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
Agua Fund
AL Advising
Annie E. Casey Foundation
Arabella Advisors
Arca Foundation
Arkay Foundation
The Aspen Institute
Aviv Foundation
Bauman Foundation
Brett Family Foundation
California Endowment  California Donor Table
California Wellness Foundation
Carnegie Corporation of New York
Dancing Hearts Consulting
Democracy Alliance
Democracy Fund
Denise Whinnen
Doris and Victor Day Foundation
East Bay Community Foundation
Educational Foundation of America
Ford Foundation Foundation for Civic Leadership
Gaia Fund                General Service Foundation 
Groundswell Fund
The Grove Foundation
Houston Endowment 
Hull Family Foundation
Hyams Foundation
Imagine North Carolina First
Irving Harris Foundation
James Irvine Foundation
Joyce Foundation
JPB Foundation
Kansas Health Foundation
Kresge Foundation   Leland Fikes Foundation
Lisa & Douglas Goldman Fund
Marguerite Casey Foundation
Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation
Media Democracy Fund                              Mertz Gilmore Foundation
Minneapolis Foundation
National Education Association
Needmor Fund 
NEO Philanthropy
New Media Ventures
Northwest Health Foundation
Open Society Foundations
The Partnership Fund
Proteus Fund 
Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Rockefeller Family Fund
San Francisco Foundation
Sapelo Foundation
Seattle Foundation
Silicon Valley Community Foundation            Solidago Foundation  Stoneman Family Foundations
Summer Fund II
Thornburg Foundation
Unbound Philanthropy
Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock
Voqal
W. K. Kellogg Foundation
Wallace Global Fund
Wallace H. Coulter Foundation
Washington Progress Fund
Wellspring Philanthropic Fund
WIN Minnesota
Woodbury Fund
Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation

 

Staff

Elizabeth Shapiro

Membership and Development Director
eshapiro@funderscommittee.orgElizabeth Shapiro (she/her) joins FCCP as Membership and Development Director. She will lead FCCP’s donor cultivation activities and develop member-engagement programs to deepen support for FCCP’s work and civic engagement grantmaking. Read More…

Jocelyn Bissonnette

Director of the Funders Census Initiative
jbissonnette@funderscommittee.orgJocelyn Bissonnette (she/her) is the Director of FCCP’s Funders Census Initiative (FCI), where she mobilizes funders to participate and invest in the 2020 Census with a focus on historically undercounted communities, including communities of color, low-income and mixed-status households, and young children. Read More…

Madeleine Cáceres

Operations Coordinator
mcaceres@funderscommittee.orgMadeleine Cáceres (they/them) serves as the Operations Coordinator with the Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation and believes in the complementary, integral roles of grassroots organizing, direct action, service, research, and litigation to create lasting sociopolitical change. Read More…

Maya Graham

Program Manager
mgraham@funderscommittee.orgMaya Graham (she/her) serves as Program Manager at FCCP. Previously, she served as principal at her consultancy centered around social impact and organizational growth strategies, with a special emphasis on democratic development. Read More…

Advisory Board

Denise Cardinal

WIN Minnesota
Denise Cardinal is Executive Director of WIN Minnesota and held several positions with progressive candidates, causes and campaigns including Senator Al Franken (D-MN) in his 2014 re-election and the successful 2010 IE effort credited with DFL Governor Mark Dayton’s victory. Read More…

Scott Nielsen

Arabella Advisors
Scott Nielsen joined Arabella Advisors in 2015 as the firm’s first managing director of advocacy, bringing decades of experience designing, executing, and evaluating strategies for achieving policy reform and social change. Read More…

Christine Reeves-Strigaro

The Sapelo Foundation
Christine Reeves Strigaro is the Executive Director of The Sapelo Foundation, a private family foundation in Savannah, GA with a mission to: “promote progressive social change affecting vulnerable populations, rural communities, and the natural environment in the state of Georgia.” Read More…

Careers

Join us as we work to transform our democracy into one that is representative and well-functioning, where all people are inspired to participate.

Current Job Openings: