Funders Need to Get Dollars Out the Door for 2026 Midterms

The 2026 midterm elections have the power to change the course of the United States for generations. Not by which candidates win, but by how fair, free, and representative our elections are. Americans need to trust that their voices will be heard and that it will be safe to cast their vote.

Now less than one year away, the midterms will be a critical test of our democracy—and nonprofits have been preparing year-round to reduce barriers to voting, combat misinformation, recruit poll workers, and protect the rights of Americans throughout the election process. This work cannot happen overnight, and it is best achieved when early funding is made available.

To that end, Democracy Fund is part of a broad coalition of organizations working to support the integrity of our voting process in 2026 by supporting nonprofits on the front lines of this work.

Philanthropy’s Role in Democracy

Now less than one year away, the midterms will be a critical test of our democracy—and nonprofits have been preparing year-round.

Far too frequently, grantees say they don’t know if or when funding will arrive to staff up, plan operations, set strategy, and budget for safety and disinformation concerns along the way. In addition, a lack of early funding can quickly lead to capacity issues and burnout.

This pressure is only adding to this year’s unprecedented challenges and attacks on a wide swath of the nonprofit sector. Progressive and pro-democracy organizations remain under attack and, as NPQ has reported, are rapidly losing funding. Earlier support, including letting existing grantees know that their grants are set to be renewed, will be all the more important to give frontline groups the chance to plan and build up responses against these threats.

Philanthropy needs to show grantees that we have their backs. Elections are the ultimate accountability mechanism for restoring faith and energy to our democracy, and the donor community must put our attention and dollars toward safeguarding them.

The clock is ticking to ensure these elections—and all future ones—are free, fair, and representative.

A Lack of Necessary Funding

Funders have the power and responsibility to move money out the door and into efforts that safeguard the field, protect election administration, ensure voting rights, educate and engage voters, and defend against election threats.

Even under normal circumstances, early election-year giving is incredibly important. We have heard appeals for earlier funding from grantees for years, and now have data to show the extent of the problem.

The clock is ticking to ensure these elections—and all future ones—are free, fair, and representative.

Based on a Democracy Fund survey, nearly three-quarters of nonprofits working in the 2024 election cycle reported they lacked the necessary funding by April to confidently plan their efforts. This left organizations unable to make effective plans early. Our research shows time and again that nonprofits need to know well before an election that they’ll have the funds to hire, train, plan, and execute.

In a subsequent pulse survey of pro-democracy funders, 55 percent of those planning to support the 2026 election said they hoped to have committed the majority of their election-related funding by April 2026.

Unfortunately, 85 percent of funders said that as of fall of 2025 they didn’t have a plan for their election-year giving. That’s a lot of grantmakers who need to figure out their giving strategies soon if they are going to get resources where they are needed.

In this spirit, Democracy Fund is inviting the philanthropic community to join us again for All by April—a nonpartisan call for funders to approve election-related grants by April 2026.

An Abnormal Election Cycle

Undoubtedly, the 2026 midterm elections will occur amid heightened tensions—both societal and legal—and the results will be difficult to predict. There is an array of extraordinary threats that will test the integrity of our election system, such as misinformation, threats of violence, violations of civil rights, and broader attacks on civil society—see, for example, the recent FBI raid on the Fulton County election hub in Georgia, which Trump blamed, without evidence, for his 2020 loss to Joe Biden.

Now is the time for funders to make a game plan for their election-related grants. Ask grantees where resources are most needed, given the unique aspects of the upcoming election. Grantmakers should also consult experts such as Moxie Fund, All Voting is Local, and Protect Democracy for guidance on how this election will look different from normal election years and what that should mean for giving plans.

Early Giving Should Not Be Hard

Today, there are enough challenges that make day-to-day operations difficult for nonprofits. Election-year grants should not be one of them. And more often than not, barriers within our own organizations are the greatest challenge we face.

At Democracy Fund, we learned from our own share of challenges. After we made our own All by April commitment in 2024, we found that it needed to be an organization-wide effort. Our program teams met with our legal and grants teams to map out why early giving was important, identify areas of support from legal, and reprioritize projects so legal teams could adjust their own schedules to help us meet our goal. Our finance team was able to move arbitrary payment dates for second-year commitments in multiyear grants to help support organizational goals.

Situating these conversations in the context of a larger campaign can help. When board members, lawyers, and other internal stakeholders see that they are part of a larger, fieldwide effort to ensure early giving, it can help them understand the importance of adjusting normal processes.

Philanthropy’s power is its ability to move early, boldly, and collectively. That’s how we strengthen the infrastructure that ensures elections remain free, fair, and representative, even in the face of authoritarian threats.

Democracy Fund’s pulse survey data show that just 12 percent of democracy funders agree that philanthropic efforts to improve American democracy are effectively coordinated. This is why we’re urging all funders to participate in All by April, because we know this strategy of early giving and streamlined grant processes works.

This year, instead of a sign-on letter, we’re sharing an open call to action to:

• Get 501c3 election grants approved as early as possible
• Make sure payments are timed so grantees get money when they need it
• Tell your peers about how important it is to prioritize early election-year giving

We’re calling on our colleagues across philanthropy to keep the momentum going, broaden participation, and focus on getting money to the field when it matters most.

All by April works best when we all participate, so ask the other funders you work with to join you in giving early.

Let’s give our grantees the time and trust they need to do what they do best. It’s up to us to move our dollars quickly. Our democracy can’t wait.

Visit AllByApril.org to learn more.