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.

Mission

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 our democratic process. We serve leaders in the philanthropic community working to further this vision with heightened attention to issues of equity and historically disenfranchised and underrepresented communities. Our members support non-partisan efforts to engage voters, eliminate structural barriers to voting, advance reforms to improve government and electoral systems, and inspire public involvement in civic life.

FCCP provides funders with a community in which to build connections, a stage for showcasing innovations, a forum for strategic dialogue and collaboration, and a resource for civic participation research and tools. We work to build a more effective network of grantmakers who are passionate about realizing our collective vision of a vibrant and inclusive democracy for all.

Values

FCCP has a particular focus on ensuring that traditionally marginalized communities have equal access to participation and decision-making in the democratic process. We value fairness and equal opportunity. We are inclusive and respect every member’s voice. FCCP models transparency and encourages a diversity of opinions. We base our work on sound research and encourage experimentation to prove impact.

Theory of Impact

In February 2017, FCCP staff and Advisory Board came together to dig into a critical question, how can FCCP be what the field needs in this moment? This prompt, which continued a common thread through previous strategic planning retreats, centers on how it can continue to provide high-quality educational content and outreach, but move to a more impact- oriented network. Throughout 2017, the organization took multiple steps to become a more modern, professional, and high impact affinity group which will better enable it to achieve its long-term goals in subsequent years.

FCCP has worked from an implied theory for many years, but in 2017, the organization made it explicit and transparent. Throughout the first half of 2017, FCCP drew on the experience and collective wisdom of its membership to bolster and evolve the framework. This theory is the second iteration and incorporates extensive feedback provided at our 2017 convening via focus groups and one-on-one conversations with members. 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
AFL-CIO
Agua Fund
AL Advising
Amalgamated Foundation
Annie E. Casey Foundation
Arabella Advisors
Arca Foundation
Arkay Foundation
The Aspen Institute
Aviv Foundation
Bauman Foundation
Brett Family Foundation
Brico Fund
California Endowment  California Donor Table
California Wellness Foundation
Carnegie Corporation of New York
Dancing Heart Consulting
Democracy Alliance
Democracy Fund
Denise Whinnen
Doris and Victor Day Foundation
East Bay Community Foundation
Educational Foundation of America
Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund
Ford Foundation Foundation for Civic Leadership
Gaia Fund                General Service Foundation 
Georgia Alliance Education Fund 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
Leonard and Sophie Davis Fund
Lisa & Douglas Goldman Fund
Marguerite Casey Foundation
Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation
Media Democracy Fund                              Mertz Gilmore Foundation
Minneapolis Foundation
Minnesota Council on Foundations
Movement Resource Project
Nathan Cummings Foundation
National Education Association
Needmor Fund 
NEO Philanthropy
New Community Fund
New Media Ventures
Northwest Health Foundation
Open Society Foundations
Ottinger Foundation
The Partnership Fund
People’s Liberty
Proteus Fund 
Rappaport Family Foundation
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
Tides 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
Women Donors Network
Woodbury Fund
Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation

 

History

FCCP sprung from the visionary efforts of a small group of grantmakers that began gathering in the early 80s to discuss how to boost voting among America’s most disenfranchised communities. 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.

Since those early days, FCCP has served as a critical catalyst for philanthropy’s growing civic engagement community. Our network advanced effective voter registration efforts in the ‘80s; supported campaign finance reform in the ‘90s; and invested in new voting technologies and election-administration reforms in the 2000s, a time when it also popularized year-round “integrated voter engagement” as a winning strategy for building power and achieving policy impact. In the ‘10s FCCP mobilized funders around the census, redistricting and building state-based civic engagement infrastructure. Today, we serve a mature and diverse community of grantmakers committed to working more strategically together to address the systemic inequities that keep marginalized communities from having a lasting voice in our democracy.

Through our member-driven and field-informed programming, FCCP keeps its network of grantmakers educated, connected and equipped to make smart funding decisions. Always nonpartisan, our signature programs for grantmakers include an annual convening, monthly “First Monday” and other virtual discussions; working groups that focus on range of key issue topics; and member-only meetings. FCCP adapts its programming year-to-year to respond to the needs of its evolving network and the field, election cycles and trends in civic engagement.

Staff

Elizabeth Shapiro

Membership and Development Director
eshapiro@funderscommittee.orgElizabeth Shapiro 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…

Maya Graham

Program Manager
mgraham@funderscommittee.orgMaya Graham 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…

Kristin Purdy

Executive Director
Kristin Purdy has dedicated her career to engaging communities and helping build local power for positive change. Read More…

Advisory Board

Steven Cole-Schwartz, Co-chair

Group Health Foundation
As portfolio director, Steven is responsible for developing and implementing an ambitious grantmaking, leadership, and power-building strategy to advance health equity in Washington. Read More…

Carmen Lopez-Wilson

Thornburg Foundation
Carmen Lopez-Wilson is the Good Government Reforms Policy Officer at the Thornburg Foundation, which seeks to reduce the influence of money in politics. 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…

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.” By aligning all philanthropic assets, tools, partnerships, and creativity, The Sapelo Foundation catalyzes solutions for systemic problems and lifts up Georgia as a destination for leadership, collaboration, ideas, and solutions. Read More…

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