Foundations on the Hill 2024 was an effective venue for the Philanthropy for Voter Engagement initiative to engage philanthropy-serving organizations (PSOs), funder networks, and individual foundations in conversation about how they can create space for voter engagement work within their respective networks. 

The Sunday session, attended by over 30 PSOs and foundations, was the launching point with Chyann Sapp of Nonprofit VOTE’s team moderating a panel that included Ebony West of Democracy Fund and Diana Colín of the PIVOT pooled fund and the California Community Foundation. The discussion was kicked off with an overview of the Philanthropy for Voter Engagement toolkit, followed by a discussion with panelists about how the best practices lifted up in the toolkit are reflected in their own work.

On Monday, Nonprofit VOTE’s Executive Director, Brian Miller, joined with others on a luncheon panel in front of over 250 PSO and foundation staff. Others on the panel included Anita Banerji of the Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation, Matthew Weil of the Bipartisan Policy Center, and Maxim Thorne of Civic Influencers. How the philanthropic community can help to sow the seeds of a more inclusive democracy, bringing underrepresented voices to the table was a central theme of the panel discussion.

Special thanks to United Philanthropy Forum for its leadership in hosting the Foundations on the Hill event! This gathering catalyzed tremendous interest in our Philanthropy for Voter work and inspired numerous follow-up presentations with philanthropy networks across the country.