Democracy Alliance

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Democracy Alliance
Democracy Alliance.jpg
Basic facts
Location:Washington, D.C.
Affiliation:Democratic
Top official:Gara LaMarche, President
Founder(s):Rob Stein
Year founded:2005
Website:Official website

The Democracy Alliance (DA) is an invite-only network of progressive donors (known as partners), who pay annual dues and agree to give a set amount of money each year to DA-endorsed organizations.[1] DA spokeswoman Stephanie Mueller told Politico in 2014 that, "The Democracy Alliance was organized to provie a forum for people with a shared set of principles to coordinate their resources more efficiently and effectively to achieve their common goals."[2]

Following President Donald Trump's election in 2016, the DA added groups opposing the Trump administration and its congressional and state-level allies to its portfolio. The New York Times reported in October 2017 that the DA had "suspended its intensive vetting and approval process to recommend donations to a host of [anti-Trump] groups created since last fall's election."[3]

Mission[edit]

As of February 2018, the DA's website offered the following summary of the group's mission:

We address the most pressing challenges of our day through investments in three connected areas: a just democracy, a fair economy and an environmentally sustainable future.[4][5]

History[edit]

George Soros, an investor and philanthropist, was one of the DA's first partners.

The Democracy Alliance was founded in 2005 by Democratic strategist Rob Stein, former chief of staff to Clinton administration Commerce Secretary Ron Brown. Stein traced the Republican Party's electoral successes in the early 2000s to a $300-million network of conservative donors and political groups.[6]

He proposed DA to Democratic donors, including George Soros and Tim Gill, as a liberal counterweight to the conservative network. According to The Washington Post, the inspiration for the group "was a belief that Democrats became the minority party in part because liberals do not have a well-funded network of policy shops, watchdog groups and training centers for activists equivalent to what has existed for years on the right."[1]

Stein told the Post in 2006 that, "It is not possible in the 21st century to promote a coherent belief system and maintain political influence without a robust, enduring local, state and national institutional infrastructure. Currently, the center-left is comparatively less strategic, coordinated and well financed than the conservative-right. These comparative disadvantages are debilitating."[1]

Board members[edit]

As of February 2018, the website for the Democracy Alliance listed the following individuals as board members:[7]

  • John Stocks, Chair
  • Paul Egerman, Treasurer
  • Weston Milliken, Secretary
  • Farhad Ebrahimi
  • David desJardins
  • Sunita Leeds
  • Keith Mestrich
  • Shekar Narasimhan
  • Fran Rodgers
  • Susan Sandler
  • Lee Saunders
  • Joe Zimlich
  • Rob Stein, Founder emeritus
  • Gara LaMarche, President

Membership[edit]

According to a list of membership benefits and participation options obtained by Politico in 2014, the yearly dues for DA partners that year were $30,000 for an individual and $60,000 for a family or institution. Individuals were expected to give $200,000 per year to DA-approved groups, and institutions and families were expected to give $1 million. The table below provides more information about the membership options and benefits available to DA partners as of 2014.[8]

Democracy Alliance membership options, 2014
Governing Partners Foundation Subscribers
  • Benefits
    • Attend semi-annual conferences
    • Vote for and serve on the board of directors and advisory boards
    • Nominate two organizations per year for inclusion on the Progressive Infrastructure Map
    • Access a personal staff advisor and a partner- and subscriber-only website
  • Fees:
    • Annual dues
      • Individual: $30,000
      • Institution or family: $60,000
    • Annual contributions
      • Individual: $200,000
      • Institution or family: $1,000,000
  • Benefits
    • Attend semi-annual conferences
    • Receive investment recommendations, progress monitoring, and evaluation
    • Access a personal staff advisor and a partner- and subscriber-only website
  • Fees:
    • Subscription: $20,000
    • Conference registration: $5,000 per conference (for up to two attendees)


The DA does not publish the names of its partners, but a number of current and former members have been identified in media reports and leaked documents. The table below lists organizations and individuals who have been identified as current or former DA members.[1][3][6][9][10][11]

  • Adam Abram, Insurance and real estate
  • Fred Baron, Trial lawyer
  • Anne Bartley, Heiress and step-daughter of Winthrop Rockefeller
  • Patricia Bauman, Real estate investor and Bauman Foundation head
  • Noel Beasley, Chairman of Amalgamated Bank and president of Workers United
  • Paul Boskind, CEO of Deer Oaks Mental Health Associates and theatre producer
  • Ann S. Bowers, Founding trustee of the Noyce Foundation and widow of Intel co-founder Robert Noyce
  • Mark Buell and Susie Tompkins Buell, Businessman and co-founder of Esprit, respectively
  • Marcy Carsey, Co-owner of independent studio Carsey-Werner Productions
  • Larry Cohen, President of the Communications Workers of America
  • Christopher Findlater, CEO of Cheyenne Exploration Co.
  • David A. Friedman, Philanthropist
  • Chris Gabrieli, Venture capitalist and 2002 Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
  • Tim Gill, Software engineer and co-founder of Quark software
  • Amy Goldman Fowler, Author, horticulturalist, and real estate heiress
  • Jim Gollin, Fund manager
  • Colin Greer, President of New World Foundation
  • Mary Kay Henry, President of the Service Employees International Union
  • Leah Hunt-Hendrix, Oil heiress
  • Heeten Kalan, Senior program officer at New World Foundation
  • George Kohl, Senior director of Communications Workers of America
  • Peter B. Lewis, Former chairman and CEO of Progressive Insurance
  • Rob McKay, Taco Bell heir
  • Keith Mestrich, President of Amalgamated Bank
  • Weston Milliken, Management consultant
  • Philip Munger, New School professor and son of Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman Charles Munger
  • Alan Patricof, Co-founder of the private equity firm Apax Partners
  • Andrew Rappaport, Silicon Valley venture capitalist
  • Rob Reiner, Actor and director
  • Michelle Ringuette, Assistant to AFT president Randi Weingarten
  • William J. Roberts, Executive at Atlantic Philanthropies
  • Simon Rosenberg, Founder and president of New Democrat Network
  • Paul Rudd, Owner of Adaptive Analytics LLC
  • Cynthia Ryan, Activist and philanthropist
  • Herbert M. Sandler, Co-founder and co-CEO of Golden West Financial Corporation and World Savings Bank
  • Guy Saperstein (former partner), Trial lawyer
  • Bernard L. Schwartz, Retired chief executive of Loral Space & Communications Inc.
  • Rick Segal, CEO of Seavest, Inc.
  • Service Employees International Union, Labor union
  • Bren Simon, Real estate developer
  • Ryan Smith, Unknown
  • George Soros, Currency speculator and business magnate
  • Jonathan Soros, Hedge fund manager, philanthropist, and son of George Soros
  • Rob Stein, Former chief of staff for Clinton Commerce Secretary Ron Brown
  • Tom Steyer, Hedge fund manager and environmentalist
  • John Stocks, DA board chair and executive director of the National Education Association
  • Stephen Susman, Trial lawyer
  • Donald Sussman, Financier
  • Emily Sussman, Lawyer and daughter of Donald Sussman
  • Ted Trimpa, Lawyer and former tobacco lobbyist
  • Henry van Ameringen, Founder of the H. van Ameringen Foundation and son of International Flavors & Fragrances founder Arnold Louis van Ameringen
  • Randi Weingarten, President of American Federation of Teachers
  • Dirk Wiggins, Founder of Code for Progress and former outreach director for the Florida Democratic Party
  • Albert C. Yates, Former president of Colorado State University

Opposition to the Trump administration[edit]

See also: Opposition to the Trump administration
  • From November 13 to 16, 2016, the DA hosted a meeting of donors, partners, and supporters to discuss the 2016 election and develop strategies for future coalition building and elections.[12] During the meeting, DA members outlined their intent to oppose Trump's policy initiatives through local- and state-level intersectional organizing. According to the conference agenda, DA members discussed "what it means to use an 'intersectional' approach for active resistance. ... Our investment in the states and marginalized communities is now more crucial than ever to hold conservatives accountable, keep the progressive community united, and bring the working class together again."[13]
  • At the DA's national donor summit in March 2017, DA President Gara LaMarche remarked on the organization's approach to opposing the Trump policy agenda, saying that resisting the Trump administration was about "the essential character of our country." LaMarche added:[14]
We must take the fight to the states, and put our dollars where they are most needed. To paint the future in places where we have some power, like Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, and California, so that when we win back power in other places there is a roadmap for a better America. To keep and expand our gains in Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Mexico and North Carolina. To take back Ohio and Michigan and Florida and Wisconsin. To keep our eyes on the prizes of Arizona, Georgia and my beloved Texas, and down the line, southern states with now un-registered Black and Immigrant voters, and prairie and western states where proud progressive populist traditions can be reawakened.[5]
  • The DA held a fall investment conference from November 15 to 18, 2017. The conference agenda included sessions on the "Next Fights of the Resistance and the 2018 Midterms," "Aligning New and Traditional Resistance Energy to Win," and "Moving Beyond #Resistance-Learning from the Past, Mobilizing for the Future."[15]

DA-approved groups[edit]

2017[edit]

Following President Donald Trump's election in 2016, the DA shifted its emphasis to groups opposing the Trump administration and its allies. It distributed an updated list of approved groups, referred to as the "Resistance Map" and including both previous DA grantees and new anti-Trump groups, to DA partners in July 2017.[3] Click "show" on the box below to view the full list of groups included on the Resistance Map, the categories into which they were grouped, and the DA issue areas on which they worked, as presented in a document obtained by The New York Times.[16]

2015[edit]

"A 2020 Vision for the Democracy Alliance: Funding Recommendations," a document obtained by Politico in 2015, outlined the DA's goals for the following five years, including an annual partner spending goal of $30-50 million. It also listed the 39 approved groups in the DA's core portfolio. The groups were divided into four categories:[17]

  • Focus Issue Groups, such as Americans for Financial Reform and LeadingGreen, work on a specific issue area;
  • Cross-Issue and National Partner Organizations work across multiple issue areas and coordinate policy and electoral activities across the country;
  • Innovation and Tools groups, such as the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center and the electoral data firm Catalist, work on political strategy and technical innovation;
  • The 2020 State Funds, specialized nonprofit organizations spearheaded by the DA, prioritize policy and electoral strategy at the state level.

The following sections list the groups in the core portfolio by category. Click "show" on the box in each section to see a full list of the organizations in each category.

Focus Issue Groups[edit]

National Partners & Cross-Issue Groups[edit]

Tools & Innovation[edit]

2020 State Funds[edit]

Other projects[edit]

Progressive Infrastructure Map[edit]

As of 2014, DA partners could nominate two organizations each year for inclusion on the DA's Progressive Infrastructure Map. According to a confidential investment portfolio issued to partners in the spring of 2014, the Progressive Infrastructure Map included the following 172 organizations:[52]

Secretary of State Project[edit]

See also: Secretary of State Project

The Secretary of State Project was launched in 2006 to support Democratic candidates for secretary of state. Its formation was motivated by what its founders viewed as partisan activity by Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris (R) in 2000 and Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell (R) in 2004. "We were tired of Republican manipulation of elections," said cofounder Michael Kieschnick. "It seemed like lots of decisions were made by people who were pretty clearly political operatives."[53]

During a panel discussion at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, DA announced that it had approved the Secretary of State Project as a grantee.[54]

The table below presents election results for candidates backed by the project in 2006 and 2008.

Secretary of State Project candidates, 2006 and 2008
State Election Year Candidate Margin of Victory
Iowa 2006 Michael Mauro 7.4%
Minnesota 2006 Mark Ritchie 4.9%
Nevada 2006 Ross Miller 8.1%
New Mexico 2006 Mary Herrera 8.4%
Ohio 2006 Jennifer Brunner 14.6%
Colorado 2006 Ken Gordon (defeated)
Michigan 2006 Carmella Sabaugh -14.2% (defeated)
Missouri 2008 Robin Carnahan 26.2%
Montana 2008 Linda McCulloch 1.1%
Oregon 2008 Kate Brown 5.2%
West Virginia 2008 Natalie Tennant 30%

Recent news[edit]

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Democracy Alliance Partners. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

See also[edit]

Individual partners:

Institutional partners:

Projects funded:

External links[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Washington Post, "A new alliance of Democrats spreads funding," July 17, 2006
  2. Politico, "Inside the vast liberal conspiracy," June 23, 2014
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 The New York Times, "The 'Resistance,' raising big money, upends liberal politics," October 7, 2017
  4. Democracy Alliance, "About the DA," accessed February 9, 2018
  5. 5.0 5.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Human Events, "New liberal alliance hopes to replicate conservatives' success," August 26, 2005
  7. Democracy Alliance, "Board of Directors," accessed February 9, 2018
  8. Democracy Alliance, "Membership benefits and participation options," April 2014
  9. Washington Free Beacon, "Democracy Alliance new members list," accessed February 9, 2018
  10. Politico, "The left's secret club," April 24, 2014
  11. The New York Times, "Liberal donors looking 6 years ahead," November 13, 2014
  12. Politico, "Soros bands with donors to resist Trump, 'take back power,'" November 14, 2016
  13. Politico, "Democracy Alliance 2016 Investment Conference agenda," accessed November 18, 2016
  14. Democracy Alliance, "Democracy in the Balance: A Time to Resist and Restore," March 25, 2017
  15. Democracy Alliance, "Fall Investment Conference agenda," accessed January 5, 2018
  16. The New York Times, "Here's the Democracy Alliance's 'Resistance Map,'" October 7, 2017
  17. Democracy Alliance, "A 2020 vision for the Democracy Alliance: Funding recommendations," accessed February 10, 2018
  18. Advancement Project, "Official website," accessed July 15, 2015
  19. American Constitution Society, "About ACS," accessed July 15, 2015
  20. Americans for Financial Reform, "About AFR," accessed July 15, 2015
  21. Brennan Center for Justice, "Our Mission," accessed July 15, 2015
  22. Constitutional Accountability Center, "About," accessed July 16, 2015
  23. Economic Policy Institute, "About," accessed July 16, 2015
  24. NRDC Action Fund, "Leading Green," accessed July 16, 2015
  25. National Employment Law Project, "About NELP," accessed July 16, 2015
  26. Progressive Majority, "Official website," accessed July 16, 2015
  27. Roosevelt Institute, "About the Institute," accessed July 16, 2015
  28. Issue One, "Victory 2021," accessed July 16, 2015
  29. America Votes, "About," accessed July 15, 2015
  30. Center for American Progress, "About the Center for American Progress," accessed July 15, 2015
  31. Center for Community Change, "Mission," accessed July 15, 2015
  32. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, "About the Center," accessed July 15, 2015
  33. Center for Popular Democracy, "Mission," accessed July 16, 2015
  34. Color of Change, "What Is ColorOfChange.org?" accessed July 16, 2015
  35. Demos, "About Demos," accessed July 16, 2015
  36. Media Matters for America, "About Us," accessed July 16, 2015
  37. National People's Action, "About Us," accessed July 16, 2015
  38. New Organizing Institute, "What We Do," accessed July 16, 2015
  39. Organizing for Action, "About OFA," accessed July 16, 2015
  40. PICO National Network, "Our Mission," accessed July 16, 2015
  41. ProgressNow, "About," accessed July 16, 2015
  42. State Voices, "About Us," accessed July 16, 2015
  43. Working America, "About Working America," accessed July 16, 2015
  44. Working Families, "About Us," accessed July 16, 2015
  45. Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, "Why We're Here," accessed July 16, 2015
  46. Catalist, "Official website," accessed July 16, 2015
  47. Citizen Engagement Laboratory, "About," accessed July 16, 2015
  48. New Media Ventures, "Who We Are/Portfolio," accessed July 16, 2015
  49. 49.0 49.1 Democracy Alliance, "2020 Vision Investment Portfolio," uploaded April, 2015
  50. State Innovation Exchange, "About the State Innovation Exchange," accessed July 16, 2015
  51. Wellstone, "We Believe," accessed July 16, 2015
  52. Democracy Alliance, "Spring 2014: Democracy Alliance investment recommendations," Spring 2014
  53. Politico, "Secretaries of state give Dem firewall," November 2, 2008
  54. The American Spectator, "Soros eyes secretaries," December 4, 2009

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