Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement Explores the Growing Role of Civic Life in Grantmaking

Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE), a national network of funders supporting civic engagement, opens a new three-part series arguing that philanthropy across every sector, not just dedicated democracy funders, has a role to play in strengthening civic life. Written by Shannon Green, the piece contends that trust, belonging, and community participation are not a niche issue area but the foundation that makes progress possible on any cause a funder cares about, from health to education to housing. It points to health, humanities, and youth development funders already investing in connection and civic participation as evidence that this shift is already underway, and previews a forthcoming PACE guide distilling shared practices for grantmakers new to civic philanthropy. The series' central claim, that every funder can be a civic funder regardless of their primary mission, speaks directly to NCDD's mission of expanding who sees themselves as invested in the health of dialogue, deliberation, and democratic life.

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Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) has launched a new three-part series examining why funders across the philanthropic sector are turning their attention toward civic life. Written by Shannon Green, the first installment argues that the surge of philanthropic interest in trust, belonging, and community connection since 2024 is not confined to traditional democracy funders. Instead, PACE contends that any grantmaker, whether focused on health, education, energy, or community development, has a stake in the civic conditions that determine whether communities can work together to solve shared problems. The piece frames this as both a practical and philosophical shift: civic life is not a discrete issue area to be funded alongside others, but the underlying infrastructure that makes lasting progress on any cause possible.

The article points to a range of funders already acting on this insight, including health foundations investing in community voice as a driver of well-being, humanities councils using storytelling and cultural programming to foster belonging across difference, and youth development funders preparing the next generation of civic leaders. PACE distinguishes between what a funder supports and how it funds, arguing that philanthropic investments can either strengthen trust and civic cohesion or inadvertently erode it, depending on whether they engage credible local actors and expand genuine participation. This distinction reflects a principle familiar to the dialogue and deliberation field: that meaningful civic engagement depends as much on process and relationship as on the specific issue being addressed.

​PACE also previews a forthcoming guide, to be published this fall, that will offer grantmakers a concrete roadmap for engaging with civic philanthropy, whether through dedicated civic investments or by weaving civic practices into existing portfolios. This resource, alongside the remaining two commentaries in the series, aims to make an often fragmented field more accessible to funders who recognize the importance of civic life but are unsure where to begin. For NCDD's network, this series reinforces an argument central to the field's work: that strengthening dialogue, deliberation, and trust between communities is not peripheral to solving pressing social problems but foundational to solving them well. Readers can follow the full series at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/part-1-civic-moment-why-philanthropy-hjr1e/.