Democracy Notes

Applications due tomorrow!! Voting Rights Lab is hiring a State Communications Manager — remote, $70K-$90K Details in the comments from Democracy Notes below! ⤵️

Sharing some exciting board updates / philanthropy job transitions!! The Knight Foundation is establishing a new Strategy & Learning department which will be led by Kyla Elhelo, with Jon Belgrad as Director, Strategy Execution! The Pew Charitable Trusts added three directors to its board: Natalie Gochnour, Alisa Miller, and Deborah Winshel. The American Journalism Project (AJP) added two new board members: 📌 Margaret Hoover, host of PBS’s “Firing Line” 📌 Andrea Mitchell, NBC News chief Washington and foreign affairs correspondent All this and more via the latest edition of Democracy Notes ⭐ (Link in comments.)

Democracy work is only going to get more demanding in the next few months…and burnout is already a biiiig challenge… How can our ecosystem better support one another? What resources might help tackle burnout? Per the Center for Effective Philanthropy’s 2026 State of Nonprofits report, burnout is seriously affecting nonprofit CEOs, whose concern about their own burnout “jumped to 46% in 2026, up from just under 30% in 2025.” cc: Democracy Notes

💼 JOB ROUNDUP 💼 ACLU Director of Strategy & Innovation — NYC or DC, $230K South Side Media Works Executive Director — Chicago, $75K-$80K Voting Rights Lab State Communications Manager — remote, $70K-$90K Public Citizen (DC): 📌 Federal Big Tech Accountability Advocate — $85K-$142K 📌 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Governance and Technology State Policy Advocate — $85K-$142K Links to all of these opportunities (and more!) via the latest edition of Democracy Notes on Substack ⤵️

Comms democracy jobs!! 🧑💻 Whistleblower Aid Communications Associate — DC, $75K-$95K Common Cause Vice President, Marketing & Communications — DC, $154K-$186K New_ Public Content and Community Lead, Roundabout — remote, $90K-$120K Campaign Legal Center Communications Associate — DC, $65K-$88K Unite America Senior Director of Strategic Communications & Investor Experience — Denver, $140K-$175K Links to these roles and a bunch more in Democracy Notes on Substack!! Link in the comments.

Creatives!! The Democracy Stories Lab from People Powered is searching for illustrations, short videos, graphics, or something else ~artsy~ that tells a compelling narrative about democracy. Apply by 9/14 for a chance to win $1K! All this and more via the latest edition of Democracy Notes ⭐ (Link in comments.)

Did you miss us?? After a summer hiatus, Encore is back covering all the goings-on from around the democracy field ft. Democracy Fund, LOOKOUT Publications, Common Ground Leadership, and more! ⬇️

Community foundations!! The Council on Foundations is now accepting applications for their Community Foundations Working Across Differences Accelerator. Grantees will receive: 📌 A $20K planning grant (potential for $45K in follow-on funding for early implementation) 📌 Coaching and a structured learning agenda 📌 A space for peer learning …all to design and implement strategies tailored to working across differences in local communities. More info on this grant and other philanthropy opps in the latest edition of Democracy Notes (link in the comments)!

💼 JOB ROUNDUP 💼 Citizen University Facilitation & Learning Manager — remote, $73K-$90K Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University Research Director — remote, $138K-$154K The Carter Center Consultant – Political/Campaign Finance Expert — remote (Michigan), $450-$600/day People Powered Resource Mobilization Director — remote, $92K-$109K Links to all of these opportunities (and more!) via the latest edition of Democracy Notes on Substack ⤵️

🥳 Huuuuge congrats to Vanessa, Jon, and Daniel on their new roles!! 📍 Vanessa Mbonu has joined the ACLU as Director of Editorial Strategy and Storytelling! 📍 Jon Temin has joined Rethink Priorities as Research Lead for Democratic Resilience! 📍 Daniel Weiner is now Senior Director of the Brennan Center for Justice's Elections and Government team! Congrats again, y'all!! cc: Democracy Notes