Giving Done Right – “An Anti-Authoritarian Playbook for Donors”

Host: Grace Nicolette and Phil Buchanan, The Center for Effective Philanthropy
Guest: Joe Goldman, President of the Democracy Fund
Date: October 2, 2025
Recording date: September 9, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode delves into the urgent challenges facing American democracy, exploring what donors—both large and small—can do to counter democratic backsliding and the consolidation of authoritarian power. Joe Goldman, President of the Democracy Fund, shares a framework for philanthropy’s strategic response, practical actions donors can take, and the personal and institutional sources of resilience needed to confront the crisis. The conversation is timely and candid, pulling no punches about the risks, while also offering hope and concrete paths forward.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Assessing the Crisis: Is This “Liberal Panic?”

Timestamps: 00:30 – 05:14

• Phil Buchanan enumerates a range of alarming governmental actions, from “the dismantling of international aid” to “military deployment under false pretenses.” He asks if alarm is justified.
• Joe Goldman firmly agrees the concern is warranted (“I don’t think you’re being hysterical. As someone who runs an organization called the Democracy Fund, it’s...strange to find myself living in a country that I no longer think is a democracy.” [02:44]), arguing that the US is already experiencing autocratic dynamics:
  • People self-censor out of fear
  • Some democratic institutions persist, but the playing field is increasingly uneven
• Joe stresses it’s not time for “wait and see”—active response is required.

2. Bridging the Awareness Gap & Addressing Partisan Skepticism

Timestamps: 05:14 – 07:36

• Grace Nicolette notes the awareness gap, asking how Joe responds to skepticism from moderates or conservatives who believe “our institutions will hold.”
• Joe insists the issue transcends ideology:
  “When you talk to experts who study authoritarianism, they see all of the things that you would look for in Democratic backsliding… none of this is normal.” [05:14]
• Joe contends “folks who are unwilling to engage...have to be pretty intentional about it because it’s almost everywhere you look.” [06:27]

3. Donor Responses: Courage and Overwhelm

Timestamps: 06:36 – 09:45

• Phil Buchanan observes donors displaying both courage and fear, with some practicing self-censorship.
• Joe praises philanthropy’s “admirable” response (“has exceeded my expectations and done so far better than many other sectors” [07:36]), but points out:
  • The biggest impediment is not ignorance or fear, but “a sense of overwhelm by the scale of what is happening and a real struggle to see what we can do about it.” [08:58]
  • The Democracy Fund’s role is to provide hope and a sense of a plan, not just stand up individually.

4. A Strategic Framework for Anti-Authoritarian Philanthropy

Timestamps: 09:45 – 17:22

Joe introduces a three-part “playbook,” using a metaphor of surviving a storm in a house by the sea:

a. Guardrail Strategies

• Leverage institutional protections: courts, local governments, free press, civil society
• Philanthropic support for litigation and watchdog organizations
• Guardrails can “buy us time,” but are under “remarkable pressure” and “some have already failed.” [10:08]

b. Breakthrough Strategies

• “Getting people into the boats”: supporting movement-building, community organizing, and civil resistance
• Focus on “disruption, delegitimization, and defections from the authoritarian coalition”
• Example: Free DC, organizing neighborhood resistance and leveraging juries to refuse unjust indictments. “Residents...are refusing to obey in advance. They are using the power they have.” [14:43]

c. Reconstruction Strategies

• Offer a compelling alternative vision to authoritarian promises
• The challenge is moving beyond defending broken status quos; instead, “create a more proportionally representative system...to show people this is how you can actually govern different.”
• Groups like Press Forward (journalism innovation) and More Equitable Democracy exemplify this.

5. Specific Nonprofit Examples across the Three Strategies

Timestamps: 17:22 – 22:20

• Litigation & Guardrails:
  • Protect Democracy, Democracy Forward, ICAP (Georgetown Law), Government Accountability Project (whistleblower defense), Govact, States United
• Movement & Disruption:
  • Community Change (Medicaid campaigns), various local organizing efforts
• Reconstruction:
  • Think tanks and policy orgs like New America, Demos, working on “Project 2029” and other future-facing agendas.

6. Partisanship, Pluralism, and the Big Tent Debate

Timestamps: 22:45 – 29:31

• Responding to concern that “pro-democracy” work is a “left power grab,” Joe is blunt:

  “It is so blatantly obvious at this point that that’s not what’s going on, that we are not in normal times. And I think it takes some level of willful ignorance to be in that position at this point.” [23:37]

• On “bridging” and pluralism, Joe values cross-ideological and cross-sector efforts:

  “Part of the recipe for the anti-authoritarian playbook is a big tent...It’s not just about an ideologically big tent, it’s about a multi-sector big tent. It’s about people from all walks of life.” [26:12]

• Criticism only applies to those using bipartisanship as an excuse not to act.

7. Sector Defense and Cross-Sector Alliances

Timestamps: 29:39 – 35:43

• Phil references efforts like Unite in Advance to defend the nonprofit/philanthropic sector from legislative attacks.
• Joe credits cross-sector coalitions for both immediate wins (e.g., avoiding C3 revocation) and building lasting solidarity:

  “How you win is by making yourself big, by standing up with others in solidarity within, you know, across a sector and across sectors, that’s how we get where we need to go.” [34:17]

8. Evaluating Impact in Democracy Philanthropy

Timestamps: 35:43 – 40:17

• Grace: How can donors assess impact in this messy, long-term work?
• Joe: Different parts of democracy work yield different forms of measurable impact—voter registration, litigation, narrative change, organizing. “There’s no silver bullet.”

  “If that feels exhausting, just imagine what it feels like for our grantees who are out there on the front lines feeling scared...we need to find some courage, and we need to be okay with solutions that are not perfect. Right? And not let the perfect be the enemy of the good here.” [38:34]

9. Hope, Courage, and Resilience in Dark Times

Timestamps: 40:20 – 48:38

• Joe describes the contagiousness of courage (“courage breeds more courage. Solidarity breeds more solidarity” [41:21]) and shares stories of hope from protests and community action.
• He cites Rebecca Solnit’s Hope in the Dark:

  “Being hopeful is looking squarely at the hardness, the scariness in front of you and making a choice that you’re going to do all that you can to be part of the solution along with others.” [44:20]

• The Democracy Fund’s organizational commitments: “Choose hope,” “Stick together,” “Practice solidarity,” “Remain humble,” “Bolster resilience,” and “Live our values—rejecting violence and not dehumanizing opponents.” [44:20–48:38]

10. Personal Motivation and the Roots of Commitment

Timestamps: 48:38 – 50:43

• Joe ties his motivation to his Jewish heritage and study of Holocaust and totalitarianism, especially the work of Hannah Arendt:

  “The lack of public spaces where people can show up as citizens...enable authoritarians to overpower the public realm...That has shaped my career.” [49:00]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Joe Goldman:

  • “It’s not a question of whether we’re on a path to authoritarianism. We are plainly here.” [02:56]
  • “Guardrails don’t build durable power to get you out of a situation. They can stop things, but they don’t transform the situation.” [12:36]
  • “We need to offer people a positive alternative of the kind of democracy, the kind of society that will actually serve them well.” [15:52]
  • “It is so blatantly obvious at this point that that’s not what’s going on, that we are not in normal times.” [23:37]
  • “Anticipatory obedience ... is how you lose. ... How you win is by making yourself big, by standing up with others in solidarity...that’s how we get where we need to go.” [34:17]
  • “There’s no silver bullet. There’s no one thing you can do that is going to mean, all right, the democracy is safe.” [37:26]
  • “Courage breeds more courage. Solidarity breeds more solidarity.” [41:21]
  • Referencing Hope in the Dark: “Being hopeful is looking squarely at the hardness, the scariness in front of you and making a choice that you’re going to do all that you can to be part of the solution.” [44:20]

• Phil Buchanan:

  • “What does pluralism look like in this moment?...Actually the problem is not polarization. The problem is authoritarianism and how do we fight back against it?” [25:10]

• Grace Nicolette:

  • “Democracy work is long, it’s messy, it’s certainly more than worth it. How do you advise donors on how to think about their own impact?” [35:43]

Important Timestamps

• 00:30 – 02:44: Urgency of democratic crisis, overview of threats
• 09:45 – 17:22: Joe’s anti-authoritarian “playbook” (three strategies)
• 17:22 – 22:20: Specific nonprofit examples in each strategic area
• 26:12 – 29:31: The importance of the “big tent” for anti-authoritarian work
• 34:17 – 35:43: “How you win is by making yourself big, by standing up with others in solidarity...”
• 38:34 – 40:17: Courage, imperfection, and not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good
• 44:20 – 48:38: Organizational commitments, hope, and resilience
• 49:00 – 50:43: Joe’s personal motivations rooted in Jewish heritage/Hannah Arendt

Conclusion

Joe Goldman offers donors a concrete framework, moral clarity, and a call to courage and solidarity in the struggle for pluralistic democracy. The episode balances candor about threats with actionable hope—outlining routes for donors to build guardrails, power, and alternatives, and underscoring the essential, contagious nature of courage.

For resources and further reading:

• Democracy Fund: democracyfund.org
• Center for Effective Philanthropy: cep.org
• Giving Done Right podcast: givingdoneright.org