Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Archives

Blog

How MLK50 is serving Memphis amidst COVID-19

Lea Trusty

May 5, 2020

I recently chatted with Wendi C. Thomas, founder, editor, and publisher of MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, a Memphis-based nonprofit news outlet focused on economic justice, about how her organization is continuing to serve the community during the current pandemic. Wendi and I have met on the journalism conference circuit, and Democracy Fund proudly supports MLK50 through the Racial Equity in Journalism Fund. Below is a lightly edited recap of our conversation.

LT: For most of the world, we are living in unprecedented times. What is the role of media in a moment like this, specifically community media?

WT: I think journalists already knew we were essential to democracy, but the pandemic has brought into stark relief how essential we are. Readers must be able to count on journalists, particularly those in community outlets, to bring them reliable info — everything from community testing sites to where folks can get free meals.

MLK50 knew early on that we weren’t going to be able to cover breaking news. But what we could do and are doing is making sure we’re bearing witness in this moment to the lived experiences of those who are the most affected. Memphis is the second poorest large city in the nation. More than 40% of workers here make less than $15 an hour. If the national economy is taking a hit, low-income people in Memphis — who are disproportionately people of color here — are being drowned.

While we may not have a large staff or resources to be in PPE covering everything in the street, we’re continuing to connect with people and filling the niche we always have, which is serving the most vulnerable communities.

LT: How are you staying connected with your communities, and what are you hearing from them about their information needs?

WT: We’re hearing from workers who are concerned they aren’t getting the PPE they need or worried their employers aren’t being honest. We have a digital canvasser who’s been collecting tips on workplace safety and have gotten dozens and dozens from those efforts.

Oftentimes what people tell us isn’t a clear-cut violation. But there is a lot of fear. People don’t know, and when people don’t know, they assume the worst-case scenario. I’m glad that people turn to us, and we’re trying to stay as responsive as we can with the hopes that this will lead to a story when it’s the right time.

Last week we published one of our first pieces about Memphis-area distribution centers that have had multiple workers — more than 20, according to one employee — who have tested positive for coronavirus. PFS, which ships nonessential items such as Pandora bracelets and Chanel lip glosses, wasn’t providing workers with PPE or doing temperature checks for weeks. PFS has since started offering protective equipment — but gloves, masks and temperature screenings are optional, which is truly incredible.

We’re also currently paying workers $200 for first-person essays. We’ve always paid guest columnists $100 for their essays; we want to honor the value of people’s time by paying them. I thought, this is an easy way to put money in the hands of people who are struggling right now. It’s a very small thing — $200 is not going to solve anyone’s problems — but it’s something. It’s a way for us to be in solidarity with workers at this moment.

LT: What are some operational pivots you’ve made, or wish you could, to meet the changing needs of this moment?

WT: We’ve had to scrimp on a lot because of our size, but there are a few things I wish we could have invested in earlier. For example, when we bought our company cell phone, we bought the cheapest one possible. Now I wish we purchased an easier one to use. We aren’t using a paid Slack plan, which means our archives are limited to 10,000 messages. As we partner with more news outlets, I’m watching that available message archive disappear. Funders are asking, “What’s your expense reduction contingency plan?” But we were already lean.

Funders are asking, “What’s your expense reduction contingency plan?” But we were already lean.

My managing editor has the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite, so our budget doesn’t even reflect all of our actual expenses because we’ve been personally subsidizing them. So, to say to cut what isn’t even counted is tricky.

LT: Has this moment brought anything new to light around equity in media?

WT: Because MLK50 is fiscally sponsored, I’m a contractor rather than an employee. I didn’t take out any loans when I started MLK50. We just did it. Now the fact that I don’t have a business lending relationship with the bank means it’s nearly impossible for me to get any Paycheck Protection Program loans. It’s like I’m being penalized for doing something within my means. It’s a quirk of the system that doesn’t consider the most vulnerable.

MLK50 has always been small and scrappy. We didn’t have much margin for error before, and now we have none. There are four core members of our team, and if any of us were to get sick, I think the site would have to go dark. There aren’t many redundancies built into our structures. It would’ve been nice to have the bandwidth to put those systems in place before this. I think that’s a lesson for founders and funders: That a struggle story isn’t necessarily noble.

I think that’s a lesson for founders and funders: That a struggle story isn’t necessarily noble.

There is a tendency for funders to be reluctant to be early adopters. Sometimes, their approach is: “Let’s wait and see how it goes.” But we could’ve built some of these core processes with $40,000 a year ago. I guess it’s also a lesson for me. I’m a journalist by training, so I put my head down to do the journalism. If I could have cloned myself — or better yet, hired a development or operations manager — we could have done more to bolster the organization.

LT: We know COVID-19 has created economic challenges for many industries, including journalism. What do outlets need, especially hyperlocal ones serving historically marginalized communities, to weather this storm and continue serving their audiences?

WT: MLK50 has been really lucky. We’ve gotten support from AJP, and now Borealis, to address bandwidth issues. We’ve gotten funding to hire for at least one position, maybe two. But now I’m wondering if I’ll be able to secure funds for these positions next year. There is also a need for consultants who can support us on things I would’ve done in a normal time. There is a real gap between having the resources and being able to use them because of labor and time-intensive work in between.

One good thing that’s come out of this is a greater interest in collaboration amongst local news outlets. We wrote a story with Commercial Appeal and Memphis Business Journal on hospitals that have had an influx of coronavirus patients. We also published a piece that focused on racial disparity in COVID-19 infection and fatality rates in Shelby County. We had that idea on Wednesday, and we published by Friday afternoon. That was only possible because we shared resources and labor. Collaboration increases our shared capacity at this critical time and builds relationships for the long term.

Collaboration increases our shared capacity at this critical time and builds relationships for the long term.

I think it’s important for small publishers to look for opportunities like that. I also think it’s important for communities to see that kind of solidarity between news outlets.

—

Journalists are on the front lines of the pandemic every day, bringing us essential information we need to stay safe during COVID-19. They need our support on #GivingTuesdayNow, a global day of giving and unity on May 5 as an emergency response to the need caused by the pandemic. Find a newsroom at NewsForGood.org

Back to Ideas

Blog

Journalism Funders: Ways to Uphold Your Diversity and Inclusivity Values During COVID-19

Jenny Choi, News Integrity Initiative

April 16, 2020

As funders move swiftly to respond to the information needs of COVID-19, it’s critical to consider the following tips to ensure that the communities most disproportionately impacted by the pandemic are not left out.

*Newsroom executives and managers: Looking for concrete ways you can uphold diversity and inclusivity values during COVID-19? Sisi Wei, director of programs at OpenNews has you covered.

There has been an influx of emergency funds created across a wide variety of sectors in rapid response to the crisis, but it’s also critical to remember that characterizing the coronavirus as the great “equalizer” is inaccurate. We can’t afford to neglect using a justice lens in designing these emergency funds to ensure that all communities, including those already struggling in information deserts, receive life-saving information during these unprecedented and challenging times.

The effect of the coronavirus on the local journalism industry has been extraordinarily complicated and profound: communities have become desperate for timely, accurate information on an unseen, unknown villain that seemed to take away all of their loved ones, their freedoms, and feelings of safety and security overnight. The economic impact of sheltering in place additionally devastated small businesses, including local news organizations that depended on ad revenue to provide vital civic information to their constituents.

I, along with many others, have been working on the importance of ramping up cultural competencies to improve coverage of our communities utilizing a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) lens. I’ve been grateful to see reporting that has shown the ways in which communities of color are disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus — from the racialization of the virus precipitating hate crimes against Asian Americans to the ways in which Black constituents experience significantly higher rates of COVID-19 exposure and fatalities compared to any other demographic.

Key things to consider when deploying an Emergency Response Fund:

Include partners with strong credibility working with communities of color, including newsrooms led by people of color, in the design and decision-making phases of the grantmaking.

Moving swiftly can be challenging for funders new to utilizing an equity and inclusion lens because they typically depend on existing networks and partners for efficiency. This is problematic because without ever spending the time to build trust with new partners and stakeholders of color, particularly those that work with undocumented constituents, funders will not likely include them in their existing networks. As such, working with place-based funders or non-profit organizations that clearly have a strong footprint in the targeted communities is a strategic starting point to ensure that the request for proposals will reach communities with whom you have not yet worked.

Address the inequity gaps in your language and criteria. Be open to creating space for new models and forms of journalism beyond legacy and mainstream media.

Dana Kawaoka-Chen of Justice Funders and Lori Villarosa of Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity offer clear outlines of key values on how and who to fund for social justice in response to COVID-19. Applying this framework that many health and economic development funders have already embraced for meaningful impact would be transformative for journalism and its role in improving access to resources for historically marginalized communities. For example, the Akonadi Foundation has announced a $1 million emergency fund for people-of-color-led organizations and projects in Oakland addressing the racial inequities exacerbated by the public health crisis.

The Robert R. McCormick Foundation in Chicago, along with other place-based funders in the area, has launched the Chicago COVID-19 Journalism Fund with criteria that specifically prioritizes smaller news outlets serving communities of color, including media that is offered in languages other than English.

Additionally, the Economic Hardship Reporting Project is offering mini grants for freelancers and journalists to commission stories on COVID-19 utilizing an equity lens, as well as those who might benefit from an emergency hardship grant that simply asks for a short, 350-word explanation of why the funds are needed, which significantly reduces the burden of submitting a lengthy proposal and increases access for folks new to writing an application for a grant. Other similar resources include journalist-organized grassroots funds such as the Journalist Furlough Fund and Microloans for Journalists, which also lists other relief funds for journalists.

Finally, the Facebook Journalism Project in partnership with other funders has also prioritized newsrooms reaching underserved audiences by making grants to boost coronavirus coverage. The grants prioritize independent and family-owned news organizations, which includes for-profit groups. This criteria addresses the fact that many people-of-color publishers operate small for-profit organizations and are not often eligible for grants from private foundations.

Support newsrooms serving communities that do not speak English as their first language.

The majority of the rapid response funds made available to journalists and journalism organizations have been English-only (both in the request for proposals and criteria set for applications). Partnering with initiatives such as the Center for Community Media (which also disseminates a newsletter tracking grant opportunities), Ethnic Media Services or Translators Without Borders — an organization that is providing translation services via mini-grants will broaden access to news organizations specifically targeting communities that do not speak English or depend on the information source in their primary language to access critical public services.

Coordinate with existing resources and efforts.

Journalists are working harder than ever to provide content daily to fulfill the essential information needs of our communities. Some news organizations are reporting that they are now creating four times the content they were producing on average, pre-coronavirus. So funders need to work together and coordinate these opportunities, to make it easier and less time-consuming for journalists and news organizations to identify support. Right now, there are many opportunities that seem to be announced in piecemeal fashion.

Media Impact Funders has also convened the funder community to brainstorm and coordinate ways for funders to strategically leverage and connect various efforts in addressing COVID-19. Funders interested in sharing insights and analysis, as well as their own rapid response grant efforts should contact Roshni Melia (roshni@mediafunders.org).

Funders might coordinate with place-based opportunities and other networks targeting vulnerable communities to ensure journalism funding is not left out in broader efforts to support community resilience. One example is the NDN COVID-19 Response Project which targets efforts specifically serving indigenous communities. Funders can collaborate with the Native American Journalists Association and NDN Collective to create clear pathways of support for tribal media organizations.

A guitar player performs on a street with a pandemic mural behind him that says "Stay Home" — Source: Vulcan.com

Other tools journalism funders can deploy during this crisis beyond making grants:

Advocate for local media to be included in any coronavirus stimulus package

Organizations such as PEN America and Free Press Media are leading coalition-building efforts to ensure funding for local media is included in the coronavirus stimulus package. This effort highlights small to mid-sized news organizations that serve hard to reach populations where local news ecosystems have already been fragile and are heavily supported by other small businesses in the region that are on the verge of shutting down due to shelter-in-place restrictions.

Share best practices on innovative collaborations to support capacity to address the information needs and demands of underserved communities

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has seeded and supported innovative local and regional journalism collaborations since 2009, across a wide array of diversely sized organizations serving many different constituent groups. Leveraging the public media network and applying lessons learned on how these collaborations expanded the overall capacity for newsrooms to serve information deserts are ways funders can help newsrooms make their news operations more innovative and streamline content production.

Fund affinity expert organizations such as the Asian American Journalism Association, National Association of Black Journalists, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Association of the LGBTQ Journalists, the Maynard Institute, and identify other resources to ensure newsrooms abide by rigorous journalism ethics in covering COVID-19 and its disproportionate impacts on vulnerable communities.

The Asian American Journalism Association created a guide on how to responsibly cover the coronavirus utilizing a diversity, equity and inclusive lens. The guide has been widely circulated in response to xenophobic attacks perpetrated against the Asian community as a result of COVID-19 misinformation.

Elevate and protect diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) values by holding newsrooms accountable in the face of imminent layoffs and disappearing internships.

The News Integrity Initiative has been working with a cohort of journalists of color, the newsrooms in which they work (along with their managers and editors), and OpenNews to reform what managers prioritize as skills and competencies for next generation audiences and news providers. There is a danger that layoff decisions and shutting down internship programs will disproportionately impact journalists who are the most vulnerable.

Sisi Wei of OpenNews has written practical strategies and tips for managers to navigate these decisions while continuing to uphold DEI values. Her work highlights the need to deploy hiring best practices within the context of the pandemic crisis (using efficiencies to speed up the process without sacrificing the integrity of the process), and how to use data responsibly and equitably to make difficult decisions, like layoffs.

Funders can support newsrooms to uphold these values in a few ways:

Work with journalism education and training institutions to help subsidize internship program shortfalls.
Support the disaggregation of existing data collection efforts to track layoffs, furloughs and pay cuts across newsrooms. The News Integrity Initiative is working with OpenNews and the journalists of color community at large to be a resource for time-strapped managers that may not have the capacity to see how reactive personnel decisions might decimate previous DEI efforts.
Figure out ways to coordinate and support the work of existing diversity committees in newsrooms.

As newsrooms have come to greatly depend on philanthropic support, we are in a moment where the leadership of funders who care about the provision of high quality civic information is critical in saving people’s lives — in particular, the lives of the most vulnerable. The business of journalism may not look the same after we’ve recovered from the pandemic, but philanthropy can be proactive in taking the right steps to ensure we are making thoughtful, inclusive and equitable decisions for the future, to support a vibrant democracy that celebrates and supports all lived experiences and stories.

Back to Ideas

Blog

Dear Funders: What Does it Mean to Care About Equity in Journalism?

Lea Trusty

April 13, 2020

Here at Democracy Fund, we’ve been focused on addressing our grantees’ shifting needs, and finding ways to support engaged journalism during the global coronavirus crisis. As this pandemic continues to impact our country’s most marginalized communities disproportionately, we’ve become more sure than ever that it’s crucial not only to fund journalism, but to fund equitable journalism.

What do we mean when we talk about equity?

The “E” in “DEI” — equity — is often overlooked when compared to diversity (bringing more voices to the table) and inclusion (making sure these voices are included and valued).

That’s because equity challenges us to see the need for change at a deep level — it calls for a shift in systems and structures to address inequality at the root.

We believe a just and equitable political system must eliminate structural barriers to ensure historically excluded communities have meaningful influence in our democracy.

At Democracy Fund, we are proud to be a systems change organization. We believe a just and equitable political system must eliminate structural barriers to ensure historically excluded communities have meaningful influence in our democracy. The same is true for all of our systems, but here on the Engaged Journalism Lab, we’re focused on what equity can look like — and how funders can support it — in journalism.

What is equity in journalism?

When we talk about equity in journalism, we mean:

investing in newsrooms led by and serving historically marginalized groups;
supporting organizations working to shift industry culture and leadership; and
closing historic resource gaps that philanthropy has helped to perpetuate.

For news to be trusted and responsible, it must incorporate a diverse array of community voices, particularly those that have been ignored or harmed by storytelling and stereotyping in media. Only then will historically marginalized communities be able to count on news and support it as a vital civic asset. This means shifting resources, access, and leadership to, and embracing the power of these groups.

Funders can and should take the lead in supporting this work. That’s why, over the next year, the Engaged Journalism Lab will focus on engaging funders to support equity in journalism.

Why equity in journalism is critical

Last year, we published a series of reports looking at media by and for communities of color. The research revealed unique challenges among them, but the main concern for all was sustainability — simply having the dollars to keep the doors open.

Unfortunately, these outlets are often overlooked by journalism funders. Our latest report, “Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Journalism: What Funders Can Do,” found that of the $1.1 billion journalism grants in the United States between 2013 and 2017, only 8.1 percent went to equity-focused efforts. This has deeply affected the stories that are told in this country.

We’ve sought to center equity throughout our Engaged Journalism strategy and across Democracy Fund’s Public Square Program. But we need exponentially more investment in this space if we’re going to correct historic inequities in philanthropic dollars. Here are three reasons why all journalism funders must invest in equity in journalism now:

1. It’s Good Business

America is rapidly diversifying, and newsrooms that want to remain relevant must learn how to serve all communities. As Martin Reynolds, co-Executive Director of the Maynard Institute, said at this year’s Knight Media Forum, “Let’s not say ‘voices from underrepresented communities.’ Let’s say ‘voices from your future audience.’”

A growing body of evidence shows a positive connection between the diversity of a company and its performance. For journalism, this means hiring and retaining reporters from different walks of life for more nuanced, creative reporting, and centering equity throughout senior management, who determine which stories are told and how.

2. It’s Good Ethics

Journalism’s equity problem has done significant damage. Color of Change’s 2017 report, “A Dangerous Distortion of Our Families,” examined representations of families, by race, in national and local media. It found that media disproportionately associated Black families with both poverty and criminality, stereotyping that has helped justify the historic over-policing of Black communities.

This biased reporting has existed for decades. In They Came to Toil, Dr. Melita Garza analyzes newspaper representations of Mexicans in the Great Depression, finding some of the same dehumanizing language being used today. This rhetoric has real-life consequences, from emboldening racist, anti-immigrant federal policies, to deadly violence against communities of color in places like Charleston and El Paso.

Let’s be clear: Journalists from historically marginalized communities should not be solely responsible for ensuring biases are checked in their respective newsrooms. All journalists should be aware of their biases and have the necessary tools at hand to recognize them in their reporting. There must be an equitable diversity of sources, stories, and staff which centers communities that have been harmed in the past.

3. It’s Good Journalism

What we’ve learned from supporting engaged journalism is that good reporting comes from deep listening. Listening not just to existing audiences, but to communities that haven’t been reached — particularly those that have been underserved by mainstream media.

News outlets must take into account the information needs of all communities, seek genuine input to determine those needs, and take time to develop trust. This investment in time and energy is critical, not only for serving communities more meaningfully, but also for producing the highest quality journalism.

What funders can do today to begin centering equity:

Join the Racial Equity in Journalism Fund. This new joint fund supports news outlets led by and serving communities of color. They just announced their first round of grants, and you should see the important work they’re funding.
Invest in organizations that support equity in journalism. Our Journalism DEI Tracker features over 70 groups that need more support in the work they are doing with newsrooms across the country. Our Journalism DEI Wheel shows different approaches to consider.
Examine the inequitable practices within philanthropy that we must correct. Resources to get started include the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy’s “Power Moves,” Equity in the Center’s “Awake to Woke to Work,” and Frontline Solutions’ “Equity Footprint.” We also highly recommend Edgar Villanueva’s book, Decolonizing Wealth (a great purchase to support your local independent bookstore right now).

Over the coming months, we’ll be sharing more resources, approaches and stories about equity in journalism. We invite you to join the conversation — follow us on Medium, or tweet us at @lmariahtrusty and @thedas.

Back to Ideas

Blog

New Report Shows Ways Funders Can Engage Christian Leaders to Promote Pluralism

Chris Crawford

April 10, 2020

As Christians prepare to celebrate Easter, they are facing a challenging environment in which church doors will be closed and families will be gathered over FaceTime and Zoom rather than in person. Some families have loved ones suffering from the novel coronavirus — and thousands are mourning a loss of someone they love.

But no matter the obstacles, faith leaders play an important role in strengthening community connections — not just within their own congregations, but within the wider world.

For the past three years, Democracy Fund’s Faith in Democracy initiative has engaged with and empowered faith leaders around building bridges, overcoming polarization, and promoting pluralism. As we have listened to leaders at the intersection of faith and politics, we have consistently heard that Christians in the United States have an opportunity to lead our country toward a future in which everyone feels like they belong. Making up roughly 70 percent of the population, Christian leaders and their organizations can often play a harmful role in driving polarization in our country, but they also have an opportunity to play an important role in efforts to overcome those divisions.

At Democracy Fund, we wanted to understand more: where do common ground and aligned visions exist when it comes to engaging in politics through the lens of faith? Where do divisions persist? Most importantly, we wanted to know how we and our partners could support Christian leaders to make pluralism a priority in their ministries and in the ways they engage in public life.

Trinity Forum fellow Michael Wear and Wheaton College Professor Dr. Amy Black have conducted significant research around these questions. On February 24th, Trinity Forum released their report, “Christianity, Pluralism, and Public Life in the United States: Insights from Christian Leaders,” with financial support from Democracy Fund. Wear and Black interviewed a diverse group of more than 50 Christian leaders from across denominational, racial, and political lines about how they engage with our public institutions, and their views on the topic of pluralism.

In addition to providing a framework for religious leaders to engage in politics, the report also sheds light on how philanthropy and our civic institutions can empower Christian leaders to achieve the shared goal of a stronger, more pluralistic democracy.

The Mutual Benefits of Promoting Pluralism

While there are deep disagreements among Christians themselves in the United States — from theology to political leanings and policy stances — Wear and Black “were somewhat surprised to find such commonality” as it relates to pluralism and bridge-building.

They found that Christians have a shared moral language and vocabulary that span across denominations and perspectives. This framework as well as the way their houses of worship are rooted in their communities means that Christian leaders are in a unique position to conduct bridge building work at the local level. According to the report:

“One of the most resounding themes…was the importance of working at the local level. Although local communities are not immune from some of the negative effects of polarization, direct service and grassroots activism provide opportunities to work across political, racial, socio-economic, religious, and other differences.”

Funders have an opportunity to identify effective models of local bridge-building in Christian communities, invest in their long-term development, and use lessons learned to scale them across the country.

We are used to thinking about the ways in which religious pluralism can serve as a bedrock for better civic engagement, greater social cohesion, or desirable policy outcomes. While interviewees shared this sentiment, they also expressed something else: religious pluralism strengthens individual faith communities in their own right. Rather than supporting religious pluralism simply as a framework for policy advocacy or their own religious freedom, these leaders said that religious pluralism actually strengthens the practices of their individual faith communities. In other words, when individual Christian denominations seek to understand their neighbors from different faith traditions, they grow stronger in the knowledge and practice of their own faith.

This finding creates an important opportunity for both religious and nonreligious funders: investing in religious pluralism simultaneously strengthens our democratic institutions, creates a greater sense of belonging in our communities, and strengthens individual faith traditions.

Opportunities for Funders

With their report, Michael Wear and Amy Black have created a compelling framework for the ways in which Christian leaders, institutions — and funders — can strengthen American pluralism. Funders without a religious mandate often shy away from investing within specific faith traditions. But at Democracy Fund, we have learned that one of the best ways to support pluralism and belonging — which are critical to our democracy — is to invest in credible, influential faith leaders who can make the case for pluralism through values and language that resonate with their denominations. This report confirms that this leadership exists in America, and we know from experience that their efforts are under-resourced.

In 2020, faith leaders can play a crucial role in protecting our civic institutions when it is needed most — and funders should seize the opportunity to engage with faith-based communities to protect our democracy. Together, we can empower faith leaders to build stronger communities and a more inclusive America.

Back to Ideas

Toolkit

The Journalism DEI Wheel

Democracy Fund

March 25, 2020

The Journalism DEI Wheel is an interactive tool designed to help funders in particular inform grantmaking by seeing the bigger picture on a higher level, with useful examples and resources for further illumination.

Funders can explore the spokes of the Journalism DEI Wheel to see how equity in journalism is currently being addressed across key areas: education and training; organizational culture; news coverage; engagement; distribution; innovation; evaluation; the larger journalism industry; and funding.

Click on any one of these to learn more and find specific examples, including lists of relevant initiatives on the Journalism DEI Tracker.

Back to Ideas

Blog

2019 Reflections and the Journey Ahead

Joe Goldman

December 20, 2019

Traditionally, this season is one of reflection with time to process our progress and lessons learned. Somehow, this year feels different. Perhaps it’s because the usual moments of reflection and holiday cheer are drowned out by the blaring soundtrack of the impeachment process. Or that the newscycle has served as a constant reminder of the work still ahead. Coupled with the intensity and urgency of the current landscape, strategic reflection has been unusually difficult this time of year.

Still, we are barreling toward the end of 2019 and I am thinking about overarching goals for 2020 and all that comes in the years after. I am struck by the weight of the challenges we’ll face in the new year and the tone that it sets for the next decade. At the same time, I am eager to forge ahead with determination into one of the most important election seasons of our lifetimes.

Over the next 11 months, the American people will face a critical choice that will set the course for our country and for our democracy. The election will unfold amidst an unprecedented set of challenges — from an ongoing impeachment process and a vitriolic political environment, to the threat of election interference through misinformation, cyber-security attacks, fearmongering, and suppression. Despite these challenges, the American people remain energized and all signs point to record levels of participation and voter turnout.

If we have learned anything from the unprecedented turnout of the 2018 midterm elections, it is that Americans still believe in the power of their voice and in the importance of our democracy. With that in mind, those of us in the civic sector have a responsibility to do everything we can to ensure our democracy is able to live up to its fundamental ideals.

We must support election administrators to handle record turnout and ensure the integrity of our system. We must combat misinformation and fearmongering from influencing voters’ choices as they head to the polls. We must support efforts to increase voter turnout and protect voting rights to ensure that the electorate is representative of the country. We must stand with leaders dedicated to preserving the rule of law and civil rights, and support the moral courage of those willing to hold leaders accountable. And, we must continue the slow and steady work of rebuilding our government and civic infrastructure so that we are ready for opportunities for democratic renewal.

This, and so much more, is the work that Democracy Fund and our grantees have already engaged in throughout this past year. 2019 has seen numerous important victories and signs of progress that give me faith for the journey ahead. And I know we aren’t in this fight alone, we stand alongside countless others who are also working to ensure that our democracy delivers on its promise to the American people. As the year comes to a close, I want to share a few of Democracy Fund’s 2019 highlights with you.

Ensuring the Integrity of Our Elections

The proper function of our election system is the bedrock of a healthy democracy. That’s why Democracy Fund funds grantees are working to support election officials through training and technical assistance to improve election administration. Grantees in our Election Security portfolio have partnered with election administrators and the Department of Homeland Security to provide resources and train officials in more than 20 states to respond to cyber incidents. And Democracy Fund Voice, our affiliated 501(c)(4) organization, helped secure an additional $425 million in federal funding for election security while helping states and territories implement cyber security improvements.

Understanding the Electorate

For many, the results of the 2016 election demonstrated that the tools commonly used to understand the American electorate were insufficient. Building on the success of our Voter Study Group, Democracy Fund launched Nationscape, a new public opinion project done in partnership with researchers from UCLA. This innovative study is one of the largest public opinion projects ever conducted — interviewing more than 6,000 Americans weekly and roughly 500,000 over the course of the election. Its unparalleled size and unique experiments provide a distinctive window into Americans’ opinions and priorities — allowing us to track changes over time as well discover differences between demographic and geographic groups too small to analyze (and often go overlooked) with traditional surveys. You can expect to see its findings published regularly through USA Today — the project’s media partner — and on the Nationscape website. Nationscape goes beyond horse race polls in battleground states and gets to the real issues that are driving voters and their decisions.

Standing with Historically Marginalized Communities

Democracy Fund proudly supports grantees working to protect the rights of immigrants and to empower marginalized communities in the public square, particularly when our country’s commitment to pluralism appears increasingly up for debate. This year, the National Immigration Law Center represented plaintiffs before the Supreme Court to combat the elimination of DACA. Our grantees Protect Democracy and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center worked together to win a nationwide preliminary injunction barring the Department of Homeland Security from implementing rule changes that would make it more challenging for eligible lawful permanent residents to apply for citizenship and immigration benefits.

Improving Voting Access And Protecting Voting Rights

Over the past decade we’ve seen a resurgence in local and state-level policies and legislative tactics to curb voting access. The stakes of the 2020 election make such attacks on voting rights more likely. This year, the board of directors for Democracy Fund Voice committed nearly $3 million towards a special project to defend voting rights. Together with our ongoing commitment to promoting pro-voter reforms, this work represents a significant new investment to ensure all Americans, particularly historically disenfranchised communities, are assured their right to vote.

Grantees in this portfolio had significant wins this year in making our elections more accessible to all eligible Americans. As just one example, the Texas Civil Rights Project helped defeat Bill SB9, which would have made voting substantially harder for thousands of Texans — elevating the penalty for honest mistakes to a felony offense. Our grantee Common Cause Education Fund has been another leader in this space this year, as they led discovery and litigation emerging from the release of the Hofeller Files, a political consultant’s archives that explicitly demonstrate the illegal use of race to drive election policy. Their work will have far-reaching implications for the democracy reform and voting rights community for years to come.

Meanwhile, state-level reforms to provide voters with more options and ease in the process has also advanced with 11 states modernizing election systems through adopting Automatic Voter Registration, Online Voter Registration, and by joining the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) in 2019. Additionally, five states have increased their compliance with Motor Voter laws through strategic partnerships and litigation efforts supported by our grantees. As a result of AVR adoption and Motor Voter litigation, the percentage of voter registrations received nationwide at DMVs rose from 33 to 45 percent — or 35 million Americans — of total registrations between 2016 and 2018.

Protecting the Rule of Law

The health of our democracy relies on a government accountable to the Constitution, the law, and the people it represents. It depends on an understanding that government decisions are based on laws, rules, and the best interests of all Americans — not the political or personal advantage of those charged with executing them.

With the whiplash speed of each news cycle, it’s hard to believe it was only in April that the Special Counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election concluded its work. Throughout the investigation, many grantees including the Project On Government Oversight and Protect Democracy, worked tirelessly to protect its independence and ensure the special counsel investigation would be able to reach its conclusion. Once the report was released, grantees helped raise public awareness of its astonishing findings through creative and engaging mechanisms such as Lawfare’s top-rated podcast, “The Report.”

As the impeachment process has unfolded, the work of many of our grantees has helped ensure this historical process is carried out in a manner consistent with our Constitution, democratic values, and with full appreciation for justice and truth telling. In fact, the Government Accountability Project’s longstanding work to protect the rights of whistleblowers has been a mainstay well before the impeachment process. Specifically in this era when constitutional discourse tends to be politically polarized, many of our grantees offer vital education on the Constitution and its protections — like the proper use of emergency powers or the protection of government whistleblowers — and have deployed strategies in real time to ensure accuracy in public reporting.

Supporting Press Freedom

An increasing number of political attacks and strategic legal threats by those who want to silence the press continue to buffet journalists. From Twitter to town halls across America, our grantees are working to stand up for the First Amendment. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press launched a public awareness campaign to emphasize the importance of protecting press freedom. This year, we also worked closely with partner funders to launch a new fund to support First Amendment legal clinics who provide pro-bono legal capacity for local newsrooms. Through these and other tactics, we aim to rebuild the infrastructure for press freedom at a time when the media is increasingly in the cross-hairs of our political debate.

Rebuilding Government and Civic Infrastructure

While much of our portfolio responds to urgent needs relating to the 2020 election, we know resolving our democratic crisis is a long-term project. This work we’re supporting will help to create a more functional government and rebuild our civic infrastructure and fabric.

In particular, the collapse of commercial media has meant that many across the country are underserved by trustworthy news that accurately reflects their community. This year, Democracy Fund became a founding partner in several new efforts to rebuild local news. Borealis Philanthropy’s Racial Equity in Journalism Fund seeks to strengthen the capacity and sustainability of news organizations led by people of color and increase civic engagement for communities of color. We also provided funding to the American Journalism Project, a new, nonpartisan venture philanthropy organization dedicated to local news which announced its first grants to 11 nonprofits just a few weeks ago. And, we continued our successful NewsMatch campaign, which this year exceeded fundraising goals to provide matching funds to nearly 200 newsrooms in 44 states.

Efforts to rebuild are also bearing fruit in Congress despite the rancor of the impeachment process. In January, the new Congress established the first congressional reform committee in more than a quarter century after years of diligent effort by grantees funded by both Democracy Fund and Democracy Fund Voice. The Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, which issued nearly 30 recommendations to ensure Congress is an effective 21st Century workplace, has been supported by grantees like Bipartisan Policy Center, R Street Institute, Demand Progress Education Fund, Congressional Management Foundation, and many other organizations—providing regular technical expertise, testimony, and counsel to the committee throughout its deliberations. Together with new House rules, Legislative Branch appropriations bills, and other reforms, the Committee provides hope for a renewal of congressional function. We look forward to what lies ahead for the Committee’s continued work in 2020.

Combating Misinformation and Fearmongering

In 2020, we can expect to see the online misinformation tactics employed in 2016 to continue to evolve and spread in an attempt to influence how voters shape their decisions at the polls in 2020. Bold leadership from all social media platforms is necessary to strengthen our digital public square and preserve a healthy democracy. Moving forward, it is imperative that these companies exhibit more transparency, address misinformation, and end racially biased algorithms.

In 2019, Democracy Fund and its grantees, like Change the Terms, helped build and expand the coalitions of organizers, lawyers, and scholars needed to track these information campaigns and push back on platform inaction. Our efforts have and will continue to focus on the effects of targeted misinformation on women and people of color as well as studying political ads as a vector for efforts to harass and mislead.

Encouraging Others to Join the Fight

Finally, Democracy Fund increased our efforts to rally new philanthropic support towards a healthy democracy in 2019. Recognizing that the 2020 election may draw new philanthropic champions into the fight, our new team supporting these efforts will expand our efforts to build new capacity for the field through educational events, publications, and individual philanthropic advising.

As we look towards next year, philanthropy can do more to fight for the protection of our democracy by focusing on four priorities:

Ensure that the 2020 electorate represents the American people through voter education and mobilization, and by protecting the right to vote;
Ensure that our system is not compromised by supporting the smooth administration of our election and election security efforts;
Ensure that misinformation and fearmongering doesn’t sway voters and further divide this country; and
Continue to prepare for the opportunities and threats that may come next.

When Pierre Omidyar and I began thinking about how his philanthropy could be leveraged to strengthen our democracy, we had no idea American democracy would soon be entering this period of crisis — but I now realize Democracy Fund was built for this moment. Over the past five years, our strategies have responded to emerging threats, and we’ve invested more than $150 million towards improving the health of our democratic institutions and protecting the values we hold dear. As we enter 2020, we are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with you and give it everything we have so we can end the year with absolutely no regrets.

Back to Ideas

Toolkit

New Tools for Funders: Supporting DEI in Journalism

By Angelica Das, Democracy Fund, and Katie Donnelly and Michelle Polyak, Dot Connector Studio

October 24, 2019

As part of Democracy Fund’s efforts to address diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in journalism, Dot Connector Studio has developed two tools — the Journalism DEI Tracker and the Journalism DEI Wheel — to help funders and journalists understand the complete landscape of the field, including resources and strategies for advancing DEI within journalism.

Our recent report, Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Journalism: What Funders Can Do, revealed that DEI within journalism is an under-funded area, and recommended that funders share more resources on this topic across a diverse pool of grantees. These two tools are designed to help funders do just that. The Journalism DEI Tracker catalogs information and resources on DEI in journalism, and the Journalism DEI Wheel allows funders and stakeholders to focus on particular solutions for advancing DEI within journalism by demonstrating the range of strategies and focus areas to consider.

To put it simply, the Journalism DEI Tracker tracks the who and the what of the field; the Journalism DEI Wheel captures the how.

1. The Journalism DEI Tracker

The Journalism DEI Tracker is a regularly-updated online database that identifies organizations, news outlets and projects, and educational institutions working to support DEI in journalism across the country. It also collects resources related to diversity, equity, and inclusion in journalism. Foundations can use the Journalism DEI Tracker as a first-step guide for identifying prospective grantees, as well as to find useful resources to share with current grantees. Journalism organizations and other stakeholders can use it to find opportunities for professional development, recruitment, collaboration, and resources to improve their coverage.

A screenshot of the DEI Tracker

The Journalism DEI Tracker includes:

Professional organizations that support women journalists and journalists of color
News outlets and projects led by and serving women journalists and journalists of color
Professional development and training opportunities for women journalists and journalists of color (grants, scholarships, fellowships, and leadership training)
Academic institutions with journalism and communications programs to include in recruitment efforts to ensure a more diverse pipeline (Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges)
Resources for journalism organizations to promote respectful and inclusive coverage (industry reports, diversity style guides, curricula, and toolkits)

2. The Journalism DEI Wheel

Designed to be complementary to the Journalism DEI Tracker, the Journalism DEI Wheel is meant to help funders in particular inform grantmaking by seeing the bigger picture on a higher level, with useful examples and resources for further illumination. Funders can explore the spokes of the Journalism DEI Wheel to see how DEI in journalism is currently being addressed across key areas: education and training; organizational culture; news coverage; engagement; distribution; innovation; evaluation; the larger journalism industry; and funding.

Each area is divided into smaller points of intervention. For example, if you click on “Education/Training,” you will see opportunities to advance DEI in journalism through high school programs, college programs, scholarships, internships, fellowships, mid-career programs, and executive training. Click on any one of these to learn more and find specific examples, including lists of relevant initiatives on the Journalism DEI Tracker.

The Journalism DEI Wheel demonstrates that there are many areas for addressing DEI in journalism. A funder may be focused on one aspect — say, improving news coverage — but not considering other aspects that may be related, such as improving newsroom culture. Of course, no single funder can — or should! — address every possible point of intervention, but viewing the range of possibilities can help illuminate gaps in current portfolios and identify new opportunities.

Not all areas are equally resourced. For example, there is a dearth of publicly-available resources available for journalism organizations when it comes to DEI in hiring, leadership, and general organizational culture. This is particularly disconcerting when we know that there are well-documented leadership gaps in the broader nonprofit field for people of color, women, and LGBTQ individuals. There is a clear need for leaders of DEI-focused journalism organizations to have up-to-date information on not just legal requirements, but also best practices in hiring, evaluation, and promotion. And, as our recent report shows, there is a clear need for funders to support such efforts.

We hope you will use these tools to inform your work, spark conversations among colleagues, and continue to promote this critically important work. We welcome your feedback: let us know how the tools are working for you, and how we can continue to improve them.

Back to Ideas

Toolkit

The Journalism DEI Tracker

Democracy Fund

October 18, 2019

Foundations can use the Journalism DEI Tracker as a first-step guide for identifying prospective grantees, as well as to find useful resources to share with current grantees. Journalism organizations and other stakeholders can use it to find opportunities for professional development, recruitment, collaboration, and resources to improve their coverage.

The Journalism DEI Tracker includes:

Professional organizations that support women journalists and journalists of color
News outlets and projects led by and serving women journalists and journalists of color
Professional development and training opportunities for women journalists and journalists of color (grants, scholarships, fellowships, and leadership training)
Academic institutions with journalism and communications programs to include in recruitment efforts to ensure a more diverse pipeline (Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges)
Resources for journalism organizations to promote respectful and inclusive coverage (industry reports, diversity style guides, curricula, and toolkits)

We hope you will use the Journalism DEI Tracker to inform your work and share these important resources with your colleagues. We want to make sure this resource remains up-to-date, so please let us know if you have additional resources to add, information about resources that are no longer up-to-date, or suggestions for improvement. We welcome your participation in making sure this resource is as useful as possible.

Back to Ideas

Report

Toolkit

Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Journalism: What Funders Can Do

Michelle Polyak and Katie Donnelly, Dot Connector Studio

October 16, 2019

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are fundamental to fostering robust American journalism that supports a healthy democracy. The failure of newsrooms to fully reflect their communities, to build a culture of inclusion that supports and retains diverse staff, and to foster equitable models of reporting that reflect the truth of people’s lived experiences is undermining trust in media and risking the sustainability of the press.

Foundations can play a role in addressing these concerns, but too often funders have exacerbated these problems through grantmaking that reinforces inequalities. Funders must therefore urgently refocus their efforts on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as the right thing to do, both morally and strategically.

Back to Ideas

Report

New Report: How funders can support diversity, equity, and inclusion in journalism

Lea Trusty

October 16, 2019

Journalism has long fallen short of reflecting the diversity of the communities it purports to serve—something that is fundamental for supporting a healthy democracy. Last year, we released research from Dot Connector Studio that explored philanthropic support for increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in journalism from 2009-2015. We commissioned this research to learn how funders are investing—or not investing—in field-strengthening organizations working to make journalism more diverse and representative. What we found—unsurprisingly—was a significantly under-resourced field.

Now, we are turning to solutions. Our latest report, Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Journalism: What Funders Can Do, also produced by Dot Connector Studio, digs deeper into the vibrant field of organizations working to build DEI in journalism, and proposes concrete ways that funders can increase their support for this work.

Efforts to build DEI in journalism are led by both news outlets that specifically serve diverse populations and by field-strengthening organizations that provide support to these outlets, and to journalists from diverse backgrounds. These organizations are doing amazing work—often with limited resources—to create more representative journalism. But, as this research reveals, they need more support.

Our report found that:

DEI-focused organizations receive a very small slice of journalism funding. This research confirms what we’ve long suspected: no matter how you slice the data, DEI within journalism is not a high priority for funders. Of the $1.1 billion that went into journalism more generally in the United States from 2013-2017, only 8.1 percent went to DEI-focused efforts.

Funders are focused on big players. This research also reveals that funders are focused on bigger players, not a diverse pool of smaller grantees. The data show multiple funders supporting the same, better-resourced organizations. And while some organizations receive funds from multiple foundations, foundations are less likely to support many different organizations across the field at the same time.

Foundations are the lifeline for DEI-focused organizations. This research shows that 74 percent of revenue for DEI-focused field-building organizations comes from grants and contributions. While many organizations are experimenting with new revenue streams, echoing trends in the broader nonprofit news space, organizations continue to be reliant on foundations to provide the bulk of funding.

What can funders do to improve the situation?

Funders need to work together with urgency and intentionality to avoid grantmaking that reinforces the inequalities this research highlights. Our report proposes two actions that funders can take right now:

1. Funders can join a new collaborative effort: the Racial Equity in Journalism Fund (REJF). This fund is a collaborative that includes Craig Newmark Philanthropies, Democracy Fund, the Ford Foundation, the Google News Initiative, and the News Integrity Initiative at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. REJF is committed to investing in news organizations led by and serving communities of color; supporting news projects that provide information to communities that face the greatest barriers in access to news; and strengthening the organizations that are developing creative and innovative ways to reach communities with relevant news.

“Media organizations led by people of color have long been a vanguard of our democracy, holding the powerful accountable for the ways it treats its most vulnerable citizens in ways mainstream media has often failed to do. It was organizations such as the black press that campaigned most vigorously to abolish slavery, to pass federal legislation against lynching, and to end Jim Crow, when mainstream media either ignored these stories altogether or sided with the powerful” —Nikole Hannah-Jones, journalist at the New York Times Magazine and co-founder of the Ida B. Wells Society of Investigative Reporting.

2. Funders can start sharing more resources across a diverse pool of grantees. Democracy Fund’s Journalism DEI Tracker is a tool that helps funders identify prospective grantees and find useful resources to share with current grantees. The tool includes over 70 organizations and outlets in the field; professional development and training opportunities for journalists from diverse backgrounds; a list of HBCUs, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges with journalism and communications programs to include in recruitment efforts to ensure a more diverse pipeline; and resources for journalism organizations to promote respectful and inclusive coverage. We will continue to update this living document on an ongoing basis.

We hope this report will inspire more funders to action. But it’s just the start: Democracy Fund itself has more work to do to put equity at the heart of how it does its grantmaking in media and journalism. We are still learning and listening and remaining open and accountable.