A Post-Election Funding Slump

Welcome to the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s weekly newsletter highlighting stories and conversations from The Commons, our project exploring how philanthropy and nonprofits are working to close divides, repair the social fabric, and strengthen communities.

Note: The newsletter will be off for the holidays and returns to your inboxes on January 9.

From senior editor Drew Lindsay: For groups that aim to strengthen democracy, elections are a dividing line between feast and famine. Funders step up with support in the months before, then step back afterward.?

That’s because philanthropy is too focused on projects that offer easy measurements and quick payoffs, critics say. Democracy-building, they argue, demands consistent work over time to build relationships and trust.

These groups “don’t show up for just an election day,” says Leena Barakat , president of the Women Donors Network .

“They are there to really understand and meet the needs of their community year-round. To just fund them around elections is incredibly transactional.”

As part of the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s partnership with the Associated Press, James Pollard reports on this boom-bust cycle and an “Election Day to Every Day” effort to shore up funding for 2025. Read his full story.

A Polarization Expert’s Advice on Bridging — and Your Family’s Holiday Gathering

Monica Guzman , an expert on polarization, has seen a lot of nonprofits jump in to fix America’s deep political divides. Too often, however, despite good intentions, they wind up trying to persuade one side that they’re wrong. “It’s easy to think we make the world a better place by just doing everything we can to convince everybody that we’re right,” Guzmán said in an interview with Chronicle editor-in-chief Andrew Simon .

The discussion with Guzmán, fellow in public practice with Braver Angels , is the latest installment of The Commons in Conversation, our interview series. They discussed how to bring America — and individual families — together after an election that she says left many people paralyzed by fear of what’s to come. Guzmán’s family is deeply divided over politics — she’s a committed Democrat, and her parents backed Donald Trump for president three times. Part of her advice: Stop trying to persuade people that you’re right and listen to them — really listen.

Watch the discussion on the Chronicle’s YouTube channel or on LinkedIn with free registration. Here's an interview transcript.

2025’s First Event! The Commons in Conversation

La June Montgomery Tabron, CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation , joins The Commons in Conversation to talk about racial healing in America and her personal journey from encountering racism as a child in Detroit to leading one of the country’s largest grant makers.

Montgomery Tabron, Kellogg’s first female and first Black chief executive, is the author of two books to be released in January: How We Heal, a personal reflection on how to move beyond call-out culture, and Our Differences Make Us Stronger, a children’s book about community building. She’ll speak with Chronicle of Philanthropy CEO Stacy Palmer on Monday, January 13, at 12:30 p.m. ET.?

?? Join the conversation! The event is free on LinkedIn. ?? Registration is required.

Of the Moment

News and other noteworthy items:

• “The system is rigged” is not just an election slogan. Seventy percent of Americans believe that people in power are engineering things to benefit themselves at the expense of the rest of us, according to new research from the FrameWorks Institute . The “mindset is among the strongest and most pervasive we’ve seen” declared the 25-year-old research group.
• In “The Race to Pacify Protestors,” the Chronicle of Higher Education’s Katherine Mangan explores the “free-speech teams” that colleges have established or expanded in the wake of last semester’s rancorous protests. In some cases, they’ve hired full-time free-speech administrators and mediators. “Representatives serve different roles,” Mangan writes, “showing up at events to hand out flyers with the latest rules, issuing warnings, and mediating or de-escalating situations when protesters and counterprotesters clash.”