The Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) supports RTF through its Democratic Practice–United States program. Keesha Gaskins-Nathan, the director of that program, shares how RFB’s partnership with RTF aligns with its mission to advance social change that contributes to a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world.
The Rockefeller Brothers Fund began its funding relationship with the RISE Together Fund (RTF) in 2019. At the time, we were exploring how to expand our movement-building strategy, and we recognized that Black, African, Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian (BAMEMSA) communities and organizations faced discrimination and over-policing that undermined democracy and civil liberties. Participating in RTF gave us access to a funder learning community focused on the work of key organizing groups in this space and helped to connect that work to our broader goal of advancing a vital and inclusive democracy in the United States.
Community power building is essential to ensuring U.S. democratic processes and systems deliver on their constitutional promises. Meaningful and informed public participation is the foundation of a vibrant democracy and in turn, gives rise to transformative policy ideas that reflect fair and effective democratic representation. Support for grassroots organizing, development of civic leadership opportunities for underrepresented populations, and adoption of effective civic innovations are part of RBF’s strategies to improve public participation in governance.
As a donor, the ability to learn in a pooled fund environment and be connected to grantees through site visits, online engagement, and RTF’s staff, were essential to being able to link our goals to the work of the grantees related to civic engagement, women’s leadership, and narrative development.
BAMEMSA communities sit at the intersection of several forces that are driving the country’s democratic decline: concentrations of power in narrow segments of society, erosion of civil liberties, and a political culture that treats entire communities as suspect rather than as full civic participants. Over-policing, surveillance, and discriminatory profiling have long excluded these communities from meaningful participation in governance — weakening not just their own civic standing, but the broader legitimacy of the country’s democratic institutions.
RTF’s focus on power-building and civic engagement among Black, African, Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian-led organizations addresses this directly, building the self-determinative civic leadership and organizing capacity needed for these communities to shape the policies and institutions that affect their lives. This work advances the Fund’s own strategies — strengthening democratic culture and civic engagement, protecting civil liberties, and disrupting concentrations of power — in service of its broader goal: a vital and fully inclusive democracy in the United States, where no community’s civic participation is constrained by discrimination or surveillance.
