The Long-Term Futures Work of Building a Better Democracy | Nonprofit Quarterly | Civic News. Empowering Nonprofits. Advancing Justice.

"As we face ongoing crises in our democracy both at home and abroad, almost everyone I've talked to feels that they've done good, necessary work, but the field, collectively, still isn't meeting the moment. From our perspective, that feeling often comes from the tension between short-term urgency and long-term necessity. Even if we all do the right things for the next two to four years,"

"The Case for Expanding Democracy In 2023, I made the case for expanding the landscape of democracy work. At that time, I critiqued national progressive organizations for standing up against all parts of the authoritarian playbook, and I critiqued national pro-democracy organizations for not engaging on the issues most critical to voters-leaving grassroots organizers unsupported by both types of organizations."

"In 2025, attacks on our institutions and civil society scaled up significantly. Political violence has garnered national attention. National progressive advocacy organizations fully understand the full scope of the authoritarian playbook-those attacks are often directed at them. Even parts of civil society that would not identify as progressive or even political, such as food banks, are feeling the crushing weight. And progressives have organized effectively in response."

Ongoing democratic crises create a tension between short-term urgency and long-term necessity that leaves the field feeling insufficient despite strong individual efforts. Attacks on institutions and civil society escalated in 2025, including political violence and targeted pressure on nonpolitical services like food banks. The gap between individual excellence and field-level insufficiency presents an opportunity to build long-range protective work. Democracy 2076 was launched to prioritize future-focused strategies to protect democratic institutions. National progressive and pro-democracy organizations have shown uneven engagement, leaving grassroots organizers without consistent support despite effective public organizing such as the "No Kings" protests.

Read at Nonprofit Quarterly | Civic News. Empowering Nonprofits. Advancing Justice.