One for Democracy is a collaboration of philanthropists and donor advisors headquartered in New York City initially established to promote voting in the November 2020 elections. Since then, its scope has expanded to investing in what is calls the democracy movement at the state, local, and federal level. ¹ Started by former hedge fund manager Mike Novogratz, the group asks its donors to pledge one percent of their net worth to the organization so that it may distribute the funds to several nonprofits which claim to be fighting voter suppression and increasing voter turnout. ²

One for Democracy also had a 501(c)(4) sister group, the One for Democracy Action Fund and a philanthropy advisory board, the One for Democracy Democracy Investment Committee which seeks to expand its network of democracy investors across the United States. ^{3 1}

It is fiscally sponsored by Goodnation Foundation, which provides back-end administrative and other support to groups that claim to improve American democracy. ⁴

History

On March 4, 2020, Mike Novogratz attended a dinner in New York City which included philanthropist Molly Gochman, former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, and the director of the Novogratz family’s philanthropic organization Billy Watterson. ² The group discussed issues such as voter suppression and voter participation, which led to the idea of setting up a donor-advised fund and the one percent pledge. Since that time, the group raised over $38 million from roughly 70 individuals and organizations while maintaining a goal of raising over $100 million by election day 2020. ²

Watterson said the group’s goal was to defend democracy through “[e]xpanding the vote by registering and mobilizing voters,” “[p]rotecting access to the vote through expanding vote by mail and protecting in-person voting, and finally defeating [then-President] Donald Trump because he is an existential threat to our democracy.” ²

Since its foundation in 2020, One for Democracy has secured over 120 regular donors who have pledged to give over $350 million through the 2024 election “to safeguard and strengthen democracy.” This marks an increase from the original 70 donors and organizations that joined One for Democracy in 2020. ⁵

Partner Organizations

One for Democracy claims “to demystify the process for new donors by introducing them to a vetted portfolio of organizations.” ⁶ It does this primarily through its investment coalition, the One for Democracy Democracy Investment Committee. Through membership to this group, pledgers get access to updated, expert funding recommendations and advice from leading political strategists with the goal of influencing local, state, and federal policy. ⁵

One for Democracy’s action arm is One for Democracy Action Fund. Its website has no information about its actions. ⁷ The Action Fund received $250,000 from the Sixteen Thirty Fund, itself part of the left-wing Arabella Advisors dark money network, in 2022. ⁸

Goodnation Foundation is One for Democracy’s fiscal sponsor. It provides donation, marketing, vetting, and donor reporting support to the organization through its philanthropic arm Goodnation Philanthropy Advisors. Its mission is to connect donors and recipients for left-of-center initiatives. ^{9 10}

Leadership

Taylor Holden is the chief executive officer of One for Democracy. ¹¹ Before advising left-of-center democracy movements, Holden worked on President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign in 2012, supported left-of-center voter activism in Texas in 2013, and was a three-time trainer at the New Politics Forum at the University of Texas at Austin. She was awarded a Joan Shorenstein Fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School in 2024. ¹¹

Members of One for Democracy’s advisory board include Tory Gavito, president of donor hub Way to Win; Heather Smith, former president of voter registration group Rock the Vote; and Billy Wimsatt, the executive director of donor group the Movement Voter Project. ²

Funding

One for Democracy is a fiscally sponsored project of the Goodnation Foundation, a New York-based grant writing organization that supports left-of-center non-profits. ¹² In 2022, the Goodnation Foundation reported $5,990,584 in revenue, $4,393,842 in expenses, and $1,280,110 in net assets. ¹³ Other left-of-center “democracy movement” organizations sponsored by the Goodnation Foundation include, Democratic Knowledge Project, Democratizing Justice, Partners in Democracy, and the Texas Voter Project. ¹²

One for Democracy also received donations from several other organizations. One for Democracy co-founder Mike Novogratz and his wife Sukey began a philanthropic organization called Galaxy Gives, which lists One for Democracy as its central recipient of “Democracy” grant money. ¹⁴

In its efforts to expand into California, One for Democracy established a partnership with Northern California Grantmakers to receive grants totaling $80,000 from the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund from 2022-2024. ¹⁵ The Levi Strauss Foundation listed the Goodnation Foundation as a social justice grantee in its 2022 financial report, specifying that its donation was intended for One for Democracy. ¹⁶

In 2020, the David Rockefeller Fund donated $100,000 to One for Democracy. ¹⁷ In 2022, the Levi Strauss Foundation granted One for Democracy $200,000, including $150,000 through the Goodnation Foundation and $50,000 through the Northern California Grantmakers. ¹⁸

On its website, One for Democracy lists several other left-leaning donors who have made the pledge of donating one percent of their net worth to the organization. ¹⁹ In addition to Novgratz and Gochman, the list includes Jeremy Mindich, co-founder of asset firm Scopia Capital; technology investor David Slifka; Andrew Blumenfeld, co-founder of digital software firm CallTime.AI; and Ian Simmons and his wife, Liesel Pritzker Simmons, who co-founded the investment firm Blue Haven Initiative. The Pritzker family includes Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) and Penny Pritzker, U.S. Secretary of Commerce under President Barack Obama. ² Additional donors to the fund included Ibrahim AlHusseini, founder of investment firm Full Cycle, and Jason Flom, founder of recording group Lava Records. ²

Organizations that have received support from One for Democracy include the Voter Participation Center, the Voter Protection Corps, the Organizing Empowerment Project, Vote at Home, and New Florida Majority. ²

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2. Schwartz, Brian. “Voting groups get $38 million boost from donor funds backed by wealthy Democrats.” CNBC. August 27, 2020. Accessed June 23, 2024. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/27/voting-groups-get-38-million-boost-from-donor-funds-backed-by-wealthy-democrats.html
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10. Custom Partnerships, Goodnation Philanthropy Advisors https://www.goodnation.io/custom-partnerships
11. Spring 2024 Shorenstein Fellows. Harvard Kennedy School, Shorenstein Center on Media Politics and Public Policy. January 17, 2024. Accessed June 23, 2024. https://shorensteincenter.org/spring-2024-shorenstein-fellows/
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14.  Our Investments. Galaxy Gives. Accessed June 23, 2024. https://www.galaxygives.com/our-investments
15. Northern California Grantmakers. Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund. Accessed June 23, 2024. https://www.haasjr.org/grants/grantee/northern-california-grantmakers
16. 2022 Community Partners. Levi Strauss Foundation. Accessed June 23, 2024. https://www.levistrauss.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2022-Community-Partners.pdf
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19. Pledgers.” One for Democracy. Accessed August 27, 2023. https://www.onefordemocracy.org/