Transcript
Transcript begins.
A healthy democracy needs a thriving civil society, and a thriving civil society needs strong and resilient organizations and a strong nonprofit sector. Nonprofit organizations in this country really drive our democracy because they help our communities and our civil society flourish.
Civil society desperately needs these organizations because they’re how we associate. It’s how, in many ways, we experience joy and recreation, it’s how we advance collective action. But it’s also incredibly important for us to be able to pursue shared causes, to find people who really think something matters and are able to work together to advance that. As powerful as individuals are, that power is amplified when we’re able to act and associate in groups.
Organizations in the American nonprofit ecosystem range from things like youth sports leagues to civil rights organizations. They support all parts of American life. And they’re not just things we do every day, but they’re actually contributing to the flourishing of American communities: how we desperately need each other, how we share time, how we advance our common causes and interests, and how we’re all bigger than any one individual.
The nonprofit sector and its strength are critical to our democracy.
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“A healthy democracy needs a thriving civil society, and a thriving civil society needs strong and resilient organizations and a strong nonprofit sector. Nonprofit organizations in this country really drive our democracy because they help our communities and our civil society flourish.”
Noorain Khan
Additional For The People Voices
Elizabeth Alexander
Elizabeth Alexander, president of the Mellon Foundation, reflects on how America’s creatives have shaped our complex cultural history and can build a better future for the next generations.
Jennifer Ching
Jennifer Ching, executive director of North Star Fund, reflects on the power of daily, local-level advocacy. By addressing community-specific concerns and our shared future, she argues that democracy locally can inspire people to pursue change at a mass scale.
Sarita Gupta
Sarita Gupta, Ford’s vice president of U.S. Programs, reflects on how economic inequality erodes American democracy, and calls for building a fairer economy that centers and broadens workers’ rights.
Troy Jackson
Troy Jackson, co-founder and executive director of UNDIVIDED, calls for the Church to unite across racial and political divisions. By doing so, the Church can strengthen democracy and become a powerful force for hope, justice, and dignity.
Rickke Mananzala
Rickke Mananzala, president of the New York Foundation, advocates for hyperlocal democracy, urging philanthropy to ensure public systems serve the common good and empower citizens to shape our future.
Roy Swan
Roy Swan, Ford’s Mission Investments program director, calls for “patriotic capitalism”: investments that prioritize the common good, widen opportunity, and expand worker ownership.
