News Challenge to identify and support innovation in the collection and delivery of news, and the MacArthur Foundation has just launched a digital media competition that will award prizes to creative ideas and solutions to improve our democracy. But the challenge is enormous and the stakes are high. Other donors who want to see change at home need to join these ranks and invest in rebuilding a functional democracy.

Shoshana Buchholz-Miller?manages Arabella?s Chicago office in partnership with the firm?s Chicago-based principal. At Arabella, Shoshana has worked across a broad range of family, corporate, and institutional client engagements and has honed her expertise in developing grant-making programs, as well as creating evaluation frameworks and assessing grant programs.

Source: http://www.arabellaadvisors.com/2013/03/why-philanthropists-need-to-make-meaningful-investments-in-democracy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=why-philanthropists-need-to-make-meaningful-investments-in-democracy

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