This one should get people who care about philanthropy buzzing. In the latest episode of "This Old Democracy," host Micah Sifry and political scientist Daniel Stid have a provocative discussion about what philanthropy is getting right, and has gotten wrong, in the democracy space.

Stid is a perfect guest for this topic as the former director of the Hewlett Foundation's U.S. Democracy Program and now a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

He offers a candid and critical assessment of the state of American democracy and the often-unintended consequences of philanthropic engagement in the political sphere.

Stid's view is that too much well-intentioned philanthropy has contributed to the hyper-polarization of American politics in the Trump era by funding advocacy for and against the administration. Stud argues that philanthropy's work has been politicized with the 501c3 right has been investing in things like Project 2025 – an attempt to create a governing agenda, and the 501c3 left trying to shape the electoral environment. Both are problematic, he asserts.

And he goes further. Stid's central and most provocative argument is that the bulk of foundation spending—on issues like climate, criminal justice, or immigration—often funds advocates who "see no need to compromise and are pushing views that are really far outside the mainstream." This leads to a "tragedy of the commons," where actors doing what is "rational for them" (advancing their policy agenda) ultimately undermine the political system (the "commons") in which they operate.

Stid welcomes philanthropies engaging with a deeper, "more holistic conception of democracy," calling out the Our Common Purpose report from the American Academy of Sciences (supported by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund), involving civil society and the role of citizens in their communities and the connection to our national community.

If you're on an advocacy team, you may disagree with some of what Stid says. If your first allegiance is to Team Democracy, Stud gives you something to think about.

RECOMMENDED READING:

Daniel Stid's must-read Substack: The Art of Association