Guardians & Guardrails
Stopping Abuses of Power While Building Resilience
When those in power ignore or manipulate the law for their personal gain, people pay the price. In a just democracy, people are safeguarded from threats to their wellbeing, and leaders who abuse their power are held accountable. In order to keep the powerful in check, we need stronger communities, organizations, and institutions.
Why This Work Matters
Americans are losing faith in our democracy, and for good reason. It’s become too easy for government leaders to abuse the system, in ways that increase threats of political violence, fuel fear and division, and perpetuate an already uneven playing field.
Protecting people’s rights and preserving their ability to shape the future starts with making it harder for public officials to use their power unchecked.
Our Approach
By stopping abuses of power and bringing people together to protect our country’s future, we can restore the values and rights necessary for a democracy that works for all.
We use a two-pronged, responsive approach to counter immediate threats to our democracy:
- Block and respond to government corruption, abuses of power, threats of political violence, and groups causing communities harm; and
- Build the resilience of community organizations and institutions to push back on the authoritarian movement.
In practice, some of the efforts we fund:
- Use legal tools to stop authoritarian policies and actions.
- Support community organizing to hold public officials accountable.
- Protect the leaders, nonprofits, and philanthropic organizations working to preserve people’s rights.
Other Areas of Focus
Reimagine & Rebuild
Reimagining our democracy and making that vision real.
Learn more about this work