Melissa Spatz, Program Director of The Piper Fund, authored an article for Inside Philanthropy calling on funders to look to the states in order to protect democracy.

It is tempting for democracy funders to focus on Washington, D.C., but given these threats and opportunities, it is critical that we expand that lens to include states and municipalities. Opportunities for reform at the federal level are important, but because of the federalist structure of the U.S. government, they can only ever address part of the problem. If we are to stop the further degradation of American democracy and begin to build a truly inclusive, multiracial democracy, we will need to make sustained investments at the state level.

Read more about the approach and lessons The Piper Fund, and Proteus Fund as a whole, have learned on how democracy funders can have a greater impact.