About

Civic participation – the active engagement of people in the decision-making processes that shape their communities and their lives – is critical to a healthy society. In fact, we only realize the full promise of democracy when people participate; when all segments of a community have fair and equal access to institutions of government and meaningful opportunities to voice their opinions about important issues driving the public policy agenda.

About Us

The Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation (FCCP) is an innovative and thought-provoking network that shares an underlying conviction that all people deserve a voice in the democratic process. We serve leaders in the philanthropic community working to further this vision with heightened attention to sociopolitical inequity and the systemic disenfranchisement of underrepresented communities. FCCP values transparency, encourages a diversity of opinion, bases our work on sound research, and encourages experimentation to improve impact. 

What began as the “Ad Hoc Funders’ Committee for Voter Registration and Education” soon crystallized into the Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation when the organization was officially founded in 1983. From advancing voter registration efforts in the 1980s, to supporting campaign finance reform in the 1990s, to investing in new voting technologies and election administration reform in the 2000s, FCCP has served as a catalyst for philanthropy’s growing civic engagement community.  Today, we work to build an effective network of grantmakers who are passionate about realizing our collective vision of a vibrant and inclusive democracy for all.

Through member-driven and field-informed programming, FCCP provides funders with a community in which to build connections, exchange ideas, showcase innovations, and collaborate to make smart funding decisions. Our members support non-partisan efforts to engage voters, eliminate structural barriers to voting, advance reforms to improve government and electoral systems, and increase public involvement in civic life. Our signature programs for grantmakers include an annual convening, regular virtual discussions, working groups that focus on a range of key issue topics, and member-only meetings.

Theory of Impact

In February 2017, FCCP staff and Advisory Board came together to ask a critical question: how can FCCP be what the field needs at this moment? This prompt, which continued a common thread from previous strategic planning retreats, highlighted the need to both continue to provide high-quality educational content and outreach as well as move towards a more impact-oriented network strategy. After years of working from an implied theory, the organization went through an extensive process with the membership to develop an explicit and transparent theory of impact. 

Now, as we develop our programming and structure our membership activity, we are guided by our theory and the vision: FCCP seeks a society where impacted communities have the POWER to make a difference on issues that affect their lives, a CULTURE OF PARTICIPATION that inspires their engagement, and an OPEN + EQUITABLE DEMOCRACY which offers meaningful opportunities to exercise their voice.

Learn more about our Theory of Impact here.

Member Organizations

FCCP is a Council on Foundations-recognized philanthropic affinity group with nearly 90 institutional members and dozens of additional philanthropic colleagues that regularly participate in its programming. We welcome all grantmaking institutions that are interested in democratic change issues or civic engagement strategies and who have demonstrated through their grantmaking that their values align with our mission.

Join or Renew

Access Strategies Fund Needmor Fund
Adrienne Bousian NEO Philanthropy
AFSCME Norman Foundation
Agua Fund Northwest Health Foundation
AL Advising Open Society Foundations
Alice Cain Overbrook Foundation
Amalgamated Foundation Panta Rhea Foundation
Annie E. Casey Foundation Pennsylvania Alliance Foundation
Arabella Advisors Piece by Piece Strategies
Arca Foundation Piper Fund, a Proteus Fund initiative
Arkay Foundation Prentice Foundation
Blevins Consulting Progress Alliance of Washington
Butler Family Fund Progressive Multiplier Fund
California Donor Table Fund Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Carnegie Corporation of New York Rockefeller Family Fund
Chambers Initiative Rural Democracy Initiative
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative San Francisco Foundation
Colorado Health Foundation Seattle Foundation
Dancing Hearts Consulting Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Democracy Alliance Skoll Foundation
Democracy Fund Solidago Foundation
Denise Whinnen State Infrastructure Fund
East Bay Community Foundation Stoneman Family Foundations
Fetzer Institute Summer Fund II
Ford Foundation Surdna Foundation
Foundation for Civic Leadership Susan Sandler Fund
Four Freedoms Fund The California Endowment
Gaia Fund The California Wellness Foundation
George Gund Foundation The Collins Foundation
Gina Gallo The Educational Foundation of America
Groundswell Fund The Fund for New Jersey
Guy Cammilleri The Grove Foundation
Heising-Simons Foundation The James Irvine Foundation
Houston Endowment The JPB Foundation
Hull Family Foundation The Kresge Foundation
Hyams Foundation The Libra Foundation
Inatai Foundation The New York Women’s Foundation
Irving Harris Foundation The Partnership Fund
Joyce Foundation The Sapelo Foundation
Kaphan Foundation The WhyNot Initiative
Katz Amsterdam Foundation Thornburg Foundation
Kornfeld Foundation Tides Advocacy
Leland Fikes Foundation Trusted Elections Fund
Lisa and Douglas Goldman Fund Unbound Philanthropy
Marguerite Casey Foundation Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock
Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation Ventus Charitable Foundation
McKnight Foundation Vitalyst Health Foundation
Media Democracy Fund Voqal
Mertz Gilmore Foundation Wallace Global Fund
Meyer Foundation Wellspring Philanthropic Fund
Meyer Memorial Trust William Penn Foundation
Michigan Civic Education Fund WIN Minnesota
More Equitable Democracy Woodbury Fund
Movement Voter Project Youth Engagement Fund
National Education Association Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation

Staff

LaShanda A Jackson Headshot

LaShanda A. Jackson

Executive Director
LaShanda Jackson is a social justice activist, defender of democracy, and advocate for racial equity whose career in philanthropy and organizing spans nearly two decades. Read More…
Paul Seamus Ryan Headshot

Paul S. Ryan

Deputy Executive Director
Paul Seamus Ryan joined the Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation as Deputy Executive Director in April 2022. Read More…
Jocelyn Bissonnette Headshot

Jocelyn Bissonnette

Special Projects Director
Jocelyn Bissonnette (she/her) is the Special Projects Director at FCCP, where she leads the organization’s Funders Census Initiative (FCI) and redistricting program. Read More…
Brittany Bowens Headshot

Brittany Bowens

Events & Meetings Planner
Brittany Bowens (she/her) is FCCP’s Events & Meetings Planner. With over 8+ years in the hospitality and event industry & her diverse background in event logistics, she is excited to put her expertise to use with the Funders’ Committee. Read More…
Ariagna Cantoran Headshot

Ariagna Cantoran

Special Assistant to the Executive Director
Ariagna Cantoran joined FCCP in October 2022 as a Special Assistant to the Executive Director. Read More…
Jenna Patel Headshot

Jenna Patel

Program Coordinator
Jenna Patel joined FCCP in April 2022 as a Program Coordinator and is extremely excited to work for an organization that centers their work around building an equitable democracy and achieving intersectional racial justice. Read More…
Elizabeth Shapiro Headshot

Elizabeth Shapiro

Membership and Development Director
Elizabeth Shapiro (she/her) is FCCP’s Membership and Development Director. She leads FCCP’s donor cultivation activities and develop member-engagement programs to deepen support for FCCP’s work and civic engagement grantmaking. Read More…

Aisha K. Staggers

Digital Communications Coordinator
Aisha K. Staggers joined FCCP in February 2023 as the Digital Communications Coordinator. Read More…

FCCP Advisory Board

Evan Bacalao

Evan Bacalao previously served as a program officer with the Open Society Foundations, where he managed a range of civic participation and advocacy initiatives focused on the resilience and representativeness of U.S. Read More…

Denise Cardinal

WIN Minnesota
Denise Cardinal is the Executive Director of WIN Minnesota, a state-based donor collaborative that has been operating in the North Star for over a decade. Read More…
Headshot: Julie Fernandes

Julie Fernandes

Rockefeller Family Fund
Prior to joining the Rockefeller Family Fund, Julie served as Advocacy Director for Voting Rights and Democracy at the Open Society Foundations, as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice in the Obama administration, and as Special Assistant for Domestic Policy to President Bill Clinton. Read More…
Keely Monroe Headshot

Keely Monroe

Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation
Keely Monroe (she/her) serves as Program Officer on the U.S. Programs Team at the Susan T. Read More…

Estevan Muñoz-Howard

Estevan Muñoz-Howard is a philanthropic and organizational consultant with over 15 years experience leading programs and coalitions in the nonprofit sector. Read More…
Ted Wang Headshot

Ted Wang

Unbound Philanthropy
Ted Wang is the US Program Director at Unbound Philanthropy, a private foundation that seeks to contribute to a vibrant, welcoming society and an immigration system rooted in justice. Read More…