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.
| Skoll Foundation |
| Solidago Foundation |
| State Infrastructure Fund |
| Stoneman Family Foundations |
| Summer Fund II |
| Surdna Foundation |
| Susan Sandler Fund |
| The Andrew Goodman Foundation |
| The California Endowment |
| The California Wellness Foundation |
| The Educational Foundation of America |
| The Fund for New Jersey |
| The James Irvine Foundation |
| The JPB Foundation |
| The Libra Foundation |
| The New York Women’s Foundation |
| The Partnership Funds |
| The Sapelo Foundation |
| The WhyNot Initiative |
| Thornburg Foundation |
| Unbound Philanthropy |
| Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock |
| Ventus Charitable Foundation |
| Vitalyst Health Foundation |
| Voqal |
| W.K. Kellogg Foundation |
| Wallace Global Fund |
| Wallace H. Coulter Foundation |
| Wellspring Philanthropic Fund |
| WIN Minnesota |
| WKF Giving Fund |
| Woodbury Fund |
| Youth Engagement Fund |
| Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation |
Staff
Elizabeth Shapiro
Interim Executive Director, Membership and Development Director
Elizabeth Shapiro (she/her) is FCCP’s Membership and Development Director and currently serves as its Interim Executive Director. Read More…
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…
Madeleine Cáceres
Operations Coordinator
Madeleine 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
Maya 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
Estevan Muñoz-Howard
Piper Fund
Estevan Muñoz-Howard is a senior program officer at the Piper Fund, where he oversees grantmaking to support state and municipal money in politics reform efforts. Read More…
Trevor Ostbye
Democracy Fund
Trevor Ostbye is a Senior Program Associate at Democracy Fund. He leads the organization’s work on pro-voter reform and voting rights at the state level. Read More…
Ethan Frey
Ford Foundation
Ethan Frey is part of the Ford Foundation’s Cities and States team. Read More…
Evan Bacalao
Open Society Foundations
Evan Bacalao is a program officer with the Special Initiatives and Partnerships unit of the Open Society Foundations’ U.S. Read More…
Steven Cole-Schwartz
Group Health Foundation
As Vice President of Programs, Steven is responsible for developing and implementing an ambitious grantmaking, leadership, and power-building strategy to advance health equity in Washington. Read More…
Connie Malloy
Panta Rhea Foundation
Connie Archbold Malloy serves as Executive Director of the Panta Rhea Foundation (PRF), a private foundation devoted to building a just and sustainable world. Read More…
Keesha Gaskins-Nathan
Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Keesha Gaskins-Nathan is the director for the Democratic Practice–United States program at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Read More…
Ilona Prucha, Co-Chair
Wellspring Philanthropic Fund
Ilona Prucha is a Senior Program Officer at Wellspring Philanthropic Fund. Read More…
Jesse Beason
Northwest Health Foundation
Jesse leads the Northwest Health Foundation in pursuit of its vision of health for everyone in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Read More…
Esperanza Tervalon-Garrett, Co-Chair
Dancing Hearts Consulting, LLC
Esperanza Tervalon-Garrett is a queer, Afro-Puerto Rican woman, and a native daughter of Oakland. Read More…
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…